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

呀 is onomatopoeic and exclamatory, the mouth radical with 牙 (tooth, a phonetic). It did not carry weight in the classics; rather it is the spontaneous cry—surprise, dismay, the 呀 of a sudden opening. 哎呀 (oh my/alas) is the sound of bumped shins and dropped bowls, while 呀呀 mimics a baby's first babble. The character is the unplanned voice, older than grammar, younger than thought itself in the mouth.

Common words & phrases

• 哎呀 oh my · alas
• 呀呀 cry of baby · yah

Read the story behind the character

Someone drops a phone and cries 哎呀 (oh my/alas), and a baby goes 呀呀 (yah) at a toy. Text messages end with 呀 to sound surprised or cute—"你来呀!" A kid 呀 in delight at snow, and a friend 呀 in mock horror at the bill. The character punctuates modern surprise and play, the small cry that turns a flat message into a felt moment, from group chats to nursery floors.