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

In the classical tradition: 哩 is a mouth character used as a sentence particle in southern and dialect speech, and borrowed for the English 'mile.' The vernacular 哩哩啦啦 describes things dragged out in bits and pieces, dripping or straggling. Classical Chinese had no need for it in formal prose, but folk song and drama used 哩 to soften a line, the way a singer lingers on a note at the end of a phrase.

Common words & phrases

• 英哩 mile
• 哩哩啦啦 draggling · in bits and pieces

Read the story behind the character

In the modern world: Runners count 英哩 — miles — on a foreign app, and grandma says the rain came 哩哩啦啦, in bits and pieces, all afternoon. In southern chat 哩 softens a question like a gentle particle at a sentence's end. A project drags 哩哩啦啦 across the month, never quite finishing, while the dialect keeps 哩 alive as the friendly tail every casual sentence seems to need.