Calligraphy has an important historical position in our country. It is the inheritance of our traditional culture. Official script of the Han Dynasty is an ancient calligraphy art font in my country. So, what are the characteristics of the official script of the Han Dynasty? The following are the characteristics of the official script of the Han Dynasty that I have compiled for you. I hope it can help you.
Appreciation of the history and characteristics of official script in the Han Dynasty
In 221 BC, Qin ended the situation of feudal feudal lords separatist power and long-term divisions and wars, and established the first autocratic centralized power in Chinese history. of unified country. At the same time, in accordance with Qin Shihuang's decrees on the same track, same text, and unified weights and measures, administrative power was used to standardize writing and create Xiaozhuan. At this point, Xiaozhuan calligraphy has developed to the extreme with its artistic style of curved and round writing, well-proportioned strokes, rigorous structure and beautiful decoration. -
The emergence of official script is an inevitable product of historical development
The dynasty with a history of more than 400 years occupies a very important position in the history of Chinese calligraphy. With the demise of the Qin Dynasty, the absolute dominance of seal script over the calligraphy world came to an abrupt end. The Han Dynasty (206-220 BC) was the first golden age of the unification of my country's feudal society, economic prosperity, and cultural prosperity. It was also an important development period for the art of calligraphy in my country. The development of calligraphy art and the establishment of the Han Dynasty that followed the Qin Dynasty began to reach another peak, that is, the emergence of official script. Official script is relative to seal script. According to its historical development, official script can be divided into two important periods: ancient official script and modern official script. Ancient Li, also known as Qin Li, is the initial period of official script, referring to the official script of the Qin and early Han dynasties. Modern Li, also known as Han Li, is the mature and prosperous period of official script, referring to the official script of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and is the main representative of official script. -
The origin of ancient Li can be traced back to the Warring States Period. During the Warring States Period, Chu silk scripts, bamboo slips, seals, currency, pottery, bronzes, and stone carvings all had fonts that broke the seal script's pen, had rough writing, flat characters, and simple styles. This was the forerunner of the ancient official script. The Qin bamboo slips unearthed in Yunmengsuihudi, Hubei Province are representative of Qin Li. Although they contain a large number of seal script styles and brushstrokes, they have broken through the constraints of Qin Li and are written naturally and casually. By the Western Han dynasty, the seal meaning of the official script had been significantly weakened, and the round turns were gradually replaced by square folds. Some fonts had become square and had inverted and flat strokes with silkworm heads and wild goose tails and upward strokes, such as "The Stone Carvings in the Second Year of Wufeng" "wait. -
It is said that the official script was created by Cheng Miao in the late Qin Dynasty. Cheng Miao organized it in prison, eliminating complexity and simplifying it. The characters changed from round to square, and the strokes changed from curved to straight. Change "continuous strokes" to "broken strokes" and move from lines to strokes, making it easier to write. According to Wei Heng's "Si Ti Shu Shi", the Qin Dynasty used seal script and had many affairs, so it was difficult to write seal characters, so they asked someone to help them write, which was called official script. Li Zhe is the master of seal script. In ancient times, official script was also called "Assistant Script". Its emergence brought Chinese calligraphy art into a new realm. It was also the beginning of modern writing, a watershed between ancient and modern writing, and a major turning point in the development history of Chinese calligraphy. At this time, Chinese characters have gone through a long period of development and exploration, and have been constantly undergoing various tests.
The emergence of official script in the Han Dynasty reflects the diversified development of art; new art, new forms, construction and perfection are based on some rebellion and destruction of previous art. -
The Han Dynasty was an important stage in the development of Chinese culture and history. As an integral part of the art of calligraphy, official script is an important calligraphy style. The significance of the "Li Change" is very far-reaching. It brought Chinese pictographs into the abstract symbol stage of square characters composed of stipples. The traces of pictograms before and after the seal script were wiped out, and all the curved lines required for pictographic symbols were turned into regular stipples and glyphs. It becomes a horizontal flat square.
The official script mainly relies on its own texture, strength and structure to produce the artistic effect of the official script, and has become a calligraphy style with its own characteristics in calligraphy. As the first Qin Li, there are still many seal meanings left. Since then, it has been gradually improved through continuous development. The Han Dynasty was the heyday of the history of Chinese calligraphy. The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system. The official documents of the dynasty were mainly seal scripts, and the official script was commonly used by the people and officials. Because official script is easier to write, writing is faster and more convenient than seal script, and it is full of vitality. It finally broke the writing tradition since the Zhou and Qin Dynasties. Under the ideological rule of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", the official script of the Han Dynasty gradually developed and finalized, becoming the dominant subject. Various calligraphy styles such as cursive script, running script, and regular script are also derived. Due to its continuous development, it opened the way for the smooth cursive writing and flying and wild cursive writing of the Jin Dynasty. In other words, official script laid the foundation for the comprehensive development of Chinese calligraphy art and played a role in inheriting the past and linking the future. It has far-reaching historical significance.
Although the steles of the Western Han Dynasty are rare, there are only a few engraved stones handed down from generation to generation such as "The Stone Carved in the Second Year of Wufeng", "The Stone Carved by Yangliangmaishan", "The Stone Carved by He Xiaoyu" and "The Stone Carved by King Lu Xiao". Most of them are It is simple and vigorous, reflecting the characteristics of the transition period from seal script to official script. A large number of bamboo slips of the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in modern times outline a very clear and verifiable "track" for the development and changes of official script at this stage: horizontal structure, the use of strokes and strokes, and the exaggeration of waves, and the changes have become more trendy. It is obvious and has become a mainstream feature, indicating that the transformation from seal script to official script has gradually been completed.
In the Han Dynasty, the inscriptions were mainly in official script, and there were also a small number of seal scripts. In addition to a small number of standard small seal scripts, there are also some calligraphy styles between seal script and official script, which allow us to see the true appearance of official script in its evolution. The official script of the Eastern Han Dynasty has become very mature and has many schools, showing a dazzling and brilliant style, reaching a period of prosperity.
Due to the wise policies of the ruling class at that time, the entire social economy prospered unprecedentedly, and culture and art also prospered. The trend of erecting monuments and passing legends emerged, and a large number of outstanding inscriptions with exquisite skills and distinctive styles emerged in society. Official script quickly developed into a formal and artistic style of calligraphy with high aesthetic value.
There are more than 700 kinds of Han steles recorded in writing, and there are still more than 50 kinds handed down to this day. These do not include the large number of Eastern Han Dynasty bamboo slips and official scripts unearthed in recent times. Wang Shu of the Qing Dynasty once commented: "The official script is dominated by the Han Dynasty, and each stele has its own unique features. There is no difference between them." What best represents the achievements of official script is the official script inscribed on stele in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The emergence of official script is one of the most revolutionary evolutions in the history of Chinese calligraphy, both in terms of its "intrinsic" and "external" forms. Official script has established its own artistic characteristics and existence value through the reform of seal script. It has the following aspects:
1. The abstract nature of official script replaces the pictographic nature of official script, which avoids the disadvantages of Qin Xiaozhuan. The solidification and stagnation that may be caused by excessive decoration revives the inner vitality and vitality of calligraphy, allowing it to thrive and develop healthily. -
2. From the external form, the horizontal ripples of the official script have replaced the vertical stretch of the seal script. Its characteristics are like silkworm heads and wild goose tails, the strokes are spread out, the characters are flat and square, and each character has a graceful and graceful character. The state of flying. Use a pen or make a circle in a square, and have all the methods of hiding the front and exposing the front. The structure is meticulous from top to bottom, clear to the back, and the strokes develop to the left and right, forming a symmetrical "eight-shaped" shape. According to its character shape, it was also named "Bafen". Weng Fanggang, a calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, defined it: "Bafen" means "Bafen", which means that the left and right characters are incompatible with each other. ?Due to the horizontal ripples of the official script, changes in composition were brought about. The sideways twists and turns of the official script replaced the symmetry and dignity of the seal script. The square folds and strokes of the official script enriched the seal script's round momentum-based, traceless beginning and end. Use a pen.
3. The strokes of official script gradually formed rules and systems as they developed. From the official script to the regular script stage, the strokes of Chinese characters formed a stroke system consisting of basic strokes, basic stroke variations and compound strokes, which greatly enriched the brushwork.
Those who participated in the creation of official script include upper-class literati and lower-class officials, doctors and craftsmen. The official style is elegant and solemn, rigorous and orderly, rich in temple atmosphere, and the common people are simple, straightforward, smart and elegant, natural and casual, ** * Together they form a wonderful movement of calligraphy art that is free and unrestrained, open and easy, relaxed and simple, and full of life and fun.
The Han Dynasty's famous steles each have their own characteristics and are of extremely high artistic standards, with diverse styles and extremely varied structures and brushstrokes. The more representative ones include: the square and majestic "Ode to the West"; the ancient and majestic "Jingjun Stele"; the elegant and graceful "Ode to the Stone Gate"; the solemn and solemn "Yiying Stele"; the simple and simple "Ode to the Stone Gate". The dense "Zhang Qian Stele"; the thin and powerful "Ritual Stele"; the gorgeous and handsome "Huashan Stele"; the thick and simple "Hengfang Stele"; the elegant and elegant "Cao Quan Stele" and so on.
The official script inscriptions of the Eastern Han Dynasty are the best representatives of the calligraphy of the two Han Dynasties and perfectly embody the spirit of the times of the Han Dynasty. It conveys the universal humanistic psychology of a society with developed economy and strong national power with its masculine beauty of simplicity, forcefulness, honesty, grandeur, vigor and boldness.
Inheriting the past and ushering in the future has far-reaching influence
The official reform in history went through a long period of time, and reached its peak in the Eastern Han Dynasty, pushing the level of official script to its peak. However, due to special historical and political reasons, from the Jin Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, official script has always been wandering in the eight-point stylized circle and has been in decline for a long time. Until the middle and late Qing Dynasty, emphasis was placed on epigraphic textual research, seal script and official script were revived, and a large number of bamboo slips and silk scripts were unearthed. Some calligraphers adopted the Chinese bamboo slips and wrote a new look, and then the official script was able to regain its splendor. A large number of famous official calligraphers were produced. Among them are Yi Bingshou, Zheng Gukou, He Zizhen, Jin Nong, Deng Shiru, Guifu, etc. Some are simple, honest and ancient; some are wonderfully combined with bamboo slips; some are powerful and insightful; some are beautiful and simple, each of which leads the way.
In contemporary times, the development of calligraphy art must be rooted in tradition and go deep into inscriptions. From the perspective of calligraphy aesthetic development, it is necessary to further explore the treasures of Han stele calligraphy. This still has important significance and reference for solving the inheritance and innovation of contemporary official script.
In short, the ancient official script of the Han Dynasty is an inexhaustible treasure house of art, which is still shining with new brilliance and nourishing batches of calligraphy art pursuers. What Han Li left to future generations is not only a form of writing, but also the ancient Han Dynasty style, cultural connotation and humanistic spirit of the Chinese nation that have been passed down for thousands of years behind its transcendent beauty. The representative work of official script in the Han Dynasty is "Cao Quan Stele"
Cao Quan Stele, whose full name is "Han Heyang Ling Cao Quan Stele", is an important stele in the Eastern Han Dynasty of China. It was erected in the second year of Zhongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (185). The stele is about 1.7 meters high and 0.86 meters wide. It is rectangular, has no forehead, and is made of solid and fine stone. Both sides of the stele are engraved with official script inscriptions. The upper part of the stele has 20 lines, with a full line of 45 characters; the lower part of the stele is divided into 5 columns, and the number of rows in each column is equal. In the early Wanli year of the Ming Dynasty, the stele was unearthed in the old city of Heyang County, Shaanxi Province. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it is said that the stele broke. The Cao Quan stele is a representative work of official script in the Han Dynasty. It is famous for its graceful style and neat structure, and has been highly praised by calligraphers of all dynasties.
The "Cao Quan Stele" was erected by Jin Wang Chang and others to commemorate Cao Quan's achievements.
The inscription mainly narrates Cao Quan's life and death to share the worries of his younger brother. He abandoned his official position and returned to his hometown. He was banned again and lived in seclusion in his family. In the seventh year of Guanghe's reign, he was appointed as a doctor again and paid homage to Jiuquan. It reflects the turmoil of the peasant uprising led by Zhang Jiao from the side. , with great momentum. The development history of official script
Those who write official script are also successful in seal script.
This is the classic description of the body of official script and the background of its production in "Four Body Scripts" written by Wei Heng in the Western Jin Dynasty. In fact, the seal script refers to a new relatively independent font that was formed after a long process of structural and writing changes (official change) in the seal script font system during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. In other words, official script was born out of seal script through "official change".
The official change was a major calligraphy cultural event in the history of Chinese calligraphy. The internal reason for the change of affiliation was to adapt to the requirements of the social development at that time for the use of writing. ?The official change is mainly manifested in two aspects: first, the change of the glyph structure, which is a transformation of the glyph structure of the regular seal script, and the main direction of this transformation is simplification; second, the change of the writing method, which is a change of the original formal seal script writing method, the main purpose of this change is simplicity and convenience? The simplification of glyph structure and the simplicity and fluency of writing constitute the core content of the process of transformation. Here, the simplification of the glyph structure and the simplicity and convenience of the writing method are not only to improve the writing speed, but also because the inherent writing movement situation is more in line with human physiological movement trajectories, which made the official script follow the political development at the turn of Qin and Han Dynasties. The replacement of seal script eventually completely replaced seal script and became widely used.
As far as calligraphy is concerned, the Libian has completed the following conversion from seal to official:
1. Get rid of the solidification of the seal character structure and move towards the abstract expression of the space-time movement of the lines of official script. ;
2. The lines change from the euphemistic arc strokes of the seal script to the steep straight strokes, and the twists and turns change from the continuous circles of the seal script to the turning square strokes. The official change marked the destruction of the physical form of Chinese characters and the establishment of abstract symbols, which transformed Chinese characters from an ancient writing system to a modern writing system; it also marked the final formation of the independent character and aesthetic characteristics of official script.
On the other hand, as a person’s normative consciousness, this new font and calligraphy must be regulated. As a result, the highly standardized Bafenshu appeared in the late Han Dynasty. Therefore, we say that the so-called Libian process is the process of creating a new style of calligraphy resulting from the success of seal script and then standardizing and constructing this new style of calligraphy. As calligraphy, the beauty of official script exists in the process of official script changes that lasted more than 400 years.
It is very necessary to interpret the aesthetic connotation and production background of official script, which will help us have a deeper understanding of the ontology of official script. Usually, we understand official script from the two existing carriers of Han steles and bamboo slips. However, it is far from enough to understand official script through the two carriers of Han steles and bamboo slips. Because it is still impossible to understand the origin of the aesthetic connotation of official script. Therefore, we need to interpret the 400-year-old official reform process in the cultural background of the Qin and Han Dynasties, and explore the cultural and ideological origins of the beauty of official script. Only in this way can we understand some of the traditions of official script.
In the Han Dynasty, official script not only finally formed its own independent character and aesthetic characteristics through the process of official transformation, but also had an overall trend of developing in the direction of cursory and standardized. On the one hand, the official script gradually deviated from the original practical stance of the official script in the extreme of over-emphasis on the convenience of writing, and then in the process of continuous curation, due to the different movement patterns of writing, it finally formed what we call Zhangcao and Jincao; on the other hand, It shows the normative construction of the original writing form of official script, and this normative construction is based on the establishment of formal order. Because the stability of the formal order of writing directly affects the smooth flow of national cultural exchanges and social progress. This is an important link that has always been taken seriously by the authorities. Therefore, with the successive establishment of royal power in the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, it became inevitable to standardize and organize the official script that was widely circulated in real life. Bafenshu uses norms as a means to effectively overcome the random writing tendency of seal and official script, and makes the formal order tend to be stable position selection and orderly structural pattern. Coupled with the continuous incorporation of the aesthetic concepts of official literati in the Han Dynasty, the style characteristics of Bafenshu were standardized, harmonious, quiet, left-handed and right-handed. The overall trend of stone carvings in the Han Dynasty from the simplicity and straightforwardness of the Western Han Dynasty to the steady and standardized development of the Eastern Han Dynasty also confirms the official historical process of standardizing the official script of seal script.
However, today’s academic circles and calligraphy circles generally regard the gradual and steady development trend of stone carving in the Han Dynasty as a sign of the maturity of official script. This is not only far-fetched, but also brings difficulties to the ontological theoretical interpretation of official script. This is because: 1. The transformation of official script in Bafenshu is based on the standardization of art and the decoration of lines. Not only does it not have the arbitrariness and rationality of writing, but it also increases the difficulty of writing and loses the original practical position of official script that is simple and convenient; secondly, judging from the main body of writing in Bafenshu, it has changed from the original public position of official script. It has been moved to the literati and officials. We can see from the engraved stone texts such as "Yi Ying Stele", "Ritual Stele", "Huashan Stele", "Cao Quan Stele" and "Zhang Qian Stele" that Bafenshu has begun to be refined, standardized and literati. artistic characteristics. These calligraphy texts have roughly the same feature, which is ripples. In fact, this kind of ripples is a beautification of the original official script writing of Zhuan Zhijie.
The flying lines and ripples have made the stone-engraved official script break away from the original simplicity and simplicity of the official script, and began to have the artistic characteristics of elegance and literati. It is the embodiment of the romantic and unrestrained artistic aesthetic spirit of the literati of the Han Dynasty. However, it is precisely this kind of refined, standardized and literati artistic characteristics that has lost the inherent conditions and social foundation for official script to be widely circulated in society. Therefore, it should not belong to official script in the original sense. In fact, the official script shows a gradual and standardized development trend in stone carving. Its essence is the dual result of Bafenshu's implementation of standardization and aesthetic transformation of the original official script of Zhuan Zhijie. "Xiping Stone Classic", with its highly standardized formal order, unique principles of structure, and unique characteristics of form, reflects the maximum stability of the Bafenshu. From a philological perspective, Bafenshu should become a new, relatively independent font. Therefore, we say that the overall trend of the development of official script from the simplicity and straightforwardness of the Western Han Dynasty to the work, stability and standardization of the Eastern Han Dynasty is not entirely a sign of the maturity of official script. It is more about the emergence of a new font. Due to its own essential characteristics and usage stance, it is inevitable for Bafenshu to break away from the original mainstream of official script writing in Zhuanzhijie and develop in a more standardized direction. The calligraphy characteristics and content of "Xi Ping Shi Jing" also prove the limitations of the use of Bafenshu as a standard font in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
So we say that the formation of the independent character and aesthetic characteristics of official script did not occur in the highly standardized and mature period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but existed in the process of more than 400 years of official script changes. In the process of more than 400 years of official transformation, there are really too many calligraphy texts that we need to interpret and understand. The "Zhang Qian Stele" is simple and unrestrained, profound and broad, and the "Cao Quan Stele" is elegant, gorgeous, handsome and gentle, allowing us to see the classic stone-engraved calligraphy of the Eastern Han Dynasty with different styles, different structures and different aesthetic orientations. This is a written expression of the upright cultural atmosphere of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the literati's confidence in understanding nature and conquering it. In particular, the free and easy wave pattern of "Ode to the Stone Gate" embodies the literati's openness to return to nature when writing. Coupled with the carvings of folk craftsmen, it also adds a folk simplicity to "Ode to the Stone Gate", creating the "Ode to the Stone Gate". "" has the simplicity and casualness of the original official script, and the unique artistic charm of humanistic feelings. It shows the eclectic and unrestrained character of "Ode to the Stone Gate" and the vast natural atmosphere. It has become a classic example that calligraphers of all ages have paid attention to and learned from.
However, the elegance, splendor, solemnity and neatness shown in the stone carvings of the Eastern Han Dynasty are just a complete and gorgeous beauty. Without the simplicity and simplicity of the original official script, this kind of beauty would be false, artificial, and emotionless. If the elegance, splendor, solemnity, and neatness of stone carvings of the Eastern Han Dynasty are combined with the original unrestrained, smooth, and broad aesthetic atmosphere of official script, then calligraphy will have the simplicity and vastness of nature. And this kind of beauty is closer to the true beauty of life. Because many random writings in the process of official transformation may seem very simple, simple, and ordinary, but in fact they contain infinite aesthetic value and are the true expression of human life systems.
Understanding is the prerequisite for inheritance. Therefore, discovering the aesthetic essence of the official script of the Han Dynasty and the cultural and spiritual connotations behind it are what we continue to care about. At the same time, it should also be the premise and theoretical fulcrum for us to complete the breakthrough and development of official script.
We don’t need to talk about so-called innovation. It is more practical to have an in-depth understanding of the tradition of official script. As long as we know and understand some of the traditions of official script and complete the link between the tradition and modernity of official script, then it is possible for us to create both classical and modern official script works. The so-called classical here refers to the development and continuation of official script, and the so-called modern refers to the modern aesthetic consciousness and cultural spirit of official script. Classical and modern have the content of holographic reenactment, but it is not entirely the neoclassicism advocated by Mr. Zhou Junjie. Therefore, when I talk about classical and modern, I have the consciousness of putting the classical in a new time and space to sort out, classify and interpret the times. It may be anti-traditional because we examine tradition from the perspective of the times. It may also be inherited from tradition, because tradition affects us.
Variant official script is also called official script variant. It is a popular official script style in contemporary calligraphy. It is a writing method that pays attention to changes and individuality compared to traditional official script. The strokes do not emphasize standardization and emphasize improvisation. But Fan Xiaoge, a master of official script, believes that the purpose of variant official script is to make it beautiful, rather than becoming uglier. If everyone pursues writing variant official script, then the variant official script will also become stylized. He believes that some variations of official script only pursue big feelings and effects, and cannot withstand scrutiny on single characters and single strokes. Often the lack of basic skills is covered up with great momentum.