The Calligrapher — Shěn Càn 沈粲

Ming calligrapher of the Two Shen known for elegant, flowing cursive script.

Ming calligrapher (), master of cursive script — known for 沈度之弟. Ming dynasty

Cultural Story

環 is a ring or jade circle; the 說文 says '璧属,' a kind of flat jade disc. Ancient 玉环 signaled return and reunion, and 環佩 were the jade rings ladies wore that chimed as they walked. The circle stood for wholeness and the endless turn of the seasons.

Common words & phrases

• 环境 environment · surroundings · setting · conditions
• 环绕 surround · encircle · ring · circle
• 环节 link · segment · stage · part
• 环形 ring-shaped · circular · annular · loop
• 耳环 earring · earrings · ornament · jewelry
• 环保 environmental · eco · green · protection

Read the story behind the character

We worry about our 环境 (environment) and 环保 (eco protection) on the news. A 环形 (ring-shaped) roundabout eases traffic, and roads 环绕 (surround) the lake. Each 环节 (link, stage) of a project must fit, and a 耳环 (earring) completes a holiday outfit with a small shine.

Why this character belongs on skin

A jade ring has no end and no beginning; the ancients wore it as a token that what binds also returns. To encircle is to protect and to enclose, to draw a line around the thing you mean to keep. The word carries the circular, the recurrent, the seasons that come back wearing the same face. Daoist thought is a ring — the way back is the way forward, the wheel that the sage rides without getting on or off. To bear 环 is to accept the loop of your own life: the same lessons, the same loves, returning until you receive them differently. It is a mark of continuity, of the bond that does not break because it has no seam. Let it lie on your skin as a closing circle, a quiet vow that some things in you will always come round. The ring asks nothing but that you stay within it. So stay.