The Calligrapher — Zhào Gòu 赵构

Southern Song emperor and prolific patron of running-script calligraphy.

Song calligrapher (1107–1187), master of regular script/running script — known for 《草书洛神赋》. Song dynasty

Cultural Story

檠 was the lampstand that held a candle or oil lamp upright through the night. The Shuowen reads it as a tray-like support, and poets loved the 短檠 short lampstand of the poor scholar burning late over his books. Han Yu wrote that the two-foot 短檠 was both convenient and bright, a humble tool of diligence. To tend a 灯檠 was to keep learning, or love, alive against the dark.

Common words & phrases

• 灯檠 lampstand
• 短檠 short lampstand

Read the story behind the character

Today 檠 is mostly literary, but it still glows in memory: a period drama shows a maid trimming the 灯檠 lampstand, a poet recalls the 短檠 short lampstand of his student years, and a museum displays a bronze 檠. Though we flick a switch now, the character evokes every late night of study and every small light kept burning, a quiet emblem of persistence against the dark.