fēi bái·flying white·Top 35%词

Etymology

Compound word
Structure
fēi · to fly; swiftlyPictogram
A bird in flight: the body borne upward on a long rising stroke, a wing beating out to the side and a feather trailing.
bái · white; in vain; freeRebus (phonetic loan)
An upraised thumb — the thick first of the fingers, its tip or nail marked at the top. (Minority readings: an acorn, or a human head.)
Interpretation
flying whiteA compound, not a polyseme — 飛 (flight) + 白 (the bare white of the paper): the streaks of blank paper a fast, dry brushstroke leaves.

Sources: Wiktionary 飛白 · 维基百科：飞白 · Dong Chinese

Visualization

An ink-wash painting of a swallow in flight beside a single thumb, set side by side — the fly (飞) and the white (白) of 飞白 (flying white), a calligraphy stroke.
飛白飛白飞白
1300 BCE1046 BCE256 BCE22058190712791368164419122026
first use
商Shang
周Zhou
秦Qin
汉Han
六朝Six Dyn.
隋Sui
唐Tang
宋Song
元Yuan
明Ming
清Qing
现代Modern
  1. 飛白Clerical script (隶书) · representative form178first use 维基百科：飞白 ↗
  2. 飛白Regular script (楷书) · representative form700
  3. 飞白Modern standard form2026

Poetry