Mao’s got a font!
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:
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).
- CNBeta via Netease (Chinese): Mao Zedong font released! (download the font using the link below the image)
- CreateWorldWorks: Mao’s inscriptions
- China Daily: Use Xu Jinglei’s Handwriting on Your Computer