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

鹧 forms 鹧鸪 (partridge), a phono-semantic compound from the bird radical with the sound 庶. The partridge's plaintive, repeated call sounded to poets like “行不得也哥哥”—“brother, you cannot go”—a bird of parting and reluctant journey across the southern hills and rainy passes.

Common words & phrases

• 鹧鸪 partridge

Read the story behind the character

The 鹧鸪 (partridge) sings in southern woodlands and turns up on restaurant menus as game. Its mournful call echoes in folk songs and period films about departure, and tea growers in Guangdong even name a famous 鹧鸪 tea, linking the bird's plaint to local mountain flavor.