The Calligrapher — Shí Tāo 石涛

Qing monk-painter of free, individualist running script.

Qing calligrapher (), master of running script — individualist monk-artist of the Ming-Qing transition, brush guided by 'one stroke'. Qing dynasty

Cultural Story

The graph 隹 is a pictograph of a short-tailed bird, its head, wing, and claw set in seal script as one compact body — distinct from the long-necked 鸟 of the goose and crane. Early lexicographers filed every 隹鸟 and small finch under this shape, reading the radical as the creature itself rather than as an idea. To know a character's bird was to know whether it perched, flocked, or struck.

Common words & phrases

• 隹鸟 small bird
• 斑隹 painted bird
• 隹木 bird perched on tree

Read the story behind the character

A zoo keeper updates the sign for the 斑隹 in the lowland aviary, noting the painted bird's new mate. Visitors crowd the glass where a 隹木 perch holds a feeding station, and the field guide lists each 隹鸟 by its local name. The gift shop sells a poster of the aviary's small birds, the 隹 radical printed in red beneath every species.