Regular script
Regular script (; Hepburn: "kaisho"), also called (), ("zhēnshū"), ("kǎitǐ") and ("zhèngshū"), is the newest of the Chinese script styles (popularized from the Cao Wei dynasty c. 200 AD and maturing stylistically around the 7th century). It is the most common style in modern writings and third most common in publications (after the Ming and gothic styles, which are used exclusively in print). It is also the official script used by the government of Taiwan. 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 between the Eastern Hàn and Cáo Wèi dynasties, 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 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, with the most famous and oft-imitated regular script calligraphers of that period being: In the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong  created an iconic style known as "Slender Gold" (). In the Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu is also known for his own calligraphic style for regular script, "Zhaoti" (). In the Qing dynasty, 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: