Semi-cursive script

Semi-cursive script (Chinese: 行書; pinyin: xíngshū) is a semi-cursive style of writing Chinese characters. Because it is not as abbreviated as cursive script, most people who can read regular script can read semi-cursive. It is useful when one wants to write quickly and is also a form of calligraphy.

Semi-cursive script
Type	Logographic
Languages	Old Chinese, Middle Chinese, Modern Chinese
Time period	Han Dynasty to present
Parent systems	Oracle bone script Seal script Clerical script Cursive script Semi-cursive script
Child systems	Regular script Zhuyin Simplified Chinese Chu Nom Khitan script Jurchen script Tangut script
Unicode range	4E00–9FFF, 3400–4DBF, 20000–2A6DF, 2A700–2B734, 2F00–2FDF, F900–FAFF

Semi-cursive script
Chinese characters of "Semi-cursive Script" in regular script (left) and semi-cursive script (right).
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	行書
Simplified Chinese	行书
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin xíng shū Bopomofo ㄒㄧㄥˊ ㄕㄨ Wu Romanization ghaon平 sy平 Hakka Romanization hang11 su24 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping hang4 syu1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ hâng-su
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	1. hành thư 2. chữ hành
Hán-Nôm	1. 行書 2. 𡨸行
Korean name
Hangul	행서
Hanja	行書
Transcriptions Revised Romanization haengseo
Japanese name
Kanji	行書
Kana	ぎょうしょ
Transcriptions Romanization gyōsho

Also referred to in English both as running script[1] and by its Hanyu Pinyin name, xíngshū, it is derived from clerical script, and was for a long time after its development in the 1st centuries AD the standard style of handwriting.

Some of the best examples of semi-cursive can be found in the works of Wang Xizhi (321–379) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.