The Calligrapher — Lǐ Liúfāng 李流芳

Ming literatus and calligrapher; one of the Four Masters of Jiading famed for running script.

Ming calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 《西湖诗》. Ming dynasty

Cultural Story

放 is the loosened rein. Qu Yuan was 放逐, exiled to wander the south; the herd boy 放 the buffaloes by the river. 放心 is to lay the worry down. The word is release as mercy and as negligence both — the bird freed, the official banished, the child let run. The Daoist loves it; the disciplinarian fears it.

Common words & phrases

• 放心 to rest assured · to relax
• 开放 to open · to bloom · open
• 解放 to liberate · liberation
• 放弃 to give up · to abandon
• 放大 to enlarge · to amplify

Read the story behind the character

You 放弃 the ticket queue, 放大 the photo to check the face. 开放 is the border, the museum, the policy; 解放 the word on the old poster. 放心 is what the mother says to steady you. From the park where the kite is 放, to the market that 放开 the price, the word lets things go.

Why this character belongs on skin

释放 is to let loose, and 放 alone is the hand that opens the cage. How many years did you hold your own self in — breath shallow, sentences unfinished, a life kept on a short leash you thought was safety? 放 is the exhale. It is the friend who said go, the city that answered, the morning you realized the lock had rusted and the door was only ever held by your own polite hand. To set free is not reckless; it is the most honest arithmetic — what you keep costs more than what you lose. Mark 放 where your pulse is fastest, a small character that means you chose the open air. Let it be the part of your story written in ink instead of apology. You were never the cage. You were always the one with the key, learning, finally, to turn it.