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TheFangsong script (simplified Chinese:仿宋体;traditional Chinese:仿宋體;lit. 'imitation Song font') is astyle ofserifedtypefaces for displayingChinese characters, modeled after theblock-printed andmovable type works fromLin'an during theSouthern Song dynasty. The script is aprinting-oriented variant derived fromregular script like its earlier sisterSong script, and is identical to the Song script except for much narrowerstrokes with even thickness between horizon and vertical strokes.Fangsong is the standard modernpublication typeface style in official documents issued by theGovernment of the People's Republic of China,^[1] andcivil drawings in bothMainland China andTaiwan.

Characteristics of Fangsong typefaces include:

• The basic structure ofregular script, with overall geometrical regularity
• Relatively straight strokes, with horizontal strokes slanting up slightly.
• Low stroke width variation between horizontal and vertical strokes, with strokes usually being relatively thin.
• Less pronounced triangularserifs at the end of horizontal strokes, sometimes reduced to only a slanted end.

Theprinting industry that began during theTang dynasty reached an apex in theSong dynasty, during which there were three major areas of production:^[2]

• Zhejiang, where publications imitated the regular script ofOuyang Xun
• Sichuan, where publications imitated the regular script ofYan Zhenqing
• Fujian, where publications imitated the regular script ofLiu Gongquan

When Song lost control of northern China to theJin dynasty (1115–1234), its capital was moved to Lin'an (modernHangzhou), where there was a revival of printing, especially literature from Tang left in what was conquered by the Jin dynasty. Many publishers were established in Lin'an, includingChén zhái shūjí bù (陳宅書籍鋪) established by Chen Qi (陳起),^[2] from which publications used a distinct style of regular script with orderly, near-constant-width, straight strokes, simplifying carving forwoodblock printing.

Modern typefaces that imitate this Song Dynasty carving style are called Fangsong, or "imitation Song", typefaces. The first typeface of this kind was produced in 1915 by brothers Ding Shanzhi (丁善之) and Ding Fuzhi (丁辅之), based on block-printed books from the Song dynasty as well as the stroke design in a Qing Dynasty copy ofThe Family Precepts of Mr. Zhu Dailu (朱柏庐先生治家格言) which was block-printed in an imitationSong style. The resulting metalmovable typeface was called "Juzhen Fangsong" (聚珍仿宋体). It was used by theChung Hwa Book Company [zh] to print a collection of classical texts calledSibu Beiyao [zh] starting in 1921.^[3]

The aforementioned standard uses of Fangsong all make use of digitized typefaces.

"fangsong" was added to the list of generic font families in CSS Font Module Level 4 of 2024. This allows a Fangsong font to be used without knowing its name, the same way writing "serif" in CSS requests any serif font.^[4]

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