The Calligrapher — Gāo Xián 高闲

Tang monk calligrapher of cursive script, author of the Thousand-Character Classic.

Tang calligrapher (), master of cursive script — known for 《千字文》残卷. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

泼 means to dash water out; the 說文 gives to splash. The Dai 泼水 festival blessed the new year with purity. A 泼辣 wife scolds in farce; yet 活泼 means bright spirit. Rain 瓢泼 soaks the unprepared traveler on the road.

Common words & phrases

• 泼水 splash water
• 活泼 lively · active
• 泼辣 shrewish · pungent
• 瓢泼 pouring · torrential

Read the story behind the character

Kids 泼水 (splash water) at the festival, laughing. Her 活泼 (lively, active) puppy chews every shoe. The 泼辣 (shrewish, pungent) aunt runs the market stall. Rain came 瓢泼 (pouring, torrential) and flooded the bus stop. He 泼 (splashed) tea and ruined the document.

Why this character belongs on skin

She throws the water and does not care where it lands, across the floor, across the guest, across the rules. 泼 is to splash, the unbidden gesture, the life that will not be contained in the basin. From it came the sharp-tongued woman the old books feared and secretly admired, all heat and no apology. We are trained to be careful, to spill nothing; 泼 is the rebellion against the careful life, the joy of the mess made on purpose. To wear this character is to claim your excess, your noise, your refusal to be tidy. Let it sit where you would least behave. The water is on the floor and you are laughing. Clean it later. Or never; some messes are the only honest record that a life was actually lived out loud.