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General Principles of Stroke Order
Though there are inevitably a number of exceptions, most characters are written
according to established principles of stroke order. A knowledge of these principles
is important in order to achieve the proper shape and to write in the cursive
style or semi-cursive style, in which normally separate strokes flow into one another.
The basic principles listed below were issued by the Ministry of Education in 1958,
and are considered the most authoritative. The guidelines apply either to individual
strokes or to the arrangement of component elements, as the case may be. The first
two are especially important.
1. Top to bottom.
three 25
word 118
guest 270
2. Left to right.
province 320
faction 965
example 635
3. Horizontal strokes usually precede vertical strokes when crossing.
ten 35
earth 64
till 699
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