The evolution of ancient writing:
Bone inscriptions:
Bone inscriptions refer to the symbols carved on animal bones - hieroglyphs or graphic characters. Found mainly in Shandong (also found in Chifeng, Guanzhong and other places), it is the earliest legible writing in my country that mainly records events. In 2005, Professor Liu Fengjun, a famous archaeologist and director of the Institute of Art Archeology of Shandong University, discovered and named it. It was first called "Dongyi characters" and later "bone inscriptions". He also identified the carving tools as sharp-angled gems such as agate, forming about It was a popular writing language during the Longshan Culture period between 4600 and 3300.
Oracle bone inscriptions:
Oracle bone inscriptions are the earliest, more systematic and mature writing currently seen. It was formed during the Yin and Shang Dynasties. It got its name from earlier pottery inscriptions and inscriptions on oracle bones. Because it was first discovered in the Yin Ruins in Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan, it is also called "Yin Ruins characters." It was first discovered by Wang Yirong, an epigrapher in the late Qing Dynasty, on the "dragon bone" used as a traditional Chinese medicine, and was determined to be Chinese characters.
Because most of the engraved contents are divination, rituals, etc., it is also called divination. Oracle bone inscriptions are carved on hard tortoise shells and animal bones with relatively sharp knives, so they have outstanding characteristics. The strokes are mainly straight horizontal and oblique lines, with curved arcs in between.
Shiguwen:
Zhenwen is also called Shiguwen, named after it was written by Taishi Zhou during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty. He carried out reforms on the basis of the original writing, which was named after it was carved on a stone drum. It is the earliest stone-engraved writing that has been handed down to this day, and is the ancestor of stone carving. The stone drum has gone through vicissitudes of life, moving south and north. After several twists and turns, most of the characters have peeled off. Only a few legible characters remain, which are now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. The characteristics of his calligraphy are: his calligraphy is strong and natural, his pen is strong and straight, his structure is square, his standards are rigorous, and his form is relatively complete.
Golden Inscriptions:
With the development of society, fonts are constantly evolving. The bronze inscriptions from the Yin and Shang Dynasties to before the unification of the Qin Dynasty were developed on the basis of oracle bone inscriptions. Bronze inscriptions are the general name for bronze inscriptions. Most of the ancient bronzes were bells and tripods, so they are also called bells and tripods. The strokes of bronze inscriptions are also much richer than those of oracle bone inscriptions. They are well-proportioned in size, have inscriptions, and have a certain degree of decoration.
Seal script:
We have studied history and we all know that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes fought for each other, which also resulted in different languages ??and different characters, until Qin Shihuang unified the six countries. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the characters were unified into Xiaozhuan. In the past, oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions were called large seal scripts. The handed down "Langye Terrace Carved Stones" and "Taishan Carved Stones" are all representative works of small seal scripts.
Official script:
Although Xiaozhuan is standardized and looks beautiful, it is not easy to write and unsatisfactory when applied. People's hope for writing, a tool for spreading thoughts and recording language, is to be as convenient as possible, so a new font, official script, was created based on Xiaozhuan. According to legend, the founder of official script was Cheng Miao. He offended Qin Shihuang and was sent to prison. He spent ten years in prison to sort out a new set of easy-to-use fonts, which were called official script by later generations. Qin Shihuang was very happy. Not only did he pardon his crime, he also made him a censor.
Regular script:
Official script further evolved into regular script, which is the font we use today. It is richer and more complete than official script. Zhong Yao during the Three Kingdoms period was a person who made great contributions to the processing and organization of regular script. In the Tang Dynasty, culture was highly developed and calligraphy reached its peak. A large number of famous writers who were good at writing regular script appeared. Such as Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, etc.
Cursive writing:
Let’s talk about cursive writing. Cursive script did not appear after the appearance of regular script. "Grass" means preliminary and hasty. No matter which font is written sloppily, it is considered cursive. As a specialized font, it was only available in the Han Dynasty. It was not until the end of the Han Dynasty that cursive script became very popular, first as Zhangcao, then as Jincao, and finally as Kuangcao and Xiaocao. There are many types of cursive script, which are not suitable for beginners to learn, so I won’t go into details here.
Running script:
Finally, let’s talk about running script. This is a font between regular script and cursive script, which was produced at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The real prosperous period was the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The masterpiece "Lanting Preface" by Wang Xizhi, known as the sage of calligraphy, is running script. Because running script is more practical, writing is more convenient than regular script, and it is not as difficult to read as cursive script, so it is still the most commonly used font today.
Extended information:
The evolution of Chinese characters has generally gone through several stages, including oracle bone inscriptions - large seal script - small seal script - official script - cursive script - regular script - running script.
This is in line with the development of characters from complex to simple, from irregular to standardized. Oracle bone inscriptions, large seal script and small seal script can be collectively referred to as seal script. Then, seal script, official script, regular script, running script, and cursive script constitute the five types of Chinese calligraphy. With the development of Chinese characters today, regular script and running script are still used, but seal script, official script, cursive script, especially seal script are no longer used in daily life, and only exist as an art of calligraphy.
Reference materials: ancient characters - Baidu Encyclopedia