xingshu · noun — semicursive or running script used in Chinese calligraphy. It carries an Arena rating of 1315, earned across 195 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, xingshu ranks #1,300 of 17,165 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,456 of 17,195 for Most Exacting Words, #4,682 of 17,162 for Most Elegant Words, #7,515 of 17,166 for Most Vivid Words.
xingshu is pronounced /ˈʃɪŋˈʃu/.
Why “xingshu” is a great word
XINGSHU — [Noun] A semicursive or running script used in Chinese calligraphy, characterized by fluid, abbreviated strokes that maintain legibility. From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 行書 /行书 (xíngshū), from 行 (xíng, 'to walk, to go') + 書 (shū, 'writing, script'), thus literally 'walking script'. Unlike *kaishu*, which stands at formal, printed attention, or *caoshu*, which flies off in an ecstatic sprint, *xingshu* is the brisk, purposeful walk between them. It is the elegant haste of a scholar's personal notes, the structural bones of a character hinted at beneath a silk robe of motion, and the visible trail of a thought outpacing the hand—a legible wake left by a mind in considered transit.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 行書 /行书 (xíngshū).
noun
- Semicursive or running script used in Chinese calligraphy.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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