The Calligrapher — Wèi Qīwú 魏栖梧

Tang calligrapher of regular script, follower of the Chu Suiliang style.

Tang calligrapher (), master of regular script — known for 《善才寺碑》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

泻 means water rushing out fast; the 說文 gives to pour forth. The river 一泻千里 in Han fu praising the great currents. Rain 倾泻 on the roof in summer storms. The word later named the body's sudden, unwelcome 泻 (discharge).

Common words & phrases

• 腹泻 diarrhea
• 倾泻 pour down
• 泻药 laxative
• 一泻千里 flows powerfully

Read the story behind the character

Spoiled street food gave him 腹泻 (diarrhea) overnight. The waterfall 倾泻 (pours down) into the green pool. She took 泻药 (a laxative) before the scan. The river 一泻千里 (flows powerfully) after the typhoon. A broken pipe 泻 (poured) water across the kitchen floor.

Why this character belongs on skin

When the sluice is opened there is no more holding back, the water hurls itself down the stair of the mountain, white and absolute. 泻 is that rush, the downpour, the unrestrained release. Where 泄 leaks, 泻 plunges; it is the cataract, the torrent of feeling or words that will not be dammed. The Daoists might warn of excess, but the body knows the glory of the spill, the relief of the thing finally moving at full speed. To bear 泻 on your skin is to honor the moments you stopped being careful. Let it run like the fall it names, a long line down the back where no one sees until they do. The water does not apologize for its velocity.