The Calligrapher — Lǐ Dōngyáng 李东阳

Ming statesman and literatus of refined seal and regular script.

Ming calligrapher (), master of seal script/regular script — known for 茶陵派. Ming dynasty

Cultural Story

舍 first meant a lodging house — in early usage, a way-station set every thirty li along the roads for travelers. From dwelling it turned to dwelling-on: 荀子's 鍥而不舍, carve without stopping, and the warning that perishing by the nine-story terrace begins with one basket of earth. 孟子 raised the stakes to 舍身 — to give up one's life for righteousness — while the humble host called his home 寒舍, my cold little house.

Common words & phrases

• 宿舍 dormitory · lodgings · quarters
• 舍得 willing to give up · part with · grudge not
• 舍弃 abandon · give up · discard · forsake
• 舍身 sacrifice oneself · give one's life · sacrifice the self
• 取舍 accept or reject · choice · trade-off
• 寒舍 my humble home · my house · humble abode

Read the story behind the character

You move into the 宿舍, the dormitory, with two suitcases and a rice cooker, and slowly learn 取舍, the trade-off of what to keep and what to reject. Your roommate refuses to 舍弃, give up, any of his twenty novels. At Spring Festival your friend texts from his 寒舍 — calling his brand-new apartment a humble abode, the old politeness intact — and invites you to dinner.

Why this character belongs on skin

The hand opens. What it held — a grudge, a lover, a year of rain — drops and is gone, and the palm feels suddenly vast. 舍 is to abandon, to release, to give up what clings; its twin reading names the humble 舍, the thatched hut where the traveler lays down his burden for the night. The Buddha taught 捨 as the first gesture of freedom: nothing is yours to keep. The Daoist leaves the carriage at the river's edge. To wear 舍 is to practice the hardest courage — the courage of the empty hand. We spend our lives accumulating; this mark argues the opposite, that what you can set down is what finally makes you light enough to move. Let it sit on your skin as a small door left ajar, a daily permission to release, to forgive, to walk on unburdened.