|
Regular
Script The
Chinese written language is read from top to bottom, and from right to left. This
couplet, or two-line poem, was written on a silk fan by a ruler of China, Emperor
Xiaozong, who ruled from 1162 to 1189. Every Chinese character is constructed
within an invisible square. The individual characters of regular script retain
this underlying square shape and balanced structure. Each stroke is discretely
written with the brush raised after each stroke and before beginning another.
Emperor Xiaozong may have chosen this style of script purposely to evoke the stillness
of a pond in the evening, as the couplet reads: |
