Category of typefaces
Ming
or
Song
is a category of
typefaces
used to display
Chinese characters
, which are used in the
Chinese
,
Japanese
and
Korean
languages. They are currently the most common style of type in print for Chinese and Japanese. For Japanese text, they are commonly called
Mincho
typefaces.
Name
[
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]
The names
Song
(or
Sung
) and
Ming
correspond to the
Song dynasty
when a distinctive printed style of
regular script
was developed, and the
Ming dynasty
during which that style developed into the Ming typeface style.
[1]
In Mainland China, the most common name is
Song
(the Mainland Chinese standardized Ming typeface in
Microsoft Windows
being named
SimSun
). In
Hong Kong
,
Taiwan
,
Japan
and
Korea
,
Ming
is prevalent. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, "
Song
typeface" (
宋?
) has been traditionally used, but "
Ming
typeface" (
明體
) has gained popularity since the advent of
desktop publishing
(the Traditional Chinese standardized Ming typeface in
Microsoft Windows
being named
MingLiU
). Some
type foundries
[2]
use "Song" to refer to this style of typeface that follows a standard such as the
Standard Form of National Characters
, and "Ming" to refer to typefaces that resemble forms found in the
Kangxi Dictionary
.
Characteristics
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]
Characteristics of Ming typefaces include the following:
- The basic structure of
regular script
- Thick vertical strokes contrasted with thin horizontal strokes
- Triangles at the end of single horizontal strokes, called
uroko
(
鱗
, literally "fish scales") in Japanese, comparable to
serifs
. These are a print analog of the slight dot caused by pausing one's brush (
dun
頓
), the "pause technique", used to reinforce the beginning or ending of a stroke, which is characteristic of
regular script
.
- Overall geometrical regularity
Possessing variable line weight and characteristic decorations at the end of lines similar to
serifs
, this type style is comparable to Western
serif typefaces
, as opposed to
East Asian gothic typefaces
which are comparable to Western
sans-serif
.
Variations
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Often there are different ways to write the same Chinese character; these are collectively referred to as
variant Chinese characters
. Some of the differences are caused by character simplification, while others are purely
orthographic
differences such as stroke styling. The styling of the strokes used in old Ming typefaces came from the style used in the
Kangxi Dictionary
.
[
citation needed
]
In mainland China, the modern standardized character forms are specified in the
List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese
. Some characters in the list differ from the Kangxi forms solely because they are
Simplified
while others differ because they use a different variant or orthography.
In Taiwan, the
Standard Form of National Characters
specifies the modern standardized forms. Unlike the mainland standard, the Taiwan standard uses mostly preexisting character forms but reference back to the style of
regular script
and reform Ming typefaces based on regular script style extensively, which had attracted criticism from many peoples.
[3]
[4]
After the postwar
kanji reforms
in Japan, most of the Kangxi style characters were called
ky?jitai
(old style), while the reformed characters were called
shinjitai
, causing newer dictionaries to either incorporate both styles or omit the Kangxi styles. In Korea, most typefaces use the Kangxi forms.
There are differences between print and script forms of many Chinese characters, just as there are differences between
copperplate
and most people's handwriting. Some of these differences are persistent and specific to a style, but others may be no more significant than variations between individual typefaces. None of these variations usually hinder reading.
History
[
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]
China
[
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]
The
printing
industry from the
Tang dynasty
reached an apex in the
Song dynasty
,
[1]
during which there were three major areas of production:
When Song lost control of northern China to the
Jin (金) dynasty
, its capital was moved to
Lin'an
(modern
Hangzhou
), where there was a revival of printing, especially literature from Tang left in what was conquered by the Jin dynasty. Many publishers were established in Lin'an, including
Chen zhai sh?ji pu
(
陳宅書籍鋪
) established by Chen Qi (
Chinese
:
陳起
),
[1]
from which publications used a distinct style of regular script with orderly, straight strokes. Modern typefaces of this style are classified as
imitation Song typefaces
(
simplified Chinese
:
?宋?
;
traditional Chinese
:
?宋體
). In the
Ming dynasty
, the straightening of strokes in a reprint of a publication from Lin'an started a shift to what became the basis of the Ming style.
[1]
Japan
[
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]
Ming typefaces
(
明朝
,
Minch?
, lit. "
Ming Dynasty
")
are the most commonly used style in print in Japan. There are several variations in use, such as the textbook style and the newspaper style.
The creator of modern Japanese movable-type printing,
Motoki Sh?z?
(or Motogi), modeled his sets of type after those prevailing in China, having learned an electrolytic method of type manufacturing from the American
William Gamble
in 1869. Motoki then created, based on Gamble's frequency studies of characters in the Chinese
Bible
, a full set of type with added Japanese characters; in addition to Chinese and Latin characters, Japanese text uses the syllabaries
hiragana
and
katakana
.
Korea
[
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]
In Korean, a similar category of typefaces for the Korean alphabet
hangul
was called
myeongjo
(the Korean reading for the same Chinese characters "
明朝
") until recently, influenced by the Japanese term. A Ministry of Culture-sponsored standardization of typography terms in 1993 replaced
myeongjo
with
batang
("
바탕
"), the Korean word for "foundation" or "ground" (as opposed to "figure"), and is the current term for the typeface.
Ming typefaces in computing
[
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]
Technically, only
Chinese characters
can be printed in a Ming typeface. However, most modern typefaces (that is, digital typefaces) often also include
kana
glyphs in a matching style, usually in a precise style resembling handwriting with a brush. Modern Ming typefaces also incorporate
Roman type
glyphs for Latin characters, letterlike symbols, and numbers. In its modern role comparable to that of western serif typefaces, both kana and Latin characters are usually part of a complete typeface.
Ming typefaces are used officially by the government of China, Japan and Korea.
See also
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]
References
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]
External links
[
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]
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Handwritten scripts
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Typefaces
| Derived from regular script
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