为
为 (wéi) — to do, to become, as. Pictograph of a hand leading a beast (originally 爲). Classical life: 无为 — 'non-action' (Daoism); 为 means to act or become. Grammar: verb (often needs context) — also: as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); because of; for; to
Closest English meanings
for·to be·do·act as·become
The Calligrapher — Wáng Xīzhī 王羲之
The 'Sage of Calligraphy'; his running script has set the standard for 1,700 years.
Eastern Jin calligrapher (303–361), master of running script/cursive script/regular script — the Sage of Calligraphy; his Orchid Pavilion Preface is the most celebrated work in the tradition, and nearly every later master traces lineage to his hand. Eastern Jin dynasty
Cultural Story
為 showed a hand leading an elephant, to act, to make, to be. The 論語 asks 為政, how to govern; the 道德經 answers 無為, do nothing and nothing is left undone. 為 is the busiest verb in the classical tongue, the hinge between intention and deed. A hand on the great beast became the word for every kind of doing, from ruling a state to boiling rice.
Energy Reading
Earth (土)
Comparative symbology, not fortune-telling.
Common words & phrases
- 为了 for · for the sake of · in order to
- 因为 because · since · as · for
- 成为 become · turn into · grow into
- 作为 as · as a · regard as · act as
- 行为 behavior · conduct · action · deed
- 为人 conduct · behavior · as a person
Read the story behind the character
为了 the kids, 因为 the rain, 成为 the thing you did not plan. 作为 is the title on your badge; 行为 the word the shrink and the judge use; 为人 what the eulogy quietly assesses. The character is pure function, cause, purpose, transformation. You speak it constantly without seeing the elephant anymore; it has worn smooth into the connective tissue of every sentence that explains why or what something became.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Wáng Xīzhī 王羲之, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.