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

The Jin dynasty worthy Shan Jian loved his wine so well that the children of Xiangyang sang of him reeling home, 酩酊 and knowing nothing, from the revels at the GaoYang pool. The 酩酊 was the deep, laughing fall past care, a local song's joke on a fond official. From that riverside verse the character kept the picture of a man wholly given over to the cup.

Common words & phrases

• 酩酊 dead drunk · intoxicated
• 酩酊大醉 dead drunk · very intoxicated

Read the story behind the character

An emergency report notes a driver found 酩酊大醉 at the wheel, and a festival poster warns against the same excess beside the beer tent. The 酩 now prints on a citation and a caution sign. The character that once closed a Jin official's merry evening now opens a police file and a safety leaflet, the deep drunk carried from a riverside song into the language of the road.

Why this character belongs on skin

酩酊—to be gloriously, completely drunk. The character keeps the wine jar 酉 and adds a syllable that means darkness, so the whole word is wine closing the eyes. Poets built their legend on this state: Li Bai, who asked the moon to drink with him and claimed the whole river when he leaned down to embrace its reflection. But 酩 is also 酩酊大醉的麻醉—the daze, the blur, the hour when judgment loosens its grip and what is really wanted says itself. Every tradition knows both the danger and the sacrament: wine that gladdens, wine that unmakes. This character holds the hinge between them. Ink it for the nights that taught you who you are when the guard is down—beautifully, instructively down—and keep the lesson, lose the headache.