Semi-cursive script

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Semi-cursive script

Semi-cursive script is a partially cursive style of Chinese calligraphy.

Also referred to in English both as running script and by its Mandarin Chinese name, xíngshu, it is derived from clerical script

Clerical script

The clerical script , formerly also Chancery hand script, is an archaic style of Chinese calligraphy which evolved in the Warring States period to Qin dynasty, was dominant in the Han dynasty, and remained in use through the Cao Wei-Jin Dynasty periods....
, and was for a long time after its development in the first centuries AD the usual style of handwriting.

Some of the best examples of xingshu calligraphy can be found in the work of Wang Xizhi

Wang Xizhi

Wang Xizhi was a Chinese calligrapher, traditionally referred to as the Sage of Calligraphy .Born in Linyi, he spent most of his life in the present-day Shaoxing....
(321

321

Events...
-379

379

Events...
) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

To people not familiar with the Chinese characters as they are printed in books and newspapers, this cursive writing may seem impossible to decipher.

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Clerical script

Wang Xizhi

Wang Xizhi was a Chinese calligrapher, traditionally referred to as the Sage of Calligraphy .Born in Linyi, he spent most of his life in the present-day Shaoxing....
(321

321

Events...
-379

379

Events...
) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

To people not familiar with the Chinese characters as they are printed in books and newspapers, this cursive writing may seem impossible to decipher. Not so for the literate Chinese. By using the order of strokes clearly visible on the character, a literate person familiar with the characters can guess what the character really is.

As is true with most alphabets, usually the most messy script writing is found in the writings of doctors.