A COMPARATIVE APPROACH TO THE EXAMINATION OF CHINESE HANDWRITING .5. QUALITATIVE PARAMETERS

Statistical studies into certain qualitative parameters of a number of selected Chinese characters written by 438 subjects were conducted to establish general principles useful for handwriting examination. Clas sification systems for the qualitative parameters of pen emphasis, con necting strokes, style and chronological sequence have been applied fo r the characterization of certain common radicals and ''bushous'' in C hinese characters. Speed and style were found to have a significant ef fect not only on the pictorial effect but also on certain personal att ributes. The numbers of possible ways of connecting the strokes in a c haracter were also considered to be important. The same features are a pplicable to English handwriting, in spite of the differences in struc ture and writing movements associated with the two languages.