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

The form was a board with a flap, 凡, the common and the every. The histories call a man 凡人, a mortal among lords. A 平凡 life was one without office. The 凡例 opened a book with its rules of use. To be 凡 was to stand in the mass the annals rarely named.

Common words & phrases

• 平凡 ordinary · common · mediocre
• 非凡 extraordinary · outstanding · remarkable
• 凡是 every · all · whatever
• 凡人 ordinary person · mortal · commoner
• 凡例 general notes · preface notes · guide

Read the story behind the character

A life is 平凡 and content; the deed is 非凡, worth a line. The rule says 凡是 born here must register. The 凡人 queues like the rest. The 凡例 tells the reader how to read. The word means plain and all — the common ground beneath the rare and the named.