According to script Bafen was a variation on official script (lishu), but Joppert, a man of strong personal preferences, still favors the rounded elegance of the bafen script to the square regularity of the official script.
八分書八分書為隸書的變體，但主觀極強的黎嘉德不喜歡隸書的規矩方正，反而偏愛八分書的圓勁古樸、點畫劈發揮灑自如。