Chinese calligraphy’s traditional Eight Principles of Yong recognize eight basic strokes.
The system takes its name from the character yong, 永, meaning “forever” or “permanence.” That character contains forms resembling the eight stroke types used in regular script, making it a compact practice exercise for beginners. The principles include dot, horizontal, vertical, hook, rising stroke, bend, left-falling stroke, and right-falling stroke.
The number eight belongs specifically to this influential traditional classification, not to every possible stroke shape in the Chinese writing system. Chinese characters also contain many compound and variant strokes, and modern stroke tables can list dozens of forms. Thus, nine, seven, or six may appear in other simplified teaching schemes, but eight is the standard answer when the question refers to the Eight Principles of Yong.
Practicing these strokes trains brush direction, pressure, turning, and tapering. Those fundamentals support regular script, the carefully proportioned style often used for handwriting instruction and formal calligraphy.