凡
ordinary; commonplace; mundane; temporal; of the material world (as opposed to supernatural or immortal levels); every; all; whatever; altogether; gist; outline; note of Chinese musical scale
Closest English meanings
ordinary·all·mundane·every·mortal
The Calligrapher — Chǔ Suíliáng 褚遂良
Tang chancellor and regular-script master of elegant, balanced strokes.
Tang calligrapher (596–658), master of regular script — Tang master of graceful, tensile regular script favored by the imperial court. Tang dynasty
Cultural Story
The form was a board with a flap, 凡, the common and the every. The histories call a man 凡人, a mortal among lords. A 平凡 life was one without office. The 凡例 opened a book with its rules of use. To be 凡 was to stand in the mass the annals rarely named.
Common words & phrases
- 平凡 ordinary · common · mediocre
- 非凡 extraordinary · outstanding · remarkable
- 凡是 every · all · whatever
- 凡人 ordinary person · mortal · commoner
- 凡例 general notes · preface notes · guide
Read the story behind the character
A life is 平凡 and content; the deed is 非凡, worth a line. The rule says 凡是 born here must register. The 凡人 queues like the rest. The 凡例 tells the reader how to read. The word means plain and all — the common ground beneath the rare and the named.
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