Basic types of calligraphy fonts

The so-called calligraphy font is also the classification of calligraphy style. Traditionally, China calligraphy fonts are roughly divided into seal script, official script, cursive script, running script and regular script. However, in each category, it is divided into several sub-categories. For example, seal script is divided into big seal script and small seal script, regular script is divided into Weibei and Tang style, and there are two heavenly kings and thin gold style. Let's talk about these calligraphy fonts and their characteristics respectively.

Seal character

It is the collective name of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Da Zhuan and Xiao Zhuan. Oracle Bone Inscriptions, 3000 years ago, is the earliest recognizable writing handed down, mainly used for divination. The brushwork is thin and powerful, with many straight lines. There are Fang Bi, round pen and sharp pen, and there are many "hanging needles" for writing. Big seal script refers to inscriptions on bronze inscriptions, bronzes and six-country scripts, which retain the obvious characteristics of ancient hieroglyphics. Xiao Zhuan, also known as "Qin Zhuan", is a commonly used character in Qin State and a simplified font of Da Zhuan, which is characterized by uniform and neat glyphs and is easier to write than Wen Shu.

official script

Han Li, also known as, is a common solemn font in Chinese characters. Its writing effect is slightly wide and flat, the horizontal painting is long and straight, and it is rectangular, paying attention to "silkworm head and goose tail" and "twists and turns". Lishu originated in the Qin Dynasty and was compiled by Cheng Miao, reaching its peak in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Calligraphy is known as "Han Li Tang Kai".

cursive script

It is a writing style for the convenience of writing. "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" says: "There are cursive scripts in Han Xing". The cursive script began in the early Han dynasty, and its characteristics are: keeping the outline of characters, damaging the official rules, rushing away and rushing away quickly. Because of the meaning of grass, it is called cursive script.

Semi-cursive/running/calligraphy (China's calligraphy)

Based on regular script, a font between regular script and cursive script is developed to make up for the slow writing speed of regular script and the illegible cursive script. "Go" means "go", so it is not as scribbled as cursive script, nor as straight as regular script. Whether it is cursive or cursive in essence. Those with more patterns than grass patterns are called "running patterns", and those with more grass patterns are called "running grass".

regular script

Also known as block letters, real books and official books. Li Shu, founded by Cheng Miao, has gradually evolved and become more simplified and level. Ci Hai is interpreted as "square and straight, which can be used as a model." Hence the name regular script. It started at the end of the Han Dynasty and has been popular ever since. The appearance of regular script follows closely Han Li's composition and pursues the further development of formal beauty. During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty, the writing of Chinese characters gradually changed from wave to wave, and became "left" (dot), "sweep" (long left), "peck" (short left) and "lift" (straight hook). Regular script is characterized by neat rules and is a model in fonts, so it is called regular script and has been used ever since.