燧
(bound form) material or tool used to light a fire by means of friction or the sun's rays; (bound form) beacon fire (alarm signal in border regions), esp. one lit during daytime to produce smoke
Closest English meanings
flint·beacon fire
The Calligrapher — Zhào Zhīqiān 赵之谦
Qing pioneer who fused seal-script vigor into every style.
Qing calligrapher (), master of 篆隶/running script — Qing eclectic who fused seal, clerical and painting sensibilities into one bold hand. Qing dynasty
Cultural Story
燧 means flint and beacon fire. The Zhouli tells of officials tending 烽燧 beacon towers that smoked by day and burned by night to warn of raids. Primitive fire-making used 木燧 a drilled wood stick, and 燧石 flint struck sparks that lit the hearth. For millennia 燧 was survival itself, the kept flame, the signal across the dark, the first technology of warmth.
Common words & phrases
- 燧石 flint
- 烽燧 beacon fire · beacon tower
- 木燧 wood drill for fire
Read the story behind the character
History buffs know 烽燧 as the beacon-fire towers of the Great Wall, smoke by day and flame by night. Campers strike 燧石 flint to light a fire without matches, just as ancestors did. We still say a small spark becomes a great 燧, and survival shows teach the 木燧 fire-drill as the original human invention of fire.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhào Zhīqiān 赵之谦, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.