The Calligrapher — Dèng Shírú 邓石如

Qing revivalist who restored seal and clerical script to prominence.

Qing calligrapher (), master of seal script/clerical script — Qing self-taught reviver of seal and clerical script, carved energy in every stroke. Qing dynasty

Cultural Story

The hermit Xu You, offered the throne by the sage-king Yao, refused so firmly that he went to a stream to wash the very offer from his ears. His name, xu, became the word for granting and permitting, and for the freedom to say no. The character joins words to a tally, the small assent that can also be withheld. To xu was to grant, to promise, or to let be, the quiet hinge of every agreement.

Common words & phrases

• 许多 many · much · a lot
• 允许 to permit · to allow
• 许可 to permit · permission
• 或许 perhaps · maybe
• 也许 maybe · perhaps

Read the story behind the character

A shop has xu duo, many, colors; a parent yun xu, permits, the late walk; a permit is a xu ke, a license, to build; a forecast adds huo xu, perhaps, a storm; a shrug says ye xu, maybe. The character runs from the firm yes to the soft maybe, every degree of letting. It names the scale of assent, from the signed permission to the hopeful guess, the word that opens a door a crack or throws it wide.