Regular script (; Hepburn: ''kaisho''), also called (), (''zhēnshū''), (''kǎitǐ'') and (''zhèngshū''), is the newest of the Chinese script styles (popularized from the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

and

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

styles, which are used exclusively in print).

History

The ''Calligraphy Manual of Xuanhe Era'' (; Xuānhé Shūpǔ) credit Wáng Cìzhòng () with creating Regular script based on Clerical script in the early Western Hàn. This script came into popular usage between the Eastern Hàn and Cáo Wèi dynasties,Qiú 2000 p. 143 and its first known master was Zhōng Yáo (; sometimes also read Zhōng Yóu), who lived in the Eastern Hàn to Cáo Wèi period, c. 151–230 CE. He is also known as the "father of regular script", and his famous works include the ''Xuānshì Biǎo'' (), ''Jiànjìzhí Biǎo'' (), and ''Lìmìng Biǎo'' (). Qiu Xigui describes the script in Zhong's ''Xuānshì Biǎo'' as: However, other than a few literati, very few wrote in this script at the time; most continued writing in neo-clerical script, or a hybrid form of semi-cursive and neo-clerical. Regular script did not become dominant until the early Southern and Northern Dynasties, in the 5th century; there was a variety of regular script which emerged from neo-clerical as well as from Zhong Yao's regular script, known as "

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

regular" (, Wèikǎi) or "Wei stele" (, Wèibēi). Thus, regular script has parentage in early semi-cursive as well as neo-clerical scripts. The script is considered to have matured stylistically during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, with the most famous and oft-imitated regular script calligraphers of that period being: * Four great calligraphers of the early Tang (): *:

Ouyang Xun Ouyang Xun (; 557–641), courtesy name Xinben (), was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, and writer of the early Tang dynasty. He was born in Hunan, Changsha, to a family of government officials; and died in modern Anhui province. Achievements ...

() *: Yu Shinan () *:

Chu Suiliang Chu Suiliang (596–658), courtesy name Dengshan, formally the Duke of Henan, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor during the reigns of the emperors Taizong and Gaozong in the Tang dynasty. He became i ...

() *:

Xue Ji Xue Ji (; 649 – July 29, 713), courtesy name Sitong (嗣通), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and politician of the Tang dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. He was considered one of the four greatest ...

() * "Yan–Liu" ("") *: Yan Zhenqing () *: Liu Gongquan () In the Northern Song dynasty, Emperor Huizong created an iconic style known as "Slender Gold" (). In the Yuan dynasty,

Zhao Mengfu Zhao Mengfu (; courtesy name Zi'ang (子昂); pseudonyms Songxue (松雪, "Pine Snow"), Oubo (鷗波, "Gull Waves"), and Shuijing-gong Dao-ren (水精宮道人, "Master of the Water Spirits Palace"); 1254–1322), was a Chinese calligrapher, pa ...

is also known for his own calligraphic style for regular script, "Zhaoti" (). In the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, the ninety-two rules for the fundamental structure of regular script are established, calligrapher wrote a guidebook to illustrate these rules, each rule has four characters for sample.

Name

In addition to its many names in Chinese, regular script is also sometimes called "block script", "standard script" (alternate translation of ) or even "square style" in English.

Characteristics

Regular script characters with width (or length) larger than 5 cm (2 in) is usually considered larger regular script, or dakai (), and those smaller than 2 cm (0.8 in) usually small regular script, or xiaokai (). Those in between are usually called medium regular script, or zhongkai (). What these are relative to other characters. The Eight Principles of Yong are said to contain a variety of most of the strokes found in regular script. Notable writings in regular script include: * ''The Records of Yao Boduo Sculpturing'' () during the Southern and Northern dynasties * The Tablet of Guangwu General () during the Southern and Northern dynasties * The Tablet of Longzang Temple () of the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and la ...

* ''Tombstone-Record of Sui Xiaoci'' () of the Sui dynasty * ''Tombstone-Record of Beauty Tong'' () of the Sui dynasty * Sweet Spring at Jiucheng Palace () of the

Derivatives

Imitation Song typeface Imitation Song is a style of Chinese typefaces modeled after a type style in Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty. They are technically a type of regular script typeface. It is the standard typeface used in official government documents texts in ...

s () are typefaces based on a printed style which developed in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

, from which

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

typefaces developed. * The most common printed typeface styles

and

sans-serif In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called " serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than s ...

are based on the structure of regular script. * The Japanese textbook typefaces (; Hepburn: ''kyōkashotai'') are based on regular script, but modified so that they appear to be written with a

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a tra ...

or pen. They also follow the standardized character forms prescribed in the

Jōyō kanji The is the guide to kanji characters and their readings, announced officially by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Current ''jōyō kanji'' are those on a list of 2,136 characters issued in 2010. It is a slightly modified version of the '' t ...

. *

Zhuyin Fuhao Bopomofo (), or Mandarin Phonetic Symbols, also named Zhuyin (), is a Chinese transliteration system for Mandarin Chinese and other related languages and dialects. More commonly used in Taiwanese Mandarin, it may also be used to transcribe ...

characters, although not true Chinese characters, are virtually always written with regular script strokes.

In computing

References

Citations

Sources

* Qiu Xigui (2000). Chinese Writing. Translation of by Mattos and Norman. Early China Special Monograph Series No. 4. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies,

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. .

External links

Regular Script "tao te king" CHAPTER LVII

In English, at BeyondCalligraphy.com {{Writing systems Writing systems Chinese script style Logographic writing systems Chinese characters