Eight Principles of Yong

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Eight Principles of {{transliteration|zh|Yong}}}}

{{Short description|Demonstration of CJK character strokes}}

{{infobox|bodystyle=font-size:smaller;background:#fff;

| image = 150px150px

| caption = The character {{zhi|c=永|p=yǒng|l=forever', 'permanence}}: its stroke order animated (left) and colored sequentially from black to red (right)

| image2 = 300px

| caption2 = The strokes numbered: where there are multiple numbers in an area, the strokes overlap briefly and continue from the previous number to the next.

| image3 = File:8 strokes of 永-zh.svg

| caption3 = The strokes together and separated: sequence numbers, and stroke directions (red)

}}

{{Infobox Chinese

| showflag = c

| c = 永字八法

| p = Yǒngzì Bā Fǎ

| w = Yung³tzu⁴ Pa¹ Fa³

| j = Wing5zi6 Baat3 Faat3

| h = Yúnsṳ̀ Pat Fap

| tl = Íngjī Pat Huat

| qn = Vĩnh tự bát pháp

| chuhan = 永字八法

| kanji = 永字八法

| kana = えいじはっぽう

| romaji = Eiji happō

| hangul = 영자팔법

| hanja = 永字八法

| rr = Yeongjapalbeop

}}

The Eight Principles of Yong are used by calligraphers to practice how to write the eight most common strokes in regular script, using the fact that they are all present in the character {{zhi|c={{linktext|永}}|p=yǒng|l=forever', 'permanence}}. It was believed that the frequent practice of these principles as such when beginning one's study could ensure beauty in the Chinese calligrapher's writing.

The Eight Principles are influenced by the Eastern Jin-era Seven Powers ({{zhi|c=七勢}}) by Lady Wei Shuo. Publications on the principles include:

• The Tang-era Praise to the Eight Principles of "Yong" ({{zhi|c=永字八法頌}}) by Liu Zongyuan{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Zongyuan |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B8%E5%AD%97%E5%85%AB%E6%B3%95%E9%A0%92 |title=永字八法颁 |series=全唐文 |volume=0583 |language=zh |script-title=zh:Yǒngzìbāfǎ sòng|trans-title=Praise to the Eight Principles of "Yong"}}
• The Tang-era Praise to the Eight Principles of "Yong" ({{zhi|c=永字八法頌}}) by Yan Zhenqing{{Cite book |last=Yan |first=Zhenqing |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B8%E5%AD%97%E5%85%AB%E6%B3%95%E9%A0%8C |title=永字八法颂 |series=全唐文 |volume=0338 |language=zh |script-title=zh:Yǒngzìbāfǎ sòng|trans-title=Praise to the Eight Principles of "Yong"}}
• The Yuan-era Eight Ways to Explain "Yong" ({{zhi|c=永字八法解}}) by Li Puguang,{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Puguang |title=永字八法解 |language=zh |script-title=zh:Yǒngzìbāfǎ jiě |trans-title=Eight Ways to Explain "Yong"}} which provides two-character metaphorical names