Xingshu, 行书, the flowing semi-cursive style, is beautiful and looks almost effortless when done well. That ease is deceptive: it rests entirely on solid mastery of the regular script underneath. So if you want to practise semi-cursive, the honest first step is usually not a xingshu app at all. Here is how to think about it.

What xingshu actually is

Xingshu sits between the careful regular script (楷书, kaishu) and the wild cursive (草书, caoshu). It flows by connecting strokes, softening transitions, and abbreviating where the eye can fill in the gaps. The result is fast, graceful, and personal.

But every one of those connections and abbreviations is a deviation from a character you already know how to write properly. Semi-cursive is not a shortcut around learning characters; it is a fluent performance of characters you have already mastered.

Why regular script comes first

You cannot meaningfully simplify a character you cannot yet write correctly. Xingshu’s flow depends on knowing exactly where each stroke goes, so your abbreviations are informed rather than random. Without a solid foundation in regular-script writing, recalling and producing characters correctly from memory with proper stroke order, semi-cursive becomes guesswork that looks messy rather than elegant.

So the path is: regular-script recall first, then calligraphic development. This is the same point we make about calligraphy proportions and graceful Apple Pencil writing, grace and flow are built on fundamentals.

How to actually learn semi-cursive

Once your regular script is solid:

  • Study models. Semi-cursive is learned by copying good exemplars and internalising how strokes connect.
  • Use a brush or a calligraphy app, since xingshu is a brush-art skill. Dedicated xingshu tools are scarce, so models and practice matter more than software.
  • Develop it as calligraphy, a separate pursuit from learning to write characters, related to learning shufa basics in English.

Where Hanzi Write Practice fits, honestly

Hanzi Write Practice is not a xingshu trainer, and it would be misleading to suggest it teaches semi-cursive style. What it does is build the foundation xingshu requires: producing characters correctly from memory in the regular script, with stroke-order feedback and spaced repetition. Get that solid here, and you have the prerequisite that makes semi-cursive learnable.

Want to write flowing, graceful characters? First make sure you can write them correctly from memory. The flow comes after the foundation, not instead of it.

Join early access and build the regular-script foundation semi-cursive needs.