The Calligrapher — Wáng Yì 王廙

Jin calligrapher, uncle and teacher of Wang Xizhi; master of running and cursive script

Jin calligrapher (), master of running script/cursive script/regular script — known for 王羲之叔父. Jin dynasty

Cultural Story

油 is the fat that rises from meat; the 說文 gives oil, grease. Lamp 油 lit the night for scholars. Later 石油 and 汽油 powered the modern age, but the character keeps its old sense of rich, slippery, life-giving fat from the kitchen.

Common words & phrases

• 油画 oil painting
• 汽油 gasoline · petrol
• 酱油 soy sauce
• 加油 refuel · cheer on · add oil
• 石油 petroleum · oil

Read the story behind the character

A painter sells a 油画 (oil painting) at the fair. Dad stops for 汽油 (petrol) on the highway. At dinner we 加油 (cheer on) the team and “add oil” to a tired friend. The cook splashes 酱油 (soy sauce) on noodles; trucks haul 石油 (petroleum) cross-country.

Why this character belongs on skin

Think of the lamp that does not smoke, the hinge that opens without a cry. 油 is the oil, the slick, patient fat of the earth that makes motion possible and light endure. In the old kitchens it was the sheen on a craftsman's hands; in the temples it fed the flame that never slept. To be too smooth was to be slippery with evasion, but the root is generous: oil is what lets the world turn without breaking. A man who carries 油 on his skin knows the value of the unseen lubricant, the grace that looks like ease. Wear it as the warrior wears his oiled blade, prepared, quiet, ready. The light you keep burning is your own. Feed it, and do not explain the cost.