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

座 is the seat of honor, and the 座右銘 the line a man like 崔瑗 kept carved at the right of his desk to scold him gently each morning. The character is a place claimed and kept — a mountain, a temple, a chair no one else may take.

Common words & phrases

• 座位 seat
• 讲座 lecture
• 座谈 forum · discussion
• 一座 a - measure word for mountains/buildings
• 座右铭 motto

Read the story behind the character

座位 is the window you grabbed on the train, 讲座 the talk a department tweets about, 一座 the counter you drop before a bridge or a block of flats. The motto has moved to the phone lock screen, but the seat and the count of things that sit still remain.