Lệnh thư

Lệnh thư (令書; 'edict script') is a writing style for Chinese characters (chữ Hán) and chữ Nôm in Vietnamese calligraphy. It was first developed during the Revival Lê dynasty. It was mainly at first used for official edict by the emperor and by officials in the imperial court, but then became widely used in all of Vietnam. It is not used in other countries that also use Chinese characters (such as China, Korea, and Japan), but is unique to Vietnam.

Characteristics
The writing script is defined by its distinct sharp upward hooks. It has strokes that are merged, similar to the style seen in cursive script. Even though the script has merged strokes and is written quickly, it is just as readable as regular script is. In the essay Vũ trung tùy bút (雨中隨筆), Phạm Đình Hổ wrote that the edict script mimics the style of cursive script (chữ thảo, 𡨸草), which is described as imitating the motion of a sword dance. But the edict script underwent changes where strokes were written fluidly with distinctive hooks. He further explains that it seems that it also developed influences from the cursive script and other scripts used traditionally in Chinese calligraphy.

History
The script first appeared during the Lê trung hưng period (Revival Lê dynasty). During the reign of Quang Hưng (光興, Lê Thế Tông), Phạm Đình Hổ also describes the writing of that time period (1599) to be more flamboyant with characters taking on the appearance of 'curved heads and twisted legs'.