Song typeface

Name

The names Song (or Sung) and Ming correspond to the Song dynasty when a distinctive printed style of regular script was developed, and the Ming dynasty during which that style developed into the Ming typeface style. In Mainland China, the most common name is Song (the Mainland Chinese standardized Ming typeface in Microsoft Windows being named SimSun). In Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, Ming is prevalent. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, "Song typeface" (宋体) has been traditionally used, but "Ming typeface" (明體) has gained popularity since the advent of desktop publishing (the Traditional Chinese standardized Ming typeface in Microsoft Windows being named MingLiU). Some type foundries use "Song" to refer to this style of typeface that follows a standard such as the Standard Form of National Characters, and "Ming" to refer to typefaces that resemble forms found in the Kangxi Dictionary.