Introduction to Calligraphy: Genre of Basic Knowledge of Calligraphy

What is Oracle Bone Inscriptions?

Oracle Bone Inscriptions refers to the characters carved on tortoise shells and animal bones in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Oracle Bone Inscriptions is often carved with a knife, and there are two forms: writing first and then carving, and writing directly with a knife. From the perspective of calligraphy, it already has three elements of calligraphy: writing, writing and composition. There are traces of Zhu Shu and Mo Shu in Oracle Bone Inscriptions handed down from ancient times, and the strokes are elastic, so they should be written with a tool similar to a brush.

2. What is Jinwen?

Bronze inscriptions refer to the characters cast on bronzes during the Yin and Zhou Dynasties. In ancient times, copper was called gold, so the words engraved on bronzes were called inscriptions on bronze. Because this kind of writing appears the most on the bell and tripod, and the bell is the most musical instrument, and the tripod is the most respected ritual vessel, so it is also called. Zhong Ding inscription, the word concave people Yin said money; The prominent word is knowledge (hot voice)

3. What are the representative works and styles of Jin Wen?

The representative works of inscriptions on bronze in the early Shang Dynasty include The Ding of Black Spots and Fu Sacrifice. The strokes are full and flexible, the structure is dignified and steady, and the body is magnificent. Bronze inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty were popular, mainly including Mao and Pan.

4. What is Shi Guwen?

Shi Guwen is a text engraved on ten drum-shaped stone tablets, including four poems about hunting and pleasure. Ten drums are divided into ten poems, so it is also called "hunting tablet writing" Its strokes are even, the structure is smooth, concise and bold, and the strokes are rich and round. It is a typical Qin character in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, belonging to the big seal system.

5. What is big seal script?

Before Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, all the characters were collectively called Da Zhuan, including Oracle Bone Inscriptions, (Zhong Dingwen) and Ancient Chinese.

6. What is Xiao Zhuan?

Small seal script is relative to big seal script. In order to unify the characters of China, Qin Shihuang asked Prime Minister Li Si to revise and arrange the characters of the six countries on the basis of Qin seal script, and unified them into the official standard characters-Qin Zhuan. In order to distinguish the characters before Qin Dynasty, later generations called Qin Zhuan Xiao Zhuan.