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

可 meant worthy, and then could. Bai Juyi's old charcoal seller stood in thin clothes -- "可怜身上衣正单" -- pitiable, and yet he feared the cold would fail and the price fall. The word carried the turn of feeling toward another's state. 可以 granted permission; 可怜 granted sorrow. It was the hinge between ability and regard.

Common words & phrases

• 可以 can · may
• 可是 but
• 可爱 cute · lovely
• 可能 possible · maybe
• 可靠 reliable
• 可惜 pity · unfortunately

Read the story behind the character

A 可爱 cat sleeps on the desk; the forecast says it 可能 rain. A friend proves 可靠 through the long job; the missed train is 可惜 but the next comes soon. The word runs the day's permissions and regrets -- the cuteness, the chance, the trust, the pity. It opens a sentence to possibility and closes it on a feeling, from the pet to the lost seat.