Semi-cursive script

Semi-cursive script is a partially cursive style of Chinese calligraphy.

Semi-cursive script
Chinese characters of "Semi-cursive Script" in regular script (left) and semi-cursive script (right).
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	行書
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xíngshū
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 and by its Mandarin Chinese name, xíngshū, it is derived from clerical script, and was for a long time after its development in the first centuries AD the usual style of handwriting.

Some of the best examples of xingshu calligraphy can be found in the work of Wang Xizhi (321-379) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

To people not familiar with the Chinese characters as they are printed in books and newspapers, this cursive writing may seem impossible to decipher. Not so for the literate Chinese. By using the order of strokes clearly visible on the character, a literate person familiar with the characters can guess what the character really is.

As is true with most alphabets, usually the most messy script writing is found in the writings of doctors. ^{[citation needed]}