<p>I would just call it 一笔画 (one stroke).</p>
<p>Because there are some famous arts are called in this way. Like:</p>
<ul>
<li>一笔虎: write the character 虎 in one stroke.</li>
<li>一笔龙: write the character 龙 in one stroke.</li>
</ul>
<p>And the Eulerian path is also called 一笔画问题 (the problem of how to draw a graph with one stroke)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T04:50:00.930Z
+1 Indeed, 一筆劃 is what I've searched for in the hope of finding an interesting font.
Firmin Martin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T13:08:51.753Z
Now that's interesting! Indeed searching 一笔福 actually gives results similar to the image in my post. This can make an excellent starting point for drawing characters satisfying the other (less important) constraints. Thanks a lot!
Aristide
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T01:02:06.780Z
2020-07-30T01:02:06.780Z
元卅 Yuán Sà
<p>Consider this artistic rendering of the 福 (fú, happiness) character:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/aTqE1.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/aTqE1.jpg" alt="The 福 character without lifting the pen" /></a></p>
<p>Four characteristics stand out:</p>
<ol>
<li>The stroke thickness is constant (like in seal script, 篆书).</li>
<li><strong>The brush is never lifted</strong> (pushing to the extreme one tendency of the cursive style, 草书).</li>
<li>The brush never passes twice over the same spot (like in neon signage, as remarked below by Daniel Cheung).</li>
<li>There are no angles.</li>
</ol>
<p>Has this style a name? Are you aware of an online font which would satisfy at least the second constraint?</p>
<p>连书 (lianshu) comes to mind, but this is actually a <a href="https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?define=%E8%BF%9E%E4%B9%A6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">completely different animal</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-26T14:36:22.373Z
與其稱之為寫字，叫畫字比較準確 It’s more accurate to call it drawing instead of writing
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-26T14:46:12.357Z
@TangHo Changed, thanks for the suggestion.
Aristide
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-27T12:41:43.227Z
I personally have never heard of a name for this style as a native Chinese user. I would just say it's a stylistic choice to have the character drawn in just one stroke but still recognizable. The same goes to Latin alphabets. One can find fonts online that does like a neon signage style of one stroke characters. It's just art IMHO.
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-27T13:05:32.037Z
@DanielCheung Yes, the Chinese friends I have asked before hitting Chinese SE didn't know either. Anyway, I would love to see other examples of such drawings. May you point me to these online fonts?
Aristide
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-27T13:06:40.307Z
@Aristide I don't know any of the Chinese fonts, unfortunately.
Daniel Cheung
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-27T15:21:17.127Z
@Aristide [This website](https://www.freechinesefont.com/) has a bunch of Chinese fonts.
Firmin Martin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-27T15:38:02.470Z
@FirminMartin Thanks! At first glance, none satisfies the 2nd constraint, however.
Aristide
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-28T11:30:33.113Z
As a former graphic designer, I would call it 'graphic word design'图形文字设计'
Tang Ho
<terminology><calligraphy><style>
What is the style called where we draw characters without lifting the brush?
# What is the style called where we draw characters without lifting the brush?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-26)

Consider this artistic rendering of the 福 (fú, happiness) character:

[![The 福 character without lifting the pen](https://i.sstatic.net/aTqE1.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/aTqE1.jpg)

Four characteristics stand out:

1. The stroke thickness is constant (like in seal script, 篆书).
2. **The brush is never lifted** (pushing to the extreme one tendency of the cursive style, 草书).
3. The brush never passes twice over the same spot (like in neon signage, as remarked below by username_2 username_2).
4. There are no angles.

Has this style a name? Are you aware of an online font which would satisfy at least the second constraint?

连书 (lianshu) comes to mind, but this is actually a [completely different animal](https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?define=%E8%BF%9E%E4%B9%A6).

**Tags:** terminology, calligraphy, style

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 與其稱之為寫字，叫畫字比較準確 It’s more accurate to call it drawing instead of writing  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Changed, thanks for the suggestion.  
> **username_2**: I personally have never heard of a name for this style as a native Chinese user. I would just say it's a stylistic choice to have the character drawn in just one stroke but still recognizable. The same goes to Latin alphabets. One can find fonts online that does like a neon signage style of one stroke characters. It's just art IMHO.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 Yes, the Chinese friends I have asked before hitting Chinese SE didn't know either. Anyway, I would love to see other examples of such drawings. May you point me to these online fonts?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 I don't know any of the Chinese fonts, unfortunately.  
> **username_3**: @username_0 [This website](https://www.freechinesefont.com/) has a bunch of Chinese fonts.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 Thanks! At first glance, none satisfies the 2nd constraint, however.  
> **username_1**: As a former graphic designer, I would call it 'graphic word design'图形文字设计'  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-07-30. Score: 3

I would just call it 一笔画 (one stroke).

Because there are some famous arts are called in this way. Like:

* 一笔虎: write the character 虎 in one stroke.
* 一笔龙: write the character 龙 in one stroke.

And the Eulerian path is also called 一笔画问题 (the problem of how to draw a graph with one stroke)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: +1 Indeed, 一筆劃 is what I've searched for in the hope of finding an interesting font.  
> **username_0**: Now that's interesting! Indeed searching 一笔福 actually gives results similar to the image in my post. This can make an excellent starting point for drawing characters satisfying the other (less important) constraints. Thanks a lot!  

---

