The Calligrapher — Chén Guàn 陈瓘

Song official known for stern, vigorous running script.

Song calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 《仲冬帖》. Song dynasty

Cultural Story

(Li Hongzhang, tasked with the 洋务, 办 factories, ships, and schools to meet the foreign guns; the 同治 reforms bear his hand in the record. The character 办 is the stroke that gets a matter done. It names the handling, from a treaty port to a ledger, by men who ran the state's odd jobs.

Common words & phrases

• 办法 method · way · means
• 办公 to work · office work
• 办理 to handle · to process
• 办事 to act · to handle affairs
• 主办 to host · to sponsor

Read the story behind the character

He 办公 at the desk till eight. The 办法 fits the case at last. The clerk 办理 the permit by noon. The city 主办 the fair. The word names the doing, the handling, and the run of affairs in an office. He 办公 till eight, the 办法 fits the case, the clerk 办理 the permit, and the city 主办 the fair.

Why this character belongs on skin

Two strengths and the work gets done—办 is the handling, the doing, the management of a life that will not manage itself. The character pairs force with force and calls it simply: act. To 办 is to settle the matter, to push the paper across the desk, to turn intention into the world's blunt fact. The ancients 办ed affairs of state; you 办 the smaller empires of a day. A tattoo of this character is a quiet nod to competence, the unglamorous courage of the person who finishes. It is for the one who does not wait to be rescued, who closes the loop. Let it sit at the wrist where the hand begins. The work is yours. The doing is the only prayer that changes anything, and you, at least, are willing to pray it.