The Calligrapher — Sū Shì 苏轼

Song literatus whose spontaneous running script shaped the literati ideal.

Song calligrapher (1037–1101), master of running script/regular script — Song poet-statesman and polymath whose expressive running script made personality, not rules, the point. Song dynasty

Cultural Story

骥 pairs 马 with 冀 and is glossed in the 《説文解字》 千里马也, "a horse that travels a thousand li a day." It was the supremely gifted steed, the standard for untapped talent recognized too late.

Common words & phrases

• 骥骊 fine horses
• 老骥 old steed (able veteran)

Read the story behind the character

A 骥 is a fine horse or steed; 骥骊 names fine horses together, and 老骥 the old steed of Cao Cao's line 志在千里—still ambitious in age. We invoke 骥 for people of rare ability, the quiet genius whose worth finally gallops into view.