The Calligrapher — Shì Yànxiū 释彦修

Five Dynasties monk whose cursive follows Zhang Xu, seen in his Luoyang poems stele.

Five Dynasties calligrapher (), master of cursive script — known for 《草书诗》. Five Dynasties period

Cultural Story

Shuowen: 百 is ten tens, the first summit of the counting-rod scribes. In bronze inscriptions 百 named the many clans serving a lord — the original 百姓, "hundred surnames," meaning the official families. The Analects watches the 百工, the hundred crafts, plying their trade in the market; strategists dreamed of 百战百胜.

Common words & phrases

• 百分之 percent · per cent
• 百姓 common people · citizens · folks
• 百货 general merchandise · department store
• 百年 century · hundred years · a hundred years
• 百分 hundredth · percent · cent

Read the story behind the character

Prices quote 百分之 (percent) in every contract; mall directories promise 百货 (department-store) everything under one roof. Couples toast 百年 (a hundred years) of harmony at weddings, kids recite 百鸟朝凤 in class, and politicians of every era still bow to 老百姓 — the ordinary folks who outnumber every palace.