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Typography
Mao Zedong's calligraphy on your computerPosted by Joel Martinsen on Thursday, August 23, 2007 at 2:25 PM
 Danwei, in the chairman's own hand. From CNBeta comes the news that a font has been created from Mao Zedong's calligraphy. The Chairman joins other TrueType-enabled masters of the form, like Qi Gong and Xu Jinglei. A beta version of the typeface was released on the 20th, with the final version due on National Day, 1 October. The character forms are drawn from two sources: manuscripts of Mao's traditional-style poetry, and dedicatory inscriptions he made for special occasions and important institutions. As a tech site, it was only natural that CNBeta first thought to apply the font to China's major Internet portals:  Netease, Baidu, Google, Sohu, Sina, and Taobao. Can you identify the source of each of those characters? We'll go first: the eye-catching 百 in Baidu's name comes from the inscription 百花齐放，推陈出新 ("Let a hundred flowers bloom, push out the old and bring in the new", link). Links and Sources
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Comments on Mao Zedong's calligraphy on your computer
Say what you like about all the deaths, the man could wield a brush - Although I prefer the more spiky style seen on some short inscriptions.