New Version Hard Pen Xinhua Calligraphy Dictionary

Author: Gu Gan et al.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: November 1, 1989
Features: To meet the needs of in practicing and appreciating calligraphy, we have compiled this 《》. A single dictionary includes nearly 10,000 characters, all written in various hard-tip styles. Each character is presented in four traditional styles: regular script, cursive script, clerical script, and seal script. For variant characters commonly used in daily life, in addition to these four standard styles, we have also included diverse and size-varied variants. Sometimes, a single character can be transformed into over a dozen different styles. In the variant calligraphy, there are pictographic styles inherited from thousands of years ago in oracle bone script, new styles evolved from traditional calligraphy (regular, cursive, clerical, and seal scripts), as well as modern calligraphy that blends the characteristics of painting and calligraphy, offering richer artistic expression. The various calligraphic styles range from stable structures to dynamic lines, presenting a dazzling array of fascinating charm.
In this dictionary, the regular script is written exclusively in simplified characters, while certain traditional characters and variant forms are omitted. However, cursive script, clerical script, seal script, and variants are written in both simplified and traditional characters, as these styles cannot be fully expressed in simplified characters, especially seal script, which is particularly inconvenient to write in simplified form. Therefore, the same character may appear in both simplified and traditional forms in regular, cursive, clerical, seal, and variant scripts.
To facilitate readers in identifying calligraphic styles and appreciating calligraphy based on character meanings, this dictionary follows the arrangement of 《》. All standardized characters included in 《》 can be found on the corresponding pages of this dictionary, along with their various regular and variant calligraphic styles.
All characters in this dictionary are annotated with Pinyin pronunciations and arranged in Pinyin order. For characters with multiple pronunciations, to avoid repetition, they are generally recorded only once in the Pinyin index.
For ease of reference, an index of Pinyin order and an index of radical forms are compiled at the beginning of the book. These indexes are specific to this dictionary. Generally, Pinyin is based on the standard pronunciation, and radicals are based on simplified regular script, excluding all possible pronunciations and calligraphic styles of the included characters.
The calligraphy in this dictionary is written by winners of national hard-tip calligraphy competitions. The cursive script is by Zhang Xuguang, regular script by Lu Zhongnian, clerical script by Yuan Qiang, and seal script by Zé Bóyáng. Additionally, there are size-varied and style-diverse variants, mostly written by Zhang Xuguang, with supplementary contributions by Gu Gan.
At the end of the dictionary, an appendix titled 《》 by the calligrapher Zhang Xuguang is included for readers to reference when learning and appreciating hard-tip calligraphy. This dictionary is the most comprehensive hard-tip calligraphy dictionary in China to date, featuring the largest number of characters and the most complete range of calligraphic styles.