The Calligrapher — Fù Shān 傅山

Qing loyalist master of vigorous cursive and regular script.

Qing calligrapher (), master of cursive script/regular script — early-Qing individualist who demanded 'rather awkward than flattering' brushwork. Qing dynasty

Cultural Story

The "Dream of the Eastern Capital" records 傀儡戏 played in the Song dynasty's pleasure wards, where carved figures fought and wept for the crowd. The 傀儡 was the puppet whose strings the showman worked from behind the screen. The word named the thing danced by an absent will — a toy of the market, a figure of the stage.

Common words & phrases

• 傀儡 puppet
• 傀儡戲 puppet show

Read the story behind the character

A 傀儡戏 troupe draws children to the square; the 傀儡 kicks and bows on the string. The word also tags a figurehead official, a 傀儡 with no hand on the lever, and a cartoon villain pulled by shadowy hands. It still means a body moved by another — a carved dancer, a staged leader — the will belonging to someone offstage.