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

法 joins water, “to level,” and 廌, a horned beast that gored the guilty; the 說文 tells of punishment made fair like still water. The 法家 built the Qin state on 法律. 法 also means the Buddhist 法, the way beyond the world.

Common words & phrases

• 法律 law
• 办法 method · way
• 方法 method
• 法国 France
• 法官 judge
• 合法 legal

Read the story behind the character

A 法官 (judge) reads the 法律 (law) in court. We need a 办法 (method, way) to fix this. She studies 方法 (methods) for learning faster. He sips wine from 法国 (France) on date night. Only 合法 (legal) businesses get the license to open.

Why this character belongs on skin

At the root of the character stands 廌, the one-horned beast who knows guilt on sight and butts the wrongdoer down — 法 is the law, the way, the Dharma that judges without being told. 法律 is the statute; 佛法 is the Buddha's teaching; both are the same word for what holds the world in order. To live by 法 is to accept a measure larger than your wanting, a path cut before you by something just. The West argues the law; the character bows to the way it reveals. Carry 法 where you meet your conscience, the breast, the brow, the place that decides. Let it mark the order you choose to serve. The ink is the beast's horn drawn on skin, a quiet pull toward the law you answer to, and the freedom of knowing what is right.