The Calligrapher — Sū Língzhī 苏灵芝

Tang running-script master and prolific stele-writer, ranked with Li Yong and Yan Zhenqing.

Tang calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 《易州铁像颂》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

Mencius pressed King Hui: 'who can unify the realm?' — 孰能一之 — and answered, the ruler who spares life. The 'Analects' asks 孰为夫子, which is the master? The graph set a board with cooked grain, 'what is done,' and turned into the question word who or which in debate.

Common words & phrases

• 孰与 which is
• 孰若 which is better
• 孰知 who knows
• 孰能 who can

Read the story behind the character

Editorials still reach for 孰能 when asking who can save a failing firm, and 孰知 opens reflective essays on loss. The word is rare in speech, surviving in rhetorical questions and translated quotations, a classical hinge that lets a writer sound both ancient and certain.