The Calligrapher — Lǐ Lóngjī 李隆基

Tang Emperor Xuanzong who wrote the Shitai Xiaojing in eight-division clerical script (bafen).

Tang calligrapher (), master of 八分/regular script — known for 唐玄宗，《石台孝经》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

吾 is a classical first-person pronoun—"I," "my," "we"—used by Confucius and 莊子 with easy grace; 論語 has the master say 吾日三省吾身, "I examine myself thrice daily." It yields 吾辈 (we/us) and 吾国 (our country) in later prose, while 支吾 means to hem and haw, evading with the mouth. The character is the scholar's "I," intimate yet dignified across two millennia of Chinese letters and speech.

Common words & phrases

• 吾辈 we · us
• 吾人 we · our
• 吾国 our country
• 支吾 to hem and haw · to evade

Read the story behind the character

Patriotic essays still invoke 吾国 (our country) with pride, and a writer addresses 吾辈 (we/us) as a generation with a mission. A nervous witness 支吾 (hems and haws/evades) when questioned, unable to give a straight answer. Though 吾 sounds bookish today, it surfaces in speeches, slogans, and period dramas—the elegant "we" and "I" of a China that remembers its own voice across the centuries of change.