The Calligrapher — Yán Zhēnqīng 颜真卿

Tang master of robust regular script; co-creator of the enduring 'Yan style'.

Tang calligrapher (709–784), master of regular script/running script — the Tang moral paragon whose upright, muscular regular script became the model of Chinese integrity in writing. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

係 is the traditional 系, a connecting thread. The 關係 between two houses bound a marriage; a letter asks after the 聯繫 with an old friend. In math the 係數 weights one term against another. To write 係 is to knot things together — kin, correspondence, and number in one cord.

Common words & phrases

• 關係 relation · relationship
• 聯繫 contact · connection
• 係數 coefficient · factor

Read the story behind the character

A form asks your 關係 to the applicant; the 聯繫 list fills with old names. The engineer reads the 係數 that weights the term. In the old script the word still ties kin to friend to formula. Connection, contact, and the weight of a variable all sit here, keeping the traditional brush alive beside the simplified one.