The Calligrapher — Zhèng Xiè 郑燮

Qing 'Eight Eccentrics' master of the whimsical 'six-and-a-half' script.

Qing calligrapher (), master of clerical script/running script — Zheng Banqiao, the 'six-and-a-half-script' eccentric of the Yangzhou school. Qing dynasty

Cultural Story

Kublai Khan raised Dadu, the 大都, on the northern plain and made it the capital of the Yuan, the city we now call Beijing, its axes laid by the astronomer Guo Shoujing. The 古都 drew envoys from across Eurasia to its gates. The character that named a capital of empire also kept the sense of a whole, the 全都 where everything gathered under one roof.

Common words & phrases

• 首都 capital · capital city
• 都市 city · metropolis · urban
• 全都 all · entirely · without exception
• 都会 city · metropolis
• 古都 ancient capital · old capital

Read the story behind the character

A commuter rides the subway beneath a 都市 that never quite sleeps, while a tour bus circles the 古都 and a border officer stamps a visa for the 首都 up north. The 全都 of the nation's news pours across a phone screen at the station. The character now names the metropolis overhead and the capital on a map, the great gathering place of people and power.