The Clerical Script (traditional Chinese: 隸書; simplified Chinese: 隶书; pinyin: lìshū; Japanese: 隸書体, Reishotai;), formerly also chancery script, is an archaic style of Chinese calligraphy which evolved in the Warring States period to Qin dynasty, was dominant in the Han dynasty, and remained in use through the Wèi-Jìn (晉) periods. Due to its high legibility to modern readers, is still used for artistic flavor in a variety of functional applications such as headlines, signboards and advertisements. This legibility stems from the highly rectilinear structure, a feature shared with modern regular script (kaishu), as well as from the fact that clerical is its nearest predecessor in time. In structure and rectilinearity it is generally similar to the modern script; however, in contrast with the tall to square modern script, it tends to be square to wide, and often has a pronounced, wavelike flaring of isolated major strokes, especially a dominant rightward or downward diagonal stroke. Some structures are also archaic.