The Calligrapher — Liǔ Gōngquán 柳公权

Tang regular-script master famed for 'bones' of strength; rival to Yan Zhenqing.

Tang calligrapher (778–865), master of regular script — Tang master of bone-strength regular script, paired forever with Yan Zhenqing as 'Yan sinew, Liu bone'. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

昵 is the near and the dear. 亲昵 the fond lean; 昵称 the pet name you 起. 狎昵 is the closeness that tips into license. The word is proximity as affection — the friend at the shoulder, the name no stranger may use. The Shuowen sees the sun drawing near, warmth that comes from being close, not from the height.

Common words & phrases

• 亲昵 intimate · affectionate
• 昵称 nickname · pet name
• 狎昵 intimate · familiar

Read the story behind the character

亲昵 is the couple; 昵称 the handle. 狎昵 the gossip. The word runs the romance and the handle — the kiss, the screen name. From the bench to the bio, 昵 is the near kept near, the term of endearment and the familiar overstep, the warmth of the close circle and the small risk of being too close.

Why this character belongs on skin

昵 is the character for intimacy—the sun radical beside a figure turned toward you, closeness with warmth in it, the nearness of people who have stopped performing. Not acquaintance. 昵 is what happens after: the insider's shorthand, the touch on the arm that means everything to two people and nothing to the room. The Confucians ranked human closeness as the root of all virtue—love learned at close range teaches every other love. There is courage in it too, because intimacy is a risk: you cannot be 昵 with someone without handing them the map of you. To wear 昵 is to declare that closeness is your native country, that you would rather be known than protected. A small warm sigil for the ones you have let in—and the one you would let in tonight.