In Chinese calligraphy, what is the term for holding the brush with the wrist lifted off the table?

In Chinese calligraphy, holding the brush with the wrist lifted off the table is called a suspended wrist, or xuanwan (悬腕/懸腕).

The technique frees the wrist from the tabletop so it can guide the brush more fluidly. It is especially useful for medium and large characters, running script, and cursive writing, where the brush must travel farther and change direction quickly. The raised wrist also helps the writer coordinate movement through the fingers, wrist, elbow, and arm rather than relying on finger motion alone.

Beginners commonly confuse xuanwan with tiwan, or “lifted wrist.” In tiwan, the wrist is raised but the elbow remains supported on the table; in the stricter meaning of xuanwan, both wrist and elbow are suspended. Another contrasting method is zhenwan, in which the wrist rests on the table, a position suited to very small characters. English translations vary, but “suspended wrist” is the standard canonical term for xuanwan.