Fangsong

Fangsong
Traditional Chinese	仿宋體
Simplified Chinese	仿宋体
Literal meaning	imitation Song style
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin fǎngsòng tǐ
Alternative Japanese name
Kanji	宋朝体
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn sōchōtai

Fangsong (or Imitation Song) is a style of typeface for Chinese characters modeled after that used in Lin'an during the Southern Song dynasty. Fangsong is a type of regular script typeface, and the standard used in official documents produced by the Chinese government,^[1] and civil drawings in both China and Taiwan.

The char­ac­ters 仿宋體 written in a modern fangsong typeface

Characteristics

Characteristics of imitation Song typefaces include:

• The basic structure of regular script.
• Relatively straight strokes, with horizontal strokes slanting up slightly.
• Low stroke width variation between horizontal and vertical strokes, with strokes usually being relatively thin.
• Overall geometrical regularity.

History

A page of a publication from Chén zhái shūjí bù

The printing industry that began during the Tang dynasty reached an apex in the Song dynasty, during which there were three major areas of production:^[2]

• Zhejiang, where publications imitated the regular script of Ouyang Xun
• Sichuan, where publications imitated the regular script of Yan Zhenqing
• Fujian, where publications imitated the regular script of Liu Gongquan

When Song lost control of northern China to the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), its capital was moved to Lin'an (modern Hangzhou), where there was a revival of printing, especially literature from Tang left in what was conquered by the Jin dynasty. Many publishers were established in Lin'an, including Chén zhái shūjí bù (陳宅書籍鋪) established by Chen Qi (陳起),^[2] from which publications used a distinct style of regular script with orderly, straight strokes. Modern typefaces of this style are classified as imitation Song typefaces.

Imitation Song in computing

See also: List of CJK fonts § Imitation Song

References

1. "党政机关公文格式 GB/T 9704—2012" (PDF) – via 上海交通大学.
2. "漢字書体の歴史" [History of Kanji Typefaces]. Kinkido Type Laboratory (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2023-11-30. Retrieved 2024-02-20.