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

Early lexicons call it simply a small, light vessel, the kind paddled quickly up shallow creeks where heavy transports could not follow. Water-warfare manuals praised such nimble hulls for scouting and fire attacks, and lake poems describe a light boat slipping through lotus beds with girls laughing as they gather caltrops at dusk.

Common words & phrases

• 舰艇 warship · naval vessel
• 快艇 speedboat
• 潜艇 submarine
• 汽艇 motorboat
• 游艇 yacht

Read the story behind the character

The old smallness now spans everything nimble: naval warships in a fleet list, a speedboat roaring across the reservoir, a submarine surfacing in news footage, a motorboat towing an inner tube, and a yacht gleaming at a Shenzhen dock. A commuter wishing for a fast commute jokes he would take a speedboat if the river were a road.

Why this character belongs on skin

Salt drying on your shoulder, the hull ticking against the dock, that first lean of the water under you. 艇 is a light boat, a fast craft — the vessel radical with a courtly echo, historically the swift skiff that carried couriers and adventurers along China's rivers. It is not the heavy junk hauling cargo but the narrow hull cutting spray, closer to a skiff than a warship: built for motion, for reading wind, for leaving before the light changes. Zhuangzi loved boats for exactly this — the man who floats with the current wastes no strength and loses no time. There is freedom in a craft small enough to be one with its rider, responsive as a lover, honest as a blade. This character belongs on someone's ribs, where it can move with each breath like water against wood. For those who feel landlocked in spirit. Get it, and be always ready to launch.