繇
folk-song; forced labor; cause; means; interpretations of the trigrams
Closest English meanings
to draw lots·cause·surname
The Calligrapher — Mǐ Fú 米芾
Song eccentric genius of dynamic, 'flying' running script.
Song calligrapher (1051–1107), master of running script — Song eccentric genius ('crazy Zhang, idiot Mi') whose running script alternates discipline with glee. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
繇 lives two lives. In the Changes, 繇辞 are the adjudicating words of the hexagram lines — cast the yarrow stalks, read the 繇 aloud. As labor it wrote 繇役, the corvée drafts that built walls and roads. And as a surname it belongs to the calligrapher Zhong Yao, whose brush shaped regular script's childhood.
Common words & phrases
- 繇辞 oracle text · divination words
- 繇役 corvee labor
Read the story behind the character
繇 is strictly literary now: I Ching study groups recite 繇辞, Qin-Han historians cite 繇役 in corvée records, and calligraphy students copy 钟繇, the Wei master whose work anchors every serious copybook. In daily life almost nobody writes it — which is exactly why dictionaries guard it so carefully.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Mǐ Fú 米芾, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.