CIIC:Today's featured article/June 30, 2010

Caoshu work by Liu Gongquan, a Tang-dynasty calligrapher

Caoshu (cursive hand) is characterized by sketchy, simplified forms of characters, often distorted or exaggerated to achieve an internal rhythmic appearance within the compositions of characters. In theory, any character can be written in the style of caoshu, for instance many course characters appeared in inscriptions on bronze wares. However, caoshu in literature refers to a specific style developed from Qin lishu (official script), formed around the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-25AD) and prevalent in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). (More...)