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

During the Warring States era the zhu hou, the many feudal lords, carved the realm into rival courts that hired wandering advisers by the score. The character zhu gathers and multiplies, turning one into all, as in zhu zi, the various masters of the Hundred Schools who argued in the markets of Qi and Lu. To say zhu wei today is still to face a room and count every person present.

Energy Reading

Metal (金)

Comparative symbology, not fortune-telling.

Common words & phrases

• 诸位 everyone · ladies and gentlemen · all of you
• 诸多 many · various · numerous
• 诸侯 feudal lords · princes · vassal rulers
• 诸如 such as · like · for example
• 诸君 gentlemen · everyone · you all
• 诸子 various masters · philosophers · the Hundred Schools

Read the story behind the character

A moderator opens the panel with zhu wei, addressing everyone in the hall, then lists zhu duo problems the committee has yet to solve. He points to cases zhu ru the late filings and excuses, and cites the ancients as xian zhu. The character zhu still does its old gathering work, collecting the many into a single respectful sweep of the eye.