The Calligrapher — Lǐ Sī 李斯

Qin chancellor who standardized the small-seal script for China's first empire.

Qin calligrapher (约前284–前208), master of small seal script — Qin chancellor who standardized the small-seal script for the first empire. Qin dynasty

Cultural Story

Han Fei, the legalist philosopher executed in 233 BCE, built his whole argument on 是非, the sharp line between right and wrong that the ruler must draw alone. The 非 of his essays was the knife that cut bad custom from good law. To call a thing 非法 was, for him, simply to say the sovereign had not willed it, and the 非洲 of his maps lay beyond the known writ.

Common words & phrases

• 非常 very · extremely · unusual
• 是非 right and wrong · quarrel · fault
• 非法 illegal · unlawful · illicit
• 非凡 extraordinary · outstanding · remarkable
• 非洲 Africa · African
• 非分 undue · inappropriate · presumptuous

Read the story behind the character

An immigration officer stamps a passport and flags an 非法 entry while a family boards the 非洲 flight at the next gate. The news runs a story on a 非常 fine for the violation, and a commentator calls the official's move 非凡 for its speed. A traveler learns the 是非 of the case only after the 非洲 connection surfaces in the report.