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

In the classical tradition: 哉 is an exclamatory particle found throughout the classics; the 論語 ends reflections with it, and 孟子 cries 善哉, 'excellent!' or 'well said!' The historian laments 嗚呼哀哉, 'alas, dead and gone,' over fallen states, while a skeptic asks 何哉, 'why is this so?' A free spirit sighs 快哉, 'how delightful!' before the river wind. 哉 carries the ancient voice of judgment, wonder, and grief.

Common words & phrases

• 善哉 excellent! · well said!
• 怪哉 strange!
• 呜呼哀哉 alas · dead and gone
• 何哉 why? · how so?
• 快哉 how delightful!

Read the story behind the character

In the modern world: Though 哉 is classical, it survives in set phrases people still quote: a teacher praises a clever answer with 善哉 — excellent, well said — and a friend jokes 怪哉, strange indeed, at a weird coincidence. At a funeral scroll you may read 嗚呼哀哉, alas and gone, while a poet tweets 快哉, how delightful, after a good meal. It lends any sentence an old, ringing weight.