The Calligrapher — Lù Jiǎnzhī 陆柬之

Tang calligrapher and nephew of Yu Shinan; his running-script 'Essay on Literature' survives

Tang calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 《文赋》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

浩 means vast and grand, of floodwaters and boundless spirit. The Meng zi speaks of 浩 flowing qi that fills a righteous man, and the Chu ci cries 浩 grief across the marshes. 浩荡 winds and 浩气 anchor the word in both nature's scale and the human soul's impossible reach upward.

Common words & phrases

• 浩大 vast · huge
• 浩瀚 vast · immense
• 浩荡 vast · mighty
• 浩气 noble spirit

Read the story behind the character

We describe a 浩大 (vast, huge) construction project and gaze at the 浩瀚 (vast, immense) star field on a camping trip. A 浩荡 (vast, mighty) crowd marches in a festival, and we honor a martyr's 浩气 (noble spirit) that, though centuries old, still feels enormous and unbroken today.

Why this character belongs on skin

Beyond the wave and the pool lies the open expanse, the water without shore or end that the eye cannot close—this is 浩, the vast, the grand, the magnitude that humbles and enlarges at once. The ancients used it for flood and firmament alike, for any greatness too large for the hands. A man of 浩 spirit is one whose character has room in it, who meets the world with a breadth that cannot be cornered. Confucius spoke of the vast sea of learning; the Dao of the boundless. To be marked by this is to refuse the small life, to claim an interior as wide as weather. Let the ink spread where it pleases, a quiet declaration of scale. It says you are not a puddle. You are the great water, and whatever enters you is met with depth.