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

可 meant worthy, and then could. Bai Juyi's old charcoal seller stood in thin clothes -- "可怜身上衣正单" -- pitiable, and yet he feared the cold would fail and the price fall. The word carried the turn of feeling toward another's state. 可以 granted permission; 可怜 granted sorrow. It was the hinge between ability and regard.

Common words & phrases

• 可以 can · may
• 可是 but
• 可爱 cute · lovely
• 可能 possible · maybe
• 可靠 reliable
• 可惜 pity · unfortunately

Read the story behind the character

A 可爱 cat sleeps on the desk; the forecast says it 可能 rain. A friend proves 可靠 through the long job; the missed train is 可惜 but the next comes soon. The word runs the day's permissions and regrets -- the cuteness, the chance, the trust, the pity. It opens a sentence to possibility and closes it on a feeling, from the pet to the lost seat.