Eight Principles of Yong

The Eight Principles of Yong are used by calligraphers to practice how to write the eight most common strokes in regular script, using the fact that they are all present in the character Template:Zhi. It was believed that the frequent practice of these principles as such when beginning one's study could ensure beauty in the Chinese calligrapher's writing.

The Eight Principles are influenced by the Eastern Jin-era Seven Powers (Template:Zhi) by Lady Wei Shuo. Publications on the principles include:

• The Tang-era Praise to the Eight Principles of "Yong" (Template:Zhi) by Liu Zongyuan
• The Tang-era Praise to the Eight Principles of "Yong" (Template:Zhi) by Yan Zhenqing
• The Yuan-era Eight Ways to Explain "Yong" (Template:Zhi) by Li Puguang, which provides two-character metaphorical names

Table

Template:Transliteration principles (stroke components) by stroke order

Principle			Pinyin abbr.	Name				Additional description
				Tang-era	Li	Modern Chinese	Vietnamese
1	File:D black.png	Template:Bigdiv	D	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi		Tiny dash, speck
2	File:H black.png	Template:Bigdiv	H	Template:Lang-zh	Template:Lang-zh	Template:Lang-zh		Rightward
3	File:S black.png	Template:Bigdiv	S	Template:Ubl	Template:Zhi	Template:Ubl		Downward
4	File:G black.png	Template:Bigdiv	G	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi		Appended to others, suddenly going down, or left only
5	File:T black.png	Template:Bigdiv	T	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi	Template:Ubl		Flick up and rightwards
6	File:W black.png	Template:Bigdiv	W	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi		Tapering thinning curve, usually concave left (convex outward right) with fast speed as if skimming
7	File:P black.png	Template:Bigdiv	P	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi	Template:Ubl		Falling leftwards with light curve
8	File:N black.png	Template:Bigdiv	N	Template:Zhi	Template:Zhi	Template:Ubl		Falling rightwards, fattening at bottom, where endpoint is "sharp as a knife"

CJK strokes

In addition to these eight common strokes in Template:Zhi, there are at least two dozen strokes of combinations which enter in the composition of CJK strokes and by inclusion the CJK characters themselves. Most strokes are encoded in Unicode as symbols, to be used in ideographic description sequences (IDS). The standard characters names assigned in the UCS for these CJK strokes are based on initials of the modern Chinese names (romanized with Pinyin) of component principles with which they are recognized and drawn.

Gallery

• The principles, as shown in the Vietnamese book Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (1851), with their individual strokes
  The principles, as shown in the Vietnamese book (1851), with their individual strokes
• A section in Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (1848), explaining the concept of the Eight Principles of Yong
  A section in (1848), explaining the concept of the Eight Principles of Yong
• The Eight Principles of Yong depicted the calligraphy book, Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (1869)
  The Eight Principles of Yong depicted the calligraphy book, (1869)

See also

• CJK characters
• CJK strokes