The two characters literally mean the different parts of a plant, namely, its root and its foliage. The extended meaning is an important concept in Chinese philosophical discourse. The term can be understood in three different ways. 1) Ben (本) refers to what is fundamental or essential, while mo (末) means what is minor or incidental, two qualities…

This genre of writing was used by officials to report important matters or present personal views to the emperor. Zou (奏) here means “a reminder to the throne,” i.e., a statement of an administrative matter plus a clear-cut view on how to handle it. Qi (启) here means “a candid view on state business.” The former should be prudent, insightful…

Regular script is one of the scripts of Chinese characters, also known as “proper script,” “true script,” or “model script.” To reduce the curviness and waviness of Han Dynasty clerical script, rectify the undisciplined and unregulated cursive script, facilitate writing and enhance intelligibility, calligraphers shifted toward a simpler style …

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