1. The development of the character "人"
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? Oracle bone inscriptions are an ancient Chinese writing, also known as "Qiwen" and "Qiwen". "Oracle bone inscriptions", "Yinxu inscriptions" or "tortoise shell and animal bone inscriptions".
? The earliest mature Chinese characters we can see mainly refer to the characters engraved on tortoise shells or animal bones used by the royal family of the late Shang Dynasty in China for divination and recording events. They are the earliest known mature Chinese characters in China and East Asia. A carrier of the systematic Shang Dynasty writing. It was first found by the villagers of Xiaotun Village in Anyang, Henan Province. At that time, they did not know that it was an ancient relic. They only used it as a medicinal "dragon bone" to cure all diseases. They ground many tortoise shell animal bones with inscriptions on them into powder. Many extremely valuable cultural relics were wasted. Later, Wang Yirong, an official of the late Qing Dynasty and an epigrapher, discovered the location of the oracle bone inscriptions on oracle bones from Anyang, Henan, during his treatment in the 25th year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1899).
Over the past 100 years, more than 154,600 oracle bones have been unearthed locally through archaeological excavations and other means. In addition, oracle bone inscriptions also appeared in other areas of Henan and Shaanxi, dating from the late Shang Dynasty (about 1300 BC) to the Spring and Autumn Period. Oracle bone inscriptions have a symmetrical and stable pattern. It has the three elements of calligraphy, namely the use of pen, the formation of characters, and the composition of the calligraphy. Judging from the number and structure of fonts, Oracle has developed into a more rigorous system of writing. The "six books" principle of Chinese characters is reflected in oracle bone inscriptions. However, the traces of original pictorial characters are still relatively obvious, and the pictographic meaning is also relatively obvious.
On November 24, 2017, Oracle successfully passed the review of the International Advisory Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Project and was successfully selected into the "Memory of the World Register".
2. The Western Zhou Dynasty’s gold calligraphy has thick strokes, strict and square structure, natural and scattered composition, rich and vigorous calligraphy style, full of simple and solemn atmosphere, showing the powerful and vigorous style of the Zhou Dynasty. Bronze inscriptions are attached to bronze vessels and sacrificial vessels such as cast tripods, so bronze inscriptions are also called bell and tripod inscriptions. Zhong Dingwen is most famous for his "Simuwu Ding" and "Mao Gong Ding", and has the highest artistic achievements.
3. Xiaozhuan is the standard script determined by Qin after it unified the six kingdoms. It was compiled and simplified by Li Si and others. Its strokes are even, round and strong, with a stable structure, dense at the top and sparse at the bottom, calm and stretched. It not only reflects the neat and majestic overall style of the Qin Dynasty that unified the world, but also reflects the aesthetic mentality of restraint, rational benevolence and the golden mean preached by pre-Confucianism.
4. The emergence of official script completely changed the uniformity of seal script lines. The meaning of writing in official script has been significantly strengthened, allowing the rhythm of emotional movements that have been accumulated in people's hearts for a long time to be vividly displayed, permeating the calligrapher's will, and creating a richer and more vivid connotation of life's artistic conception.
5. From the perspective of the time and space background of Han Dynasty culture, Han Dynasty calligraphy was radiated by the spirit of the times, reflecting the Han nation's admiration for majesty and boldness, and was the objectification of human power. It is in this cultural and psychological time and space that we see the elegant and magnificent Han Fu, and the group of ancient, solemn and simple animal sculptures in front of Huo Qubing's tomb.
6. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the society of the Southern Dynasties was relatively stable, and the calligraphy world was dominated by the calligraphy style of the "Two Kings". Succession of the "Two Kings" was regarded as the most important thing, but the achievements were not high. The calligraphy of the Northern Dynasties is mainly reflected in the inscriptions. At this time, calligraphy was a transitional period from the official script of the Han Dynasty to the regular script of the Tang Dynasty. Zhong Zhishuai said that "the old styles of the Han and Qin Dynasties can be seen from the top, and the practices of the Sui and Tang Dynasties can be observed from the bottom." This is the calligraphy of the Northern Dynasties. A major feature of the country is that its overall style is completely different from that of the south.
7. "The people of the Tang Dynasty respected the law." In the Tang Dynasty, famous regular script writers emerged in large numbers, and the stars were shining brightly. In particular, Yan Zhenqing's regular script is dignified, majestic, simple and majestic, awe-inspiring and manly, and has become a typical representative of masculine beauty in the history of Chinese calligraphy. The formation of Yan's bold and majestic style and strict legal code is not accidental. It is a reflection of the political rationality and vitality of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
At this time, various art fields have changed from the implicit and charming fashion of the early Tang Dynasty, and focused their respective aesthetic pursuits on the aesthetic spirit, which is both full of realism spirit and It is filled with the atmosphere of romanticism and expresses the healthy and full cultural mentality and bold and luxurious artistic taste of the Tang people.
8. "The Ming and Qing Dynasties maintained their state of mind." In the Ming Dynasty, due to the emergence of capitalist factors and the awakening of citizens' consciousness, the culture and art of the Ming Dynasty had a creative aesthetic tendency that reflected citizens' lives as the mainstream. Therefore, the formal aesthetics seemed to be more free and popular, close to reality, expressing human feelings, and truly It has opened up the social capacity of culture, art and aesthetics, thus further demonstrating the positive effect of art reflecting life.
2. Tree diagram of the development time of calligraphy
(The picture above is a tree diagram of the development of self-made Chinese calligraphy and the characteristics of the development of calligraphy in each dynasty. Chinese calligraphy culture has a long history, since Thousands of years of historical accumulation from ancient times to modern times have blossomed into colorful artistic flowers).
3. Conclusion
Chinese calligraphy culture has a profound history and long charm. It is not only a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation, but also shines uniquely in the treasure house of world culture and art, and is still full of vitality today. The fine calligraphy is rich in connotation, broad and profound, and people can get aesthetic enjoyment, philosophical enlightenment, and spiritual beautification through appreciation. However, in modern society, due to factors such as the popularization of technology, economic development, fast-paced life, high cost of practice time, etc., calligraphy has gradually declined. To this end, promoting calligraphy and inheriting calligraphy are the joint efforts and support that society will need in the future.