The Calligrapher — Ōuyáng Tōng 欧阳通

Tang regular-script master known for powerful, square strokes.

Tang calligrapher (?–691), master of regular script — known for 《道因法师碑》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

The Shuowen reads 奘 as 駔大也 — stout and great — and the Erya glosses it simply as 'big.' It is a word of body and build, the 奘 frame of a strong man or a thick tree. Its fame rests on one bearer: the Tang monk 玄奘, who walked to India and brought back the sutras, his name forever meaning 'the robust one.' Though plain, 奘 carried the old esteem for breadth and strength — the solid, unmistakable presence of something built large.

Common words & phrases

• 玄奘 Xuanzang (Tang monk)

Read the story behind the character

Schoolchildren learn the story of 玄奘 (Xuanzang, the Tang monk) who traveled west for the scriptures; a TV drama retells his 奘-paced journey across the deserts. A novelist names a burly hero 奘 to signal his bulk, and a tourist visits the 玄奘 memorial in Xi'an. 奘 survives in modern Chinese mostly through that one famous monk — the 'robust' pilgrim whose name turns an obscure word for 'big' into a symbol of endurance and faith.

Why this character belongs on skin

Big in the way mountains are big — the character names thickness, bulk, presence that fills a doorway and then keeps filling it. It is also the personal character of Xuanzang, the monk who walked to India and back with his faith in a pack, the largest journey any single pair of feet has made for an idea. He carried six hundred wagonloads of scripture home and then, greater still, sat down and translated. So the word has two graces braided in it: bodily robustness and a bulk of spirit — a man who can bear weight, who does not fold under cargo. The tattoo is a quiet boast of capacity. Life will load you. Let it look and see what it's loading. Sturdy things have always been the rarest things.