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

桐 is the paulownia, the 梧桐 that the phoenix alone is said to perch on — so a pair of 梧桐 by a court was a wish for auspicious arrival. Its wood makes the best qin, the seven-stringed zither. 桐油, from the tung tree, sealed every junk and umbrella. The character is music and weatherproofing in one timber.

Common words & phrases

• 梧桐 phoenix tree · Chinese parasol
• 桐油 tung oil · wood oil
• 桐树 tung tree · paulownia tree
• 泡桐 paulownia · empress tree
• 桐木 paulownia wood · tung wood
• 油桐 tung oil tree · varnish tree

Read the story behind the character

桐 is the tree and the finish: 梧桐 the phoenix-tree of a Shanghai side street, 泡桐 the fast giant with purple bells, 桐油 the amber varnish on a boat. 桐木 is the light wood of a guitar soundboard. The character is the instrument's body and the waterproof coat, the tree that sounds and seals a hull.

Why this character belongs on skin

The phoenix will not settle on just any branch; she waits for the paulownia, the tung tree with leaves like spreading hands, and only there does her fire come to rest. 桐 is that tree — the one worth the bird's trust. There is a Confucian patience in being the wood others choose for the qin, the instrument that sings when struck. To tattoo 桐 is to confess you would rather be the tree the rare thing lands on than the crowd of lesser timber. It is worth without applause. Let it lie along your spine or your ribs, the quiet trunk beneath the wings you are waiting for. You are the standing wood. The fire, when it comes, will know your name, and settle, and make of your stillness a music no lesser branch could hold.