Editing Chinese characters (section)

=== Printing and typefaces ===
{{Further|History of printing in East Asia|East Asian typography}}
[[File:監獄體樣本.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Sample of [[Prison Gothic]], a sans-serif typeface]]
[[Woodblock printing]] was invented in China between the 6th and 9th centuries,{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|2001|pp=146–147, 159}} followed by the invention of [[moveable type]] by [[Bi Sheng]] during the 11th century.{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|2001|pp=201–205}} The increasing use of print during the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] (1368–1644) and [[Qing]] dynasties (1644–1912) led to considerable standardization in character forms, which prefigured later script reforms during the 20th century. This print [[orthography]], exemplified by the 1716 ''[[Kangxi Dictionary]]'', was later dubbed the ''{{tlit|zh|[[jiu zixing]]}}'' ('old character shapes').{{sfn|Yong|Peng|2008|pp=280–282, 293–297}}
Printed Chinese characters may use different [[typeface]]s,{{sfn|Li|2013|p=62}} of which there are four broad classes in use:{{sfn|Lunde|2008|pp=23–25}}
* [[Ming typefaces|Song]] ({{zhi|s=宋体|t=宋體}}) or Ming ({{zhi|s=明体|t=明體}}) typefaces—with "Song" generally used with simplified Chinese typefaces, and "Ming" with others—broadly correspond to Western [[serif]] styles. Song typefaces are broadly within the tradition of historical Chinese print; both names for the style refer to eras regarded as high points for printing in the Sinosphere. While type during the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279) generally resembled the regular script style of a particular calligrapher, most modern Song typefaces are intended for general purpose use and emphasize neutrality in their design.
* [[East Asian Gothic typeface|Sans-serif typefaces]] are called {{zhl|t=黑體|s=黑体|p=hēitǐ|l=black form}} in Chinese and 'Gothic' ({{lang|ja|ゴシック体}}) in Japanese. Sans-serif strokes are rendered as simple lines of even thickness.
* "Kai" typefaces ({{zhi|s=楷体|t=楷體}}) imitate handwritten regular script.
* [[Fangsong]] typefaces ({{zhi|s=仿宋体|t=仿宋體}}), called "Song" in Japan, correspond to semi-[[Script typeface|script styles]] in the Western paradigm.