The Calligrapher — Zhào Mèngfǔ 赵孟頫

Yuan master whose elegant regular and running script revived classical tradition.

Yuan calligrapher (1254–1322), master of regular script/running script/cursive script — Yuan reviver of classical elegance who could write any script beautifully and did. Yuan dynasty

Cultural Story

In the Han dynasty, a man's 赀, his counted property, decided his duties and his hopes. The 赀算 system taxed households by wealth and let the rich buy office, so 赀财 and 赀产 became measures of standing. To 赀 was to reckon a fortune, the cold arithmetic beneath ambition. The count of goods was the ladder by which a family climbed or fell.

Common words & phrases

• 赀财 wealth · property
• 赀产 estate · property
• 赀费 expenses

Read the story behind the character

At a family settlement, lawyers itemize the late grandfather's 赀财 and 赀产, every house and share, before dividing the estate. The 赀费 of the probate itself surprises the heirs. Rare in speech today, the character still appears on the dry forms where inheritance is counted and costed. The forms still ask the same question the Han clerks asked: what do you own.