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
The Han court demanded a 酎金, a tribute of gold spent on the doubly fermented 酎 wine poured at the ancestral rite, and in 112 BCE Emperor Wu used a slight in that tribute to strip a hundred and six nobles of their lands. The 酎祭 thus became a trap as much as a sacrament. The thick, rebrewed wine of the ritual turned into an instrument of power.
Common words & phrases
- 酎酒 double-fermented wine
- 酎金 gold tribute for sacrificial wine
- 酎祭 sacrificial wine offering
Read the story behind the character
A brewery museum sets a jar of 酎酒 beside a panel on the 酎祭, and a guide explains the rebrewed sacrifice to a school group. A label notes how the 酎金 once undid lords. The character now rests in a glass case and a placard, the ancient thick wine displayed as craft and caution rather than poured for an emperor's ancestors.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhào Mèngfǔ 赵孟頫, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.