Why is it that 行書 is known as “semi-cursive,” whereas 草書 is called “cursive”?

I know the simple answer is “because they are,” but...

I’ve read countless English resources on Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, and if I recall correctly, those are the universal terms they use. It kind of irks me more than it should, but my case is that it makes more sense to label 行書 as “cursive” and 草書 as “shorthand” since they are analogous. 行書 and cursive are both pretty readable to most people (even if not everyone can write them well), and 草書 and shorthand will both look like scribbles to people not trained to read or write in them.

submitted by /u/TfsQuack
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