中国书法习惯上分为正、草、隶、篆四体。正书指楷书、魏碑；草书指狂草、大草、小草、章草；介于草正之间的则是行书；隶书主要用于抄写公文，后用于书写碑刻与摩崖石刻；篆书则是甲骨、钟鼎、石鼓及小篆的总称。
篆书
篆书是古老的汉字字体，分为大篆和小篆。大篆包括甲骨文、金文等，甲骨文是殷商时期刻在龟甲和兽骨上的文字，主要用于占卜，其线条刚硬、质朴，具有很高的历史研究价值。金文是铸刻在青铜器上的铭文，相比甲骨文，线条更加粗壮、圆浑，结构也更为规整。小篆是秦始皇统一六国后推行的标准字体，由丞相李斯等人整理简化而来，它的线条粗细均匀，字体呈长方形，结构对称平衡，给人以规整、严谨的美感。篆书的笔画线条具有很强的装饰性，笔画多为粗细均匀的线条，书写时讲究中锋用笔，使线条圆润饱满。其结构较为规整对称，通过对笔画的巧妙安排，体现出一种古朴、庄重的美感，犹如古代建筑般沉稳大气。
草书
草书形成于汉代，是为了书写更加快捷而演变出来的字体。它在隶书和楷书的基础上，对笔画进行了大幅度的简化和连笔处理。草书可分为章草、今草和狂草。章草保留了隶书的一些笔法特点，笔画之间有明显的波磔；今草在章草的基础上进一步简化和流畅化，笔画连绵，书写更加自由；狂草则是草书的极致表现，笔画肆意挥洒，字形变化多端，充满了激情和创造力。草书最大的特点是笔画的连贯性和流畅性，书写时笔势如行云流水，一气呵成。它的笔画形态丰富多样，粗细、长短、疏密变化无常，通过笔画的巧妙组合和变化，展现出一种灵动、奔放的艺术风格。草书在结构上相对自由，常常打破常规的字形结构，通过笔画的穿插、呼应来营造出独特的空间感和节奏感。同时，草书也非常注重书写者的情感表达，书法家在书写过程中可以将自己的情绪、心境融入其中，使作品具有强烈的个性色彩。
楷书
楷书也叫正楷、真书，其形成于汉末，历经魏晋南北朝的发展，在唐代达到成熟。它是由隶书演变而来，进一步简化了隶书的笔画和结构，使字形更加规整、方正。楷书的出现，使汉字的书写更加规范化、标准化，成为后世印刷字体的主要蓝本。楷书的笔画规整、严谨，每一笔都有明确的起笔、行笔和收笔动作。笔画粗细变化相对较小，注重笔画之间的平衡和对称。其结构方正，重心平稳，各个部分之间比例协调，给人以端庄、稳重的感觉。楷书的书法家众多，风格也各具特色，如颜真卿的楷书丰腴雄浑，欧阳询的楷书严谨险峻等。
隶书
隶书产生于秦代，在汉代达到鼎盛。它是在篆书的基础上演变而来的，为了书写更加简便快捷，将篆书的圆转笔画变为方折，简化了篆书的结构。隶书的出现是汉字演变过程中的一个重要转折点，它奠定了现代汉字字形结构的基础。隶书的笔画具有典型的特征，如 “蚕头燕尾”，即起笔处如蚕头般圆润，收笔处似燕尾般上扬，这种笔画形态使隶书字体显得古朴而灵动。它的结构较为扁平，左右舒展，给人以宽博、大气的感觉。同时，隶书在书写时注重笔画之间的呼应关系，虽然笔画形态相对规整，但整体上却不失灵动之美。
Chinese calligraphy is traditionally divided into four styles: regular, cursive, clerical and seal script. Regular script refers to kaishu (standard script) and weibei (tablet inscriptions of the Northern Dynasties). The cursive script includes kuangcao (wild cursive), dacao (big cursive), xiaocao (small cursive) and zhangcao (ancient cursive). The running script lies between the cursive and regular scripts. The clerical script was mainly used for transcribing official documents at first and later for inscribing on tablets and cliff carvings. Seal script is the general term for oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, stone drum inscriptions and small seal script.
Regular Script
Regular script, also known as kaishu or zhenshu, took shape at the end of the Han Dynasty. After developing through the Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it matured in the Tang Dynasty. It evolved from the clerical script, further simplifying the strokes and structures of the clerical script, and making the glyphs more regular and square. The emergence of the regular script made the writing of Chinese characters more standardized and became the main blueprint for printing fonts in later generations. The strokes of the regular script are regular and rigorous, with clear starting, moving, and ending actions for each stroke. The variation in stroke thickness is relatively small, and emphasis is placed on the balance and symmetry among strokes. Its structure is square with a stable center of gravity, and the proportions among different parts are well coordinated, giving people a solemn and steady feeling. There are numerous calligraphers of regular script, and their styles each have their characteristics. For example, Yan Zhenqing’s regular script is plump and vigorous, while Ouyang Xun’s is rigorous and precipitous.
Cursive Script
Cursive script took shape in the Han Dynasty. It is a font that evolved to write more quickly. Based on the clerical script and regular script, it greatly simplifies the strokes and uses continuous strokes. Cursive script can be divided into zhangcao, jincao (modern cursive), and kuangcao. Zhangcao retains some brushwork characteristics of the clerical script, with obvious waves and turns between strokes. Jincao further simplifies and makes the writing smoother based on zhangcao, with continuous strokes and more freedom in writing. Kuangcao is the ultimate manifestation of cursive script, with strokes flowing freely and the shapes of characters changing in various ways, full of passion and creativity. The most prominent feature of cursive script is the coherence and fluency of strokes. When writing, the momentum of the brush is like flowing clouds and running water, completed in one go. The forms of its strokes are rich and diverse, with changes in thickness, length and density being unpredictable. Through the ingenious combination and variation of strokes, it shows a lively and unrestrained artistic style. In terms of structure, cursive script is relatively free, often breaking the conventional glyph structures, and creating a unique sense of space and rhythm through the interpenetration and echo of strokes. Meanwhile, cursive script also attaches great importance to the emotional expression of the writer. Calligraphers can integrate their emotions and moods into the process of writing, making their works strongly personalized.
Seal Script
Seal script is an ancient Chinese character font, divided into large seal script and small seal script. Large seal script includes oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, etc. Oracle bone inscriptions are characters carved on tortoise shells and animal bones during the Yin and Shang Dynasties, mainly used for divination. Their lines are rigid and simple, having high historical research value. Bronze inscriptions are inscriptions cast on bronze wares. Compared with oracle bone inscriptions, their lines are thicker, rounder and their structures are more regular. Small seal script is the standard font promoted after Qin Shi Huang unified the six states. It was sorted out and simplified by Prime Minister Li Si and others. Its lines are of uniform thickness, the font is rectangular, and the structure is symmetrical and balanced, giving people a regular and rigorous aesthetic feeling. The stroke lines of seal script have strong decorative features. Most of the strokes are lines of uniform thickness. When writing, it pays attention to using the center of the brush, making the lines round and full. Its structure is relatively regular and symmetrical. Through the ingenious arrangement of strokes, it reflects a simple, solemn and beautiful aesthetic feeling, just like ancient architecture, calm and magnificent.
Clerical Script
Clerical script emerged in the Qin Dynasty and reached its peak in the Han Dynasty. It evolved from the seal script. To make writing easier and quicker, it changed the rounded turning strokes of the seal script into square turns and simplified the structure of the seal script. The emergence of clerical script was an important turning point in the evolution of Chinese characters, laying the foundation for the glyph structure of modern Chinese characters. The strokes of clerical script have typical characteristics, such as the “silkworm head and swallow tail”, that is, the starting part of a stroke is as round as a silkworm’s head, and the ending part is raised like a swallow’s tail. This stroke form makes the clerical script look simple and lively. Its structure is relatively flat, stretching out to the left and right, giving people a broad and magnificent feeling. Meanwhile, when writing the clerical script, attention is paid to the echoing relationship among strokes. Although the forms of strokes are relatively regular, on the whole, it still retains a lively beauty.