尹
尹 (yǐn) — to govern; a surname. Pictograph of a hand holding a rod of office. Classical life: 尹 is an ancient office-title and a surname. Grammar: free morpheme — also: surname Yin; (literary) to administer; to govern; (bound form) governor; prefect; magistrate (official title in imperial times)
Closest English meanings
Yin (surname)·govern·prefect·to rule
The Calligrapher — Zhào Mèngfǔ 赵孟頫
Yuan master whose elegant regular and running script revived classical tradition.
Yuan calligrapher (1254–1322), master of regular script/running script/cursive script — Yuan reviver of classical elegance who could write any script beautifully and did. Yuan dynasty
Cultural Story
尹 shows a hand holding a staff of office, meaning to govern or rule; the Shuowen gives to govern. The 令尹 (chief minister of Chu) was a mighty post, and a 府尹 (prefect) ran a capital district. The 尹氏 (Yin clan) appears in the Zuozhuan, and a 道尹 (circuit intendant) administered under the empire.
Energy Reading
Earth (土)
Comparative symbology, not fortune-telling.
Common words & phrases
- 尹氏 the Yin clan · Yin family · Yin clan
- 府尹 prefect · magistrate · prefectural chief
- 令尹 prime minister (ancient Chu) · chief minister · chief minister
- 道尹 circuit intendant (old) · tao-yin · circuit official
Read the story behind the character
The 尹氏 (Yin clan, Yin family) reunion fills a hall, and history notes the 令尹 (prime minister of ancient Chu) who advised kings. A 府尹 (prefect, magistrate) kept old cities in order, while a 道尹 (circuit intendant) managed a region. The surname 尹 still passes down, a small echo of ancient rule.
Why this character belongs on skin
The oldest form of 尹 shows a hand holding a staff—the rod of office, the administrator's baton. Three thousand years ago it named the ministers of the Shang kings: Yi Yin, a cook who rose from the kitchen to govern a dynasty and is still honored as the ancestor of all ministers, proof that the way to a kingdom runs through attention to ordinary craft. Confucius built his entire curriculum on this figure—the person who governs first by governing themselves, rectitude flowing downward like water finding level. Authority, in this character, is not the crown but the hand on the staff: steady, serviceable, grip warm from use. It belongs to someone who has been trusted with things—people, money, nights, secrets—and did not squander the trust. If command sits naturally on you without strutting, 尹 is your blazon. Ink it on the shoulder, where the yoke rests and the staff begins.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhào Mèngfǔ 赵孟頫, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.