1. Xiaozhuan
After Qin Shihuang unified China (221 BC), he implemented the policy of "writing with the same text and carriages with the same track" and unifying weights and measures. Prime Minister Li Si was responsible for this , based on the large seal script originally used by the Qin Dynasty, it was simplified, canceled the other six kingdoms scripts, and created a unified Chinese character writing form. It was popular in China until the end of the Western Han Dynasty (about 8 AD), and was gradually replaced by official script.
But because of its beautiful font, it has always been favored by calligraphers. And because its strokes are complex, its form is ancient, and twists and turns can be added at will, seals were carved in seal script, especially official seals that required anti-counterfeiting, until the fall of the feudal dynasty and the emergence of new anti-counterfeiting technology in modern times.
2. Official script
Official script, including Qin Li, Han Li, etc., is generally believed to have developed from seal script. The characters are mostly wide and flat, with long horizontal strokes and short vertical strokes. "Silkworm head and wild goose tail", "twists and turns".
According to the unearthed slips, the official script was founded in the Qin Dynasty. It is said that Cheng Miao was the official. The Han official script reached its peak in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It inherited the tradition of seal script and opened up the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. It played an important role in the calligraphy of later generations. Although his influence is underestimated, he is known as "Han Li Tang Kai" in calligraphy circles.
3. Cursive script
Cursive script has two meanings: broad and narrow. Broadly speaking, regardless of age, all scrawled words are counted as cursive writing. In a narrow sense, that is, as a specific font, it was formed in the Han Dynasty and evolved on the basis of official script for the convenience of writing.
About the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in order to distinguish it from the new cursive script at that time. The cursive script of the Han Dynasty is called Zhangcao. The new cursive script is relatively called Jincao, which is divided into big grass (also called crazy grass) and small grass. It feels beautiful in the madness.
4. Regular script
Regular script is also called Zhengkai, Zhenshu, and Zhengshu. It gradually evolved from the official script and became more simplified, horizontal and vertical. "Cihai" explains that it has "a square shape and straight strokes, which can be used as a model." This kind of Chinese character font is correct and is the modern traditional handwritten Chinese character.
5. Running script
Running script is a general term for calligraphy, which is divided into two types: running regular script and running cursive script. It was developed on the basis of regular script and is a font between regular script and cursive script. It was created to make up for the slow writing speed of regular script and the difficulty of identifying cursive script.
"行" means "walking", so it is not as sloppy as cursive script, nor as straight as regular script. In essence, it is the cursiveization of regular script or the regularization of cursive script.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Xiaozhuan
Baidu Encyclopedia - Official Script
Baidu Encyclopedia - Cursive Script
Baidu Encyclopedia - Regular Script
Baidu Encyclopedia - Running Script