The Calligrapher — Lǐ Jiànzhōng 李建中

Early-Song 'Li Xitai', a Tang-to-Song bridge figure famed for calm, classical running script.

Song calligrapher (945–1013), master of running script — known for 《土母帖》. Song dynasty

Etymology & Meaning · 字义溯源

2 · The Character: 可 Kě (3rd tone). 《说文·可部》: 「可，肎（肯）也。从口丂，丂亦声。」 — assent: the mouth agreeing, with 丂 supplying both sound and sense (breath meeting an obstruction and getting through anyway). From assent grow permission, possibility and worth. 《老子》 opens the whole book on it: 「道可道，非常道」 — the way that can be spoken is not the constant way. 《孟子·尽心下》 raises it to ethics: 「可欲之谓善」 — what is worth desiring is called good. In classical Chinese 可 is a full verb: to approve, to permit; the emperor's one-word rescript was 「可」. Honest disclosure: in modern Chinese 可 is mostly grammatical furniture. It is the modal 'can / may' (可以, 可能) and, just as often, the adversative 'but' (可是, 可惜). Worn alone it reads to a native eye like half a sentence — or simply like the word 'but'. Pair it: 可为, 可欲, 无不可.

Cultural Story

可 meant worthy, and then could. Bai Juyi's old charcoal seller stood in thin clothes -- "可怜身上衣正单" -- pitiable, and yet he feared the cold would fail and the price fall. The word carried the turn of feeling toward another's state. 可以 granted permission; 可怜 granted sorrow. It was the hinge between ability and regard.

Where a Western reader can stand: Li Jianzhong (945–1013), nicknamed Li Xitai, was an early Northern Song calligrapher who bridged the Tang tradition and the emerging Song literati style; his running and regular scripts are valued for warm, unhurried manner and were admired by Su Shi. His 可 therefore carries a gentle, balanced, humanistic feel — Tang structural solidity with relaxed personal warmth. As a tattoo, 可 means 'may / can / worth-doing.' Honest note: modern 可 is mostly grammatical — the 'can' of 可以 and the 'but' of 可是 — so a lone 可 can read as half a sentence or simply 'but.' Pair it (可为, 可欲) for a complete thought. No funeral or offensive register. Element Wood (木).

Common words & phrases

• 可以 can · may
• 可是 but
• 可爱 cute · lovely
• 可能 possible · maybe
• 可靠 reliable
• 可惜 pity · unfortunately

Read the story behind the character

A 可爱 cat sleeps on the desk; the forecast says it 可能 rain. A friend proves 可靠 through the long job; the missed train is 可惜 but the next comes soon. The word runs the day's permissions and regrets -- the cuteness, the chance, the trust, the pity. It opens a sentence to possibility and closes it on a feeling, from the pet to the lost seat.