The Calligrapher — Dǒng Qíchāng 董其昌

Late-Ming theorist and running-script master who shaped later taste.

Ming calligrapher (1555–1636), master of running script/regular script — late-Ming connoisseur-critic of understated, misty elegance. Ming dynasty

Cultural Story

簋 is the round-bellied bronze grain vessel of ancestral rites, holding millet before the spirits. Ritual texts fixed ranks strictly: the Son of Heaven was entitled to nine 鼎 and eight 簋, a ducal house fewer. Excavated pieces bear long inscriptions recording land grants and royal gifts — primary documents of Western Zhou history.

Common words & phrases

• 簋簋 food vessels
• 彝簋 sacrificial vessel
• 簋实 food in the vessel

Read the story behind the character

簋 lives in museums and catalogues, where ritual vessels are still listed as 彝簋 sets — and in one surprising place: Beijing's famous crayfish food street is officially written 簋街, its gateway sign bearing this three-thousand-year-old bronze character while diners queue for midnight seafood beneath it.