角
surname Jue; angle; corner; horn; horn-shaped; unit of money equal to 0.1 yuan, or 10 cents (a dime); role (theater); to compete; ancient three legged wine vessel; third note of pentatonic scale
Closest English meanings
horn·angle·corner·role·antler
The Calligrapher — Táng Yín 唐寅
Ming 'Talented' painter-calligrapher of elegant running script.
Ming calligrapher (1470–1524), master of running script — known for 《落花诗册》. Ming dynasty
Cultural Story
On the Peking opera stage a ming jue, a star performer, could fill a theatre on reputation alone; the word jiao se, role, still names the part he plays. Long before that, jiao was the curled horn of an ox, blown as a hao jiao, a battle horn, to rally troops. In the Han court jiao di pitched wrestlers against one another for the emperor's amusement. The character bends from a beast's crown to the shape of every duty we are cast in.
Common words & phrases
- 角落 corner · nook · angle · spot
- 角度 angle · perspective · viewpoint · aspect
- 角色 role · character · part · persona
- 牛角 ox horn · horn · antler · buffalo horn
- 三角 triangle · triangular · corner · three-cornered
- 号角 bugle · horn · trumpet · call
Read the story behind the character
A child reads in the jiao luo, the corner, of a room; a photographer chooses her jiao du, her angle, for the shot; a gamer inhabits a jiao se, a role, online. The herbalist grinds niu jiao, ox horn, for medicine, and a band blows a hao jiao, a bugle, at a ceremony. From a beast's crown to a point of view, the character measures both space and the parts we are given to play.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Táng Yín 唐寅, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.