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

糜 is gruel gone utterly soft — rice boiled past all form — and by extension anything rotted or squandered. 糜烂 describes festering sores and rotten morals; 糜费 is the wasteful spending historians pin on decadent courts. And the bitter line 何不食肉糜 — why not eat meat porridge — came from Emperor Hui of Jin, told of starving peasants.

Common words & phrases

• 糜烂 rotten · erosive
• 糜费 wasteful · extravagant
• 肉糜 meat paste · minced meat
• 糜粥 congee · gruel

Read the story behind the character

糜烂 survives in hospitals and gossip columns: ulcerated tissue in reports, a 糜烂 lifestyle in reviews. Historians still quote Emperor Hui's 何不食肉糜 whenever an official seems oblivious — the meme-ready ancient line about porridge. Auditors reach for 糜费 to name squandered budgets, though 浪费 does the everyday work.