Modern Chinese Scripts
Caoshu 草書 Grass/Cursive Script, mostly a purely artistic, calligraphic style, developed as a cursive form of Clerical Script during the Han Dynasty c. 206 – 220 CE.
Kaishu 楷書 Standard Script, the traditional script used today, appeared toward the end of the Han Dynasty c. 220 CE and reached full maturity in the early Tang Dynasty c. 618 – 907 CE.
Xingshu 行書 Running Script, a cursive version of Standard Script used mostly for handwriting, appeared shortly after the Han Dynasty c. 220 CE.
Jianti Zi 簡體字 Simplified Characters, introduced by PR China in 1949 CE to replace the traditional Standard Script characters, in an attempt to increase literacy.