The Calligrapher — Péi Xiū 裴休

Tang chancellor and calligrapher; author of the Guifeng Stele in regular script.

Tang calligrapher (), master of regular script — known for 《圭峰碑》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

Along the Grand Canal the cao yun, the grain transport, moved rice north in gunny sacks, ma dai, stacked in the holds of the tribute barges that fed the capital. The humble sack was the unit of empire's pantry, counted by the ten-thousand at the granaries. The character is the container that fed a dynasty.

Common words & phrases

• 口袋 pocket · bag
• 袋子 bag
• 麻袋 gunny sack
• 脑袋 head
• 一袋 a bag of

Read the story behind the character

In a commuter's pocket, koudai, holds keys and a phone, while a market seller hefts a dai zi of rice and a farmer stacks ma dai gunny sacks by the mill. The word naodai names the head, a bag of thought, and a shop sells yi dai of oranges by the door. The character is the holder of everything from grain to mind.

Why this character belongs on skin

A cloth made to hold—grain, coin, the small necessities carried on the back through a long road. The bag is the oldest technology of the traveler, the thing that lets you keep what you need and still move. A monk's pouch held his only possessions; a child's pocket held the treasure no one else would value. To carry a bag is to admit you are passing through and have chosen what to bring. The Daoist travels light; the warrior packs only what he will use. To ink this character is to honor the carrying itself—the burdens you chose, the comforts you kept, the weight that proved you were going somewhere. You are the sack and what's inside it, both. Let it mark the quiet truth that you hold more than you show, that the soft container is often stronger than the hard thing it protects. The ink is your pocket, turned inward, keeping what matters close.