Chinese symbol for PEACE in clerical style

Clerical style evolved in the Qin dynasty,. In general, characters are often “flat” in appearance, being wider than they are tall. The strokes may appear curvy, and often start thin and end thick. Most noticeable is the dramatically flared tail of one dominant horizontal or downward-diagonal stroke, especially that to the lower right. This characteristic stroke has famously been called ‘silkworm head and wild goose tail’ in Chinese due to its distinctive shape.

The archaic Clerical Style of the Warring States period to Qín and early Hàn Dynasties can often be difficult to read for a modern East Asian person, but the mature Clerical Style of the middle to late Hàn dynasty is generally legible. Modern works in the Clerical Style tend to use the mature, late Hàn style, and may also use modernized character structures, resulting in a form as transparent and legible as Regular (or standard) Style. The Clerical Style remains common as a typeface used for decorative purposes (for example, in displays), but it is not commonly written.