The Calligrapher — Wáng Xīzhī 王羲之

The 'Sage of Calligraphy'; his running script has set the standard for 1,700 years.

Eastern Jin calligrapher (303–361), master of running script/cursive script/regular script — the Sage of Calligraphy; his Orchid Pavilion Preface is the most celebrated work in the tradition, and nearly every later master traces lineage to his hand. Eastern Jin dynasty

Cultural Story

奏 means to play and to present. The 诗经 was 奏 (performed) at court with strings and voice; 演奏 (perform) filled the 梨园 stages of the Tang. 奏乐 (play music) opened a ritual at the altar; 奏章 (memorial) carried a minister's words up to the throne. 前奏 (prelude) began a 汉 (Han) suite of drums. The character is sound and petition together.

Common words & phrases

• 演奏 perform · play
• 奏乐 play music
• 伴奏 accompany
• 奏效 work · take effect
• 前奏 prelude
• 奏章 memorial

Read the story behind the character

An orchestra 演奏 (performs) a concerto at the hall; a phone 奏乐 (plays) a ringtone in a quiet room. 伴奏 (accompaniment) backs a singer at the open mic; 奏效 (work) ends a remedy's clinical test. 前奏 (prelude) opens an album you stream; 奏章 (memorial) survives in palace costume dramas. The word still sounds and petitions — a note or a plea.

Why this character belongs on skin

Before the first note, the room holds its breath. Fingers settle on the strings, the bow lifts, and then — the air itself begins to sing. This is zòu: to play, to offer up what is in you until it becomes sound the world can hear. In the old courts a minister would zòu a petition, laying his heart before the throne; the musician too lays himself before the listener. Love is like this. You open your hands and let what is inside walk out as melody. There is courage in the offering, a vulnerability that is its own kind of power. Carry this on your skin as a vow to keep playing, even when no one listens. And when you are ready, let the artist sound it in ink, a music meant to last longer than any performance.