→Computer encoding: The section is ridiculous, mostly focusing on a general decrying of loss of proficient in calligraphy and on it as a whole instead of just the semi-cursive style - and anyway, for such a massive cultural shift, shouldn't there be more sources or a piece from a sociological article or something? I'll incorporate the
In works written using semi-cursive script, the size of each character can vary greatly with each other. Where works of the regular script are usually written in the same size, semi-cursive characters can be arranged to achieve “rhythm and balance” artistically. To preserve this rhythm and balance, most semi-cursive and cursive works are written in vertical columns from right to left, despite the adoption of the Western standard in Chinese texts, writing in rows from left to right.<ref name=":1" />
== Computer encoding ==
In China, as well as the countries in which Chinese character calligraphy is imported to, the art form and its various styles of writing have suffered a decline in practitioners.<ref name=":3" /> This decline is due to the appearance of other [[Writing implement|writing tools]] besides the writing brush, such as the pen and pencil. Although there are schools that teach students how to write with the brush, the time spent on the topic is not sufficient, with pencils and pens remaining as the main writing tool. The loss of interest in writing is further attributed by the introduction of typing Chinese characters on the [[computer]].<ref name=":3" />
With the uprising of typing technologies, calligraphy practitioners are faced with the possibility of calligraphy culture dying out. As a method to counteract this, Fenghui Yao, Guifeng Shao and Jianqiang Yi, specialising in computer science and robotics, have developed a robotic arm that can replicate significant calligraphic works.<ref name=":3" /> A database containing the methods to write over 29000 Chinese characters was created, including works created using the semi-cursive style. As the semi-cursive style requires special attention paid to the stroke order and the beginning and end of each stroke, to produce a “hairspring” connecting consecutive strokes.<ref name=":2" /> Hairsprings are the fine brush strokes generated and are an important in semi-cursive script as it display the direction of the stroke, where they are coming from and where they are going.
Another method, known as the “track and point set”,<ref name=":2" /> uses a set of coordinates to obtain a specific “point” to outline the skeleton of the Chinese character to be written. This method allows the distinguishing between the regular script and semi-cursive script. The speed of the writing brush is controlled by an algorithm. The angle and thickness of the hairsprings and warping of the strokes produced are vital in producing the natural and flowing characteristics of the style. The method had also been successful in producing different kinds of hairsprings, including hairsprings at the end of a stroke, curving hairsprings and the joining and bending of the strokes. <ref name=":2" />
