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 Odes name the 商埠 where bronze and salt changed hands; the Tang opened 埠头 on theGrand Canal where grain boats tied and unloaded. A 船埠 was the stair to the water. The character is earth and a landing — the step where goods and travelers met the river.

Common words & phrases

• 商埠 trading port
• 船埠 ferry wharf
• 埠头 wharf · dock

Read the story behind the character

:The old 商埠 is a warehouse district now. The 船埠 takes the island ferry. The 埠头 fills at the morning tide. A 埠 on the canal handles the coal. The 埠 closes when the water drops. A vendor waits at the 埠 for the late boat.

Why this character belongs on skin

At the edge of the water the stones are worn smooth by every foot that stepped off and every foot that stepped on, and the harbor holds them both without preference. A port is where the known shore ends and the unknown current begins, the threshold the traveler crosses with a full heart. The character rests on the earth radical because even the place of departure is ground we stand on. Homer sent his heroes from such shores, and the monks sailed from such shores to carry a quiet faith across the sea. To ink it is to honor every leaving and every return that made you who you are. It is the mark of one who has boarded the boat and come back changed. Wear it where the pulse is nearest, the port you carry inside, always half facing home and half facing the horizon.