The Calligrapher — Mǐ Fú 米芾

Song eccentric genius of dynamic, 'flying' running script.

Song calligrapher (1051–1107), master of running script — Song eccentric genius ('crazy Zhang, idiot Mi') whose running script alternates discipline with glee. Song dynasty

Cultural Story

属 shows a tail and 蜀, meaning to connect or belong; the Shuowen gives to join. Things 属于 (belong to) a class, and the 属性 (attributes) of a thing defined it. 亲属 (relatives, kin) were one's connected family, and a 下属 (subordinate) served a lord. 金属 (metal) named a material kind.

Common words & phrases

• 属于 belong to · be part of
• 属性 attribute · property · attribute
• 亲属 relatives · kin · family
• 金属 metal
• 下属 subordinate · underling

Read the story behind the character

The bike 属于 (belongs to) your roommate, and its 属性 (attributes) list the color and size. Your 亲属 (relatives) gather for New Year, and a manager directs a 下属 (subordinate). Engineers test 金属 (metal) strength, and the word links ownership, family, and matter — everything sorted into what it belongs to.

Why this character belongs on skin

属于 — to belong to, to be of a place, a person, a people. 属 is the quiet verb underneath every home we built: the city that finally fit, the table where your name is said with ease, the arms you are certain are yours. So much of a queer life is spent belonging nowhere first — the wrong town, the wrong story, the wrong shape for the rooms we were given. And then one day 属于 stops being a question. You belong to the friend who texts at midnight, to the community that taught you the language of yourself, to the body you finally stopped apologizing for. To wear 属 is to close the case on exile. It says you are claimed, and you claim back. Somewhere is yours. Someone is yours. The long wandering was only the road to this — the belonging you made with your own hands.