Characters in running script.

By Jiang Yuxia

A collection of 3,830 Chinese characters in running script has been compiled by calligrapher Li Ronghai and published by the People's Fine Arts Pub-lishing House.

To standardize the usage of Chinese characters and promote Chinese calligraphy, Li, director of Chinese Artists Association, spent a year collect-ing and writing characters and has now included them in A Collection of Characters in Running Script in Common Use.

Calligraphy is an art dating back thousands of years. Turning square Chinese characters into expressive images, the traditional art is still widely practiced throughout China today.

Running script is one category of cursive script, which is characterized by sketchy, simplified forms of characters, often distorted or exaggerated to achieve an internal rhythmic appearance.

While traditional Chinese culture has been confronting the impact of modern culture, the publication of such a book can help promote and develop Chinese calligraphy, said Xia Chao, an official with China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, at the book's release ceremony in Beijing recently.

The book can be used as a standard for calligraphy events and appreciated as examples of excellent calligraphy as well, he added.

Li, founder of Caozhou Painting and Calligraphy Academy in Shandong Province, is known for his running script and traditional Chinese bird and flower paintings. During a lifetime of studying and practice, he has formed his own style featuring balanced and decorative elements.