The Calligrapher — Xuē Jì 薛稷

Tang regular-script master of gentle, rounded elegance.

Tang calligrapher (649–713), master of regular script — known for 《信行禅师碑》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

侣 is the mate. The 楚辞 speaks of 伴侣 on a river journey; 僧侣 walk the monastery's cold stones at dawn. Lovers are 情侣 by the West Lake. To be 侣 is to travel beside, not behind. The character pairs the lone self with another who shares the road.

Common words & phrases

• 伴侣 companion · partner
• 情侣 lovers
• 僧侣 monks · clergy
• 侣伴 companion

Read the story behind the character

A dating app matches 情侣 for the weekend; a hiker finds a 伴侣 for the trail north. The 僧侣 chant in the temple before light, and a post seeks a 侣伴 to split the fare. Companionship — romantic, monastic, or simply shared — is what this quiet word gathers and names.

Why this character belongs on skin

侣 is the one who walks the long road beside you — 伴侣, the partner in the journey of life, not the one the ledger assigned but the one you found. The old hermits spoke of 仙侣, companions in transcendence, two people who chose each other past the edge of the ordinary world. You know this choosing. The friend who became family, the lover who became home, the person who read your silences and stayed. We build our lives from these deliberate bonds, from people who saw the real shape of us and said yes. 侣 is not given by blood or by law first; it is given by presence, by the thousand small turnings toward. Wear it near the place your hand rests when you sleep. It is a vow written small: I am not alone on the road, and neither are you.