The Calligrapher — Zhào Yōng 赵雍

Yuan calligrapher son of Zhao Mengfu, famed for his running script.

Yuan calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 赵孟頫之子. Yuan dynasty

Cultural Story

斓 appears almost only in 斑斓, 'bright and mottled.' The Zhuangzi loves the 斑斓 tiger and the pied bird; the Tang poet the 斑斓 brocade. It is a word of pure adornment, color laid in stripes for delight. Alone it is shy; paired it glows. The eye is meant to linger on the weave and the wing.

Common words & phrases

• 斑斓 gorgeous · bright-colored · multicolored

Read the story behind the character

斑斓 is the feather in the nature doc and the 螺蛳粉 bowl's chillies. You will not meet 斓 alone — it is a suffix of splendor, stubbornly attached to 斑. The word sells the tourism poster and the silk scarf, color as excess, the gorgeous clutter that no single hue could carry by itself. The eye lingers; the single color cannot.