Eight-Script Book Common 5000 Characters Calligraphy Book

Author: Compiled by the Editorial Department
Publisher:
Publishing Date: April 1, 2004
Features: "The 5,000 Common Characters Manuscript in Eight Scripts," a comparative calligraphy manual featuring regular script, running script, cursive script, clerical script, semi-cursive script, bamboo and silk script, small seal script, and large seal script. It also includes a simplified-traditional regular script comparison and collects nearly 5,000 common single-character forms. The calligraphers are experts with extensive research in specific scripts and have individually published calligraphy manuals, making this book suitable for beginners as well. Most modern calligraphy manuals published today have specific content and limited character counts, failing to meet the needs of a broad readership. Particularly for cursive script and seal script, which have been established over a thousand years with unique structural and writing rules, they cannot be arbitrarily created. Additionally, ancient stele and rubbing collections of seal script and cursive script, though diverse in style, are often mixed with both refined and inferior works, making it difficult for beginners to grasp them. A relatively standardized script reference is necessary. Moreover, even those with some calligraphy foundation may need a concise and easily searchable dictionary-style tool to avoid memory errors and misspellings. Therefore, this multi-script "5,000 Common Characters Manuscript" was created.
This book originated from the "Common Characters Manuscript in Five Scripts" series, which was published intermittently starting in 1978. By 2000, it had been reprinted 27 times, with nearly five million copies printed, and was widely favored by calligraphy enthusiasts. Considering many readers requested the addition of semi-cursive script, bamboo and silk script, and large seal script to enrich the "Common Characters Manuscript," we invited Mr. Tong Wei from Beijing, Mr. Chen Jiangong from Xi'an, and Mr. Guo Ruyu from Shanghai to contribute. During the editing process, we thoroughly reviewed the original manuscript, made minor corrections to non-standard parts, and completely reorganized it to present a new version to calligraphy enthusiasts.
The book features nearly 5,000 common characters, presented in eight-script comparison (regular script, running script, cursive script, clerical script, bamboo and silk script, small seal script, and large seal script), along with a simplified-traditional regular script comparison. The calligraphers are renowned experts, making this book suitable for both practicing calligraphy and as a reference tool.
The book originated as the "Common Characters Manuscript in Five Scripts," published in 1987, which was reprinted 27 times by last year, with nearly five million copies sold and widely welcomed by calligraphy enthusiasts. For this edition, we added bamboo and silk script, semi-cursive script, and large seal script, revised the original manuscript, and completely reorganized it. The new version is released in two volumes, hardcover, and is expected to be well-received by enthusiasts.