The Calligrapher — Péi Xiū 裴休

Tang chancellor and calligrapher; author of the Guifeng Stele in regular script.

Tang calligrapher (), master of regular script — known for 《圭峰碑》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

The Shuowen gives 噴 as 吒也, to burst breath or liquid from the mouth, a character of the mouth radical with a rushing sound. Zhuangzi writes of the giant fish-kun whose 噴沫 stirs the sea, and Tang poets described mountain springs 噴玉, spurting like jade. In the palace gardens of Chang'an, engineered 噴泉 carried water high for the emperor's pleasure, while farmers knew the sudden 噴 of a ruptured dike. From the start 噴 named any forceful jet — of water, breath, or even temper.

Common words & phrases

• 喷泉 fountain
• 喷雾 spray · mist
• 喷射 jet · spurt
• 喷洒 spray · sprinkle
• 喷饭 laugh out loud

Read the story behind the character

City squares cool off at the 噴泉 (fountain) on summer nights; a traveler uses 噴霧 (spray, mist) sunscreen at the beach, and a painter 噴灑 (sprays, sprinkles) paint across a canvas. A rocket 噴射 (jets, spurts) flames at liftoff, and a joke so funny it makes you 噴飯 (laugh out loud, spray your rice). From skincare to spacecraft, 噴 is the verb for anything that bursts out in a fine, fast stream.

Why this character belongs on skin

Stand close enough to the geyser at the moment of eruption and you feel the earth's refusal to be polite. 喷 is that force—water or breath or flame expelled in a jet: 喷泉 the fountain, 喷薄 the surging dawn as the sun breaks the horizon all at once, 喷火 the dragon's own trick. It is the mouth radical with the sense of bursting forth, and it has no patience whatsoever. Some things must be released under pressure or they destroy their container: the geyser, the champagne cork, the truth you finally said out loud. Painters of the Tang loved 喷墨, ink flung in one committed gesture—no second chances, all nerve. There is vitality in this character, raw and slightly dangerous, the opposite of the swallowed grievance. To wear 喷 is to promise yourself you will not hold your eruptions hostage forever. Let what's pressurized in you find the sky. Ink it near the throat, and let it speak.