Shi You (, 48–33 BC) was a Chinese calligrapher,

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

, and writer of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, who served as Director of Eunuch Attendants () under

Emperor Yuan of Han Emperor Yuan of Han (Liu Shi 劉奭; 75 BC – 8 July 33 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. He reigned from 48 BC to 33 BC. Emperor Yuan promoted Confucianism as the official creed of the Chinese government. He appointed Confucius a ...

. He authored the dictionary ''

Jijiupian The ''Jijiupian'' is a Chinese character primer that was compiled by the Han dynasty scholar Shi You around 40 BCE. Similar to an abecedarium, it contains a series of orthographic word lists, categorized according to character radical, and brief ...

'' in 40 BC and is believed to be the inventor of cursive script.

References

{{China-bio-stub 1st-century BC Chinese calligraphers 1st-century BC Chinese writers Han dynasty calligraphers Han dynasty eunuchs Han dynasty writers