The font "Liang Dian" can be considered an experimental extension of the philosophy followed by Chinese characters. As the saying goes, when the ink brush tip hits the paper, it is a point, and all other strokes are extensions of this point. For example, when the brush goes to the right, it forms a horizontal, and when the brush goes down, it forms a vertical. The "Liang Dian" is based on this argument (Liao, 71). The shape of the dot in calligraphy can be clearly seen in the starting strokes of the apostrophe and the lift. The vertical lines start with a point; the beginning of the stroke is light, agile, and euphemistic, passing by in a single stroke, adding ease and agility to the character. The vertical hooks staccato out of the peaks leave traces of dots. The horizontal strokes start lightly and heavily end, from which a balanced combination of speed and weight can be observed. The dots and strokes echo each other as if there is an invisible line connecting them, which emanates a sense of calligraphic beauty. Like the frame to a fine painting, the overall structure of the character is square and even.

In general, this font is not like the Song font which uses a lot of monotonous straight strokes and lacks a sense of dynamic beauty, but it is an elegant font suitable for modern reading, as it uses curves and retains some calligraphic nature while ensuring easy readability, striking the perfect balance.

*Picture : A sample of the font Liang Dian.

Works Cited

Liao, Jielian. CHINESE TYPOGRAPHER 中國字體設計人：一字一生. Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press, 2012.