The Calligrapher — Shěn Dù 沈度

Ming court calligrapher famed for refined regular script.

Ming calligrapher (), master of regular script — known for 台阁体代表. Ming dynasty

Cultural Story

并 gathers the old forms 並 and 并, meaning 'to stand side by side' or 'to combine.' The Shuowen reads it as two things moving together, and the classics use 并 to join clauses and armies alike. To 并肩 was to fight shoulder to shoulder; to 并 was to merge lands under one rule. The word thus holds both grammar and brotherhood - the act of putting two things, or two people, in one line.

Common words & phrases

• 并且 and · besides
• 合并 merge · combine
• 并肩 shoulder to shoulder
• 并列 juxtapose · tie
• 并排 side by side
• 并发 complicate · concurrent

Read the story behind the character

You say 'we won 并且 we celebrated,' and a company 合并, merges, with a rival. Friends walk 并肩, shoulder to shoulder, and two names 并列, rank equally, on the honour roll. Cars park 并排, side by side, and a server handles 并发, concurrent, requests. From a love line to a database, 并 is the little word that puts things together without losing either.