Chinese Calligraphy Writing Technique and Practice

Strokes[edit]

Main article: Stroke (CJK character)

Character components can be further subdivided into strokes. The strokes of Chinese characters fall into eight main categories: horizontal (一), vertical (丨), left-falling (丿), right-falling (丶), rising (lower element of 冫), dot (、), hook (亅), and turning (乛, 乚, 乙, etc.).[21]

There are eight basic rules of stroke order in writing a Chinese character:

1. Horizontal strokes are written before vertical ones.
2. Left-falling strokes are written before right-falling ones.
3. Characters are written from top to bottom.
4. Characters are written from left to right.
5. If a character is framed from above, the frame is written first.
6. If a character is framed from below, the frame is written last.
7. Frames are closed last.
8. In a symmetrical character, the middle is drawn first, then the sides.

These rules do not strictly apply to every situation and are occasionally violated.[22]

From wiki: Written Chinese - Wikipedia