The Calligrapher — Wáng Wénbǐng 王文秉

Five Dynasties seal-script master whose small seal surpassed Xu Xuan.

Five Dynasties calligrapher (), master of seal script — known for 小篆名家. Five Dynasties period

Cultural Story

佰 is the hundred, the head of a hundred men. In the Qin 军法 a 佰 led a hundred soldiers; ledgers wrote 佰元 in full to stop fraud. The 佰位 in a sum fixes the hundreds column. A plain tally of one hundred, the character keeps accounts honest across two thousand years.

Common words & phrases

• 佰元 one hundred yuan
• 陆佰 six hundred
• 佰位 hundreds place

Read the story behind the character

A cheque is filled 佰元 to prevent alteration; a price tag reads 陆佰 for six hundred. The 佰位 on the register shows the hundreds. In accounting class the teacher marks the hundreds column. Counting by hundreds — on a bill, a transfer, a form — is where this character still does its quiet work.