The Calligrapher — Wú Jū 吴琚

Song running-script master famed for closely emulating Mi Fu.

Song calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 学米芾. Song dynasty

Cultural Story

深 pictures water so still and far it hides the bottom; the Shijing speaks of 深情 (deep feeling) between kin, and Zhuangzi of deep knowledge. Scholars praised a 深刻 (profound) line of verse, while a minister governed 深入 (thoroughly) among the people. 深夜 (deep night) lamp-light meant the examiner still reading petitions.

Common words & phrases

• 深刻 profound · deep · penetrating
• 深入 deep · thorough · in-depth
• 深情 deep feeling · deep love
• 深厚 deep · profound · solid
• 深夜 late at night · deep night
• 深浅 depth · shade · measure

Read the story behind the character

At 深夜 (late night) he texts his 深情 (deep love) goodnight, and the essay makes a 深刻 (profound) point about loss. The 深厚 (deep, solid) friendship survives every move, while you test the 深浅 (depth) of the pool with a stick. She 深入 (thoroughly) researches before buying the phone.

Why this character belongs on skin

Shēn is the well at midnight, the love that keeps a second meaning under the first, the night that does not end at the window but goes on down into the earth. It means deep, profound — the water with no measure, the feeling with no bottom. The poets called a faithful love 情深, feelings deep; they called a man's learning 学深, knowledge that does not show its floor. To be shēn is to resist the shallow, to refuse the surface the age demands. Christians speak of the deep things of God; the Daoist points to the deep pool and says the sage lives there, unseen. Wear shēn and you tell the world you are not a puddle. There is a dangerous allure in depth — it promises you will not be finished quickly. Let this character lie over your heart like a closed door to a deep room. It says some part of you was built to go down, and down, and the right soul will not be afraid of the dark on the stairs.