The Calligrapher — Yǔ Yì 庾翼

Jin general and calligrapher of cursive script who once rivaled Wang Xizhi.

Jin calligrapher (), master of cursive script — known for 与王羲之齐名. Jin dynasty

Cultural Story

The palm, 掌, is also the sole and the hold of power; the old inns had a 掌櫃 who 掌ed the books and the keys. The character is the flat of the hand that both receives coin and runs the house. One surface, two authorities, and the innkeeper's palm that took the traveller's copper also signed, with the same line, the traveller's death if the soup was bad.

Common words & phrases

• 手掌 palm (of hand)
• 脚掌 sole (of foot)
• 掌握 master · grasp · control
• 掌声 applause
• 掌柜 shopkeeper · manager

Read the story behind the character

You clap 掌聲; a man 掌握s the company; a shop has its 掌櫃; the 手掌 types the reply. The innkeeper is a CEO now. The flat of the hand is the same, whether it strikes applause, grips a ledger, or simply sends the message that runs the day, and the CEO's palm is only the innkeeper's, holding a phone instead of a key.

Why this character belongs on skin

Open your hand and look: five lines the palmists read like scripture, the place where grip becomes gift. 掌 is the palm, and it is also to hold, to control—the 一手掌握 of a thing held entirely in hand, the 掌舵 of the helmsman whose wrist decides the ship's fate. A 掌珠, a pearl in the palm, is a cherished daughter. Martial artists strike with the 掌, power flowing through softness; the sandalwood fan snaps shut in a 掌声, a round of applause. Everything in this character is about possession perfected by tenderness: the firm hold that does not bruise. Fortune-tellers claim fate is written in this exact skin. Whether or not you believe them, the gesture is old and true—the lover's palm against your cheek, the coin pressed into a palm, your whole life folded small enough to hold. Ink it on the hand itself and let the sign become the thing it names.