# LXGW WenKai Screen: the Medium weight promoted to Regular for screen display

> LXGW WenKai Screen is a screen-reading variant of LXGW WenKai that promotes the parent project's Medium weight to Regular and aligns its vertical metrics to Roboto v2.138. The original promise to follow the parent project within one week was retracted and replaced with an ad hoc update policy.

**lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen** — LXGW WenKai for Screen Reading.

- Repository: https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen
- Stars: 2,181 · Forks: 40
- Language: Unknown
- License: OFL-1.1
- Published: 2026-10-11 · Updated: 2026-10-11 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/lxgw-lxgwwenkai-screen

## Why the original Regular weight looks thin on PC and Android displays

The parent project, LXGW WenKai, ships a Regular weight that renders with noticeably thin strokes on the pixel densities of typical PC monitors and mainstream Android phones. At common screen resolutions, those strokes produce text that reads as delicate rather than crisp, which the project's author identifies as the problem this variant addresses.

LXGW WenKai Screen resolves the issue by taking the Medium weight from LXGW WenKai and assigning that weight's stroke thickness to the Regular weight class. A user who installs this variant sees a font that identifies itself as Regular in every application that reads font metadata, while carrying the visual heft of the parent project's Medium. No character shapes change in this process; only the declared weight class changes.

The README includes one image that places LXGW WenKai Screen alongside the Segoe UI that GitHub uses for its web interface text. In that comparison, the screen variant and Segoe UI Regular sit at a comparable visual weight. The pairing illustrates the viewing target the project describes: a Chinese typeface that holds its own at the same stroke level as common Latin screen fonts.

## The Roboto metrics adjustment and why it matters in mixed-script paragraphs

Adjusting the stroke weight is not the only modification the screen variant makes. Its vertical metrics were also adjusted to match those of Roboto v2.138, which Android uses as its default system typeface. Font metrics govern how much vertical space a line occupies, where the baseline sits within the line box, and how ascender and descender heights relate to that baseline.

For text that alternates between Chinese ideographs and Latin characters, metric alignment between the two fonts has a direct visual effect. An application or web page that draws on the system typeface for Latin and on LXGW WenKai Screen for Chinese will find both typefaces sharing the same vertical rhythm. Without that alignment, the baseline can shift when a sentence moves between scripts, and line heights can differ within the same paragraph block, producing text that looks uneven even at a single nominal size.

Roboto v2.138 is the specific version the project names for the metric calibration. It is one of the upstream sources incorporated into the build alongside the Klee font from FONTWORKS and the Inconsolata monospace font.

## otRebuilder, the Warcraft Font Merger, and ttfname3: the three build tools

Three tools produced the final TTF, and the README names each one with its role in the build pipeline. otRebuilder, developed by Pal3love, handles scaling the font's UPM. UPM stands for units per em and is the integer that defines the internal coordinate grid on which each glyph is drawn. Scaling the UPM rescales all glyphs proportionally without distorting their internal shapes or spacing, and otRebuilder automates that operation in a single pass.

The second tool is the Warcraft Font Merger, developed by the nowar-fonts organization and originally built for combining fonts used in the game World of Warcraft. The README identifies it by its Chinese name, 魔兽字体合并补全工具. Its function here is merging the multiple base font sources into one output file, handling the glyph coverage that different source fonts contribute to different script ranges.

The third tool is ttfname3, which rebuilds the name table inside the font file. The name table is the metadata block that the operating system reads to identify the font family, the weight class, the full font name, and other naming fields required for the font to appear correctly in application menus. Merging glyph data from multiple source fonts does not automatically consolidate their name tables, so ttfname3 handles that step as a distinct pass.

These three tools belong to the build process used to produce the TTF. End users who download the finished font have no interaction with any of them.

## Downloading LXGW WenKai Screen: TTF only, from the project page

The top-level repository directory contains only two files: OFL.txt and Readme.md. No glyph source files, no build scripts, and no project configuration files are present. Building the font independently from first principles is not an option the repository enables.

The font is distributed as a TTF file from the project's GitHub page. No package manager entry, no Homebrew formula, no apt or yum repository, and no CDN path appears anywhere in the project files. Installing the font means placing the TTF in the operating system's font directory, using whichever installation tool the system provides. The README points to the download location and gives no per-platform installation instructions.

Version v1.522, published on 2026-03-18, is the most recent build.

## The one-week update promise was struck from the README

The README originally stated that this project would update within one week of the parent project publishing a new version. That sentence now appears with a strikethrough in the README, indicating the commitment was retracted. The replacement text, which carries no strikethrough, says the variant will follow LXGW WenKai when a new parent version is judged worth following; otherwise, updates happen at the maintainer's discretion.

Anyone who adopted this font expecting it to stay current with the parent project automatically no longer has that assurance. LXGW WenKai continues developing on its own schedule. This variant may at any point sit several parent versions behind with no stated obligation to close the gap within a fixed timeframe.

The repository received its most recent update on 2026-06-29. The top-level directory contains only OFL.txt and Readme.md, so there is no local history file to trace which parent versions each build followed.

## SIL OFL 1.1 reserved names: 霞鹜, 落霞孤鹜, and LXGW

The font is licensed under SIL OFL 1.1. Under OFL 1.1, the project declares three reserved names: 霞鹜 (also written 霞鶩 in traditional form), 落霞孤鹜 (also written 落霞孤鶩), and LXGW. A derivative font cannot use any of those names without explicit written authorization from the author, @lxgw, regardless of how minor the modification.

Two exceptions reduce the scope of that restriction in practice. A recompilation of the source data that introduces no changes to the glyphs may continue using the reserved names, because no substantive modification was made. A conversion to WOFF or WOFF2 format, done purely for browser rendering and not offered as an installable desktop font file for public download, may also keep the reserved names, but only on an approved platform. The README names two platforms as approved: Google Fonts and ZSFT (fonts.zeoseven.com). Any other platform that wants to apply the same exception must confirm this arrangement directly with @lxgw.

Selling the font file itself as a standalone product is prohibited under OFL 1.1. The font can be distributed for free, bundled inside paid software, or embedded in an application. Selling the TTF or OTF file as the item being purchased is not permitted.

## How the upstream fonts combine under one consistent set of terms

Three upstream sources contribute to the final font. The original Klee typeface, developed and published by FONTWORKS, is the root from which LXGW WenKai derives, and it is distributed under SIL OFL 1.1. The README notes that Klee is a trademark of FONTWORKS. Trademark status and font file redistribution are separate concerns: the trademark governs commercial use of the name Klee, while OFL 1.1 governs what can be done with the font files themselves.

Roboto v2.138, which contributes the metric data and serves as the Latin base, is distributed under Apache License 2.0, which the project identifies as compatible with OFL 1.1 for this combination. Inconsolata, used as the monospace Latin base, is also distributed under SIL OFL 1.1. The final font carries SIL OFL 1.1 as its overall terms, consistent with how OFL 1.1 is designed to propagate through derivative works.

The README explicitly names two frameworks that are not compatible with OFL 1.1 for font mixing: the GNU General Public License and the IPA font license. A project that needs to combine this font with a file governed by either of those frameworks cannot do so inside a single font file while remaining compliant with OFL 1.1.

## Conclusion

LXGW WenKai Screen is worth installing if you use LXGW WenKai and find the Regular weight too thin for your monitor or Android phone. The Medium-to-Regular promotion and the Roboto metric alignment are concrete improvements for mixed-script paragraphs and ordinary screen reading. Skip it if you need a font whose update cycle is tied to the parent project's schedule, because that commitment was retracted. Before embedding it in a product, read OFL.txt in the repository to verify which uses the reserved-name clauses affect; the prohibition on selling font files alone and the name restrictions on derivatives have practical consequences for redistribution.

## FAQ

### What is LXGW WenKai Screen?

It is a screen-reading variant of LXGW WenKai, a Chinese-script typeface. The variant promotes the parent project's Medium weight to the Regular weight class and adjusts its vertical metrics to match Roboto v2.138, making it more readable at the pixel densities of common PC monitors and Android phones.

### How do I install LXGW WenKai Screen?

Download the TTF file from the project's GitHub page. No package manager entry exists for it. Installation means placing the TTF in your operating system's font directory using whatever method your system provides; the README gives no per-platform steps.

### What is the difference between LXGW WenKai and LXGW WenKai Screen?

LXGW WenKai Screen takes the Medium weight from LXGW WenKai and assigns it the Regular weight designation, so strokes appear heavier. It also aligns its vertical metrics to Roboto v2.138, which affects line height and baseline behavior in mixed Chinese-Latin text.

### Can I use LXGW WenKai Screen in a commercial project?

Yes. The font is distributed under SIL OFL 1.1, which permits free use in personal and commercial work, embedding in software, and redistribution. Selling the font file alone is prohibited, and derivative fonts may not use the reserved names 霞鹜, 落霞孤鹜, or LXGW without written authorization.

### Is LXGW WenKai Screen still updated regularly?

The repository received its most recent update on 2026-06-29. The original commitment to update within one week of the parent project was retracted; the current policy is to follow the parent project when a new version is judged worth following, at the maintainer's discretion.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen/issues)
- [License: OFL-1.1](https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen on GitHub](https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen)
- [README](https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Screen/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/lxgw-lxgwwenkai-screen