The Open Chinese Type Map: Hei, Song, Calligraphy, Rounded and Pixel
CJK libraries are heavy and enormous; choosing one is picking a foundation. This guide divides the Chinese faces in our index into hei, song/fangsong, calligraphy, and rounded/pixel, mapping each family's niche and how they complement one another.
1. Body hei: Source Han and the corporate three
Hei is the default for Chinese body text. Source Han Sans (Adobe+Google, OFL) is the open foundation - ~97% common-glyph coverage, variable weights, multilingual control. Corporate free faces built on it differ: Alibaba PuHuiTi rationalises proportions for e-commerce, HarmonyOS Sans is tuned for small screen sizes, and MiSans modernises letterforms for interface rendering. The rule of thumb: pick Source Han for the most stable, distributable licence; HarmonyOS or MiSans for small screen text; PuHuiTi when the usage text is the most explicit broad grant. They carry equal weight - pick one per project, do not mix.
2. Song and fangsong: reading warmth and official gravitas
When you need the warmth of paper or the authority of official documents, song faces are irreplaceable. Source Han Serif is the open foundation of that pyramid - open counters, clean hairlines, the dependable pick for ebooks and long reading. A step further: Zhuque Fangsong keeps fangsong's angular vigour, covers Simplified/Traditional plus GB18030 rare glyphs, and ships variable; a rare complete open option for documents, classics and subtitles. Founder's BookSong/Fangsong five are free for publication only - embedding and web are explicitly out - so boundary-check the official page before use.
3. Calligraphy and handwriting: the accent, never the body
Calligraphy is MSG-level seasoning: accents only. LXGW WenKai is warm and expansive, right for literary covers and cultural goods; Smiley Sans' tilted speed-line and mixed apertures make it the weapon for sports, fashion and youth brands; Ma Shan Zheng and Zhi Mang Xing are the Google-Fonts calligraphic pair for wuxia and drinks. The universal rule: brush scripts blur under 28px - keep them big; they carry zero obligation in rendered images and video, while web-serving them still asks for OFL's accompanying licence text.
4. Rounded and pixel: two roads to youthful
Two mature routes make Chinese feel cute: rounded and pixel. The rounded leader is Resource Han Rounded - directly rebuilt from Source Han outlines, covering the same charset with rounded terminals across five weights, perfect for kids, food and baby-care UI and packaging; ZCOOL KuaiLe is the rowdier playful cousin. In pixel, Fusion Pixel offers five grid sizes, Simplified/Traditional/Japanese coverage and OFL - use its exact grid for game UI, retro captions and stream stickers. Two rules: rounded faces are bulky, give them generous line-height; pixel faces must be used at native grid size, never upscaled.
5. A shipping Chinese type system
A copy-paste-ready system: body = Source Han Sans or MiSans (400/500); numerals and code = Source Code Pro; emphasis/hint = Medium (600); brand headline = Smiley Sans or Zhi Mang Xing; press & long-form = Source Han Serif body with Zhuque Fangsong for labels and notes; kids/campaign = Resource Han Rounded plus Fusion Pixel stickers. All four families are free for commercial use - institutionalise the pattern and every new project becomes a tweak instead of a re-selection.
This site is an index of publicly available information. It does not host, mirror or distribute any font file and does not warrant any licence. Rights holders may change terms, split free and paid editions, or withdraw a permission at any time. Before commercial use, verify the licence on the official page and keep a dated screenshot as evidence. For trademarks, overseas publication and large-scale embedding, consult an IP professional.