In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, Chinese characters developed into Da Zhuan. The development of seal script has produced two characteristics: first, the lines with uneven thickness in the early days became even and soft, and the lines they drew with utensils were very concise and vivid; Second, standardization, the glyph structure tends to be neat, and gradually deviates from the original shape of the picture, laying the foundation for the square characters. The big seal is for the later small seal. In a broad sense, Da Zhuan includes Xiao Zhuan, pre-Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions and six-country scripts. The big seal script here refers to the Qin script that prevailed during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. With the eastward move to Luoyang, Qin occupied the hometown of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and at the same time inherited the writing of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was developed on the basis of inheriting the bronze inscriptions. Regional, some are difficult to identify.
Dazhuan, also known as Zhuan (zhòu) text. It was named after it was recorded in Shi Shuo pian. History of Han Dynasty: "Fifteen poems, printed by Mrs. Shu of Zhou Shi." There are 225 Shuo Wen, which was collected by Xu Shen on the basis of nine Shi Shuo, and it is the main material for us to study Da Chuan today.
The original seal script is generally considered as "Shi Guwen". At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, in Tianxing County (now Fengxiang County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, called Yongcheng in ancient times, it was the capital of the pre-Qin Dynasty for more than 400 years, and there were a large number of pre-Qin cultural relics), the southern area was about three feet in diameter, with a small top and a large bottom, and the upper circle was flat like steamed bread. It is engraved with ten four-character poems written by Qin Xiangong in the eleventh year, which is the earliest stone inscription in China. Lost and found, lost again. More than 700 words were originally engraved, and more than 300 words are now in existence. These ten stone cities exist in the Forbidden City. Because the content recorded the hunting, it was named "Hunting or Carving Stones Forever". Wei, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, thought this stone was shaped like a drum, so he renamed it "Shi Guwen". Now he is the representative of Da Zhuan.
Shi Guwen has a vigorous and dignified style. The font structure is neat, the strokes are even and round, horizontal and vertical, and the shape tends to be square. Da Zhuan largely retains the writing style of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, but slightly changes, making the strokes more neat and symmetrical. The strokes are round. The lines are more uniform than the bronze inscriptions, and the lines have reached a complete level, with no obvious unevenness in thickness. The body structure is more neat than the bronze inscriptions, and it began to get rid of the shackles of hieroglyphics, laying the foundation for square Chinese characters. There are few variants on the same object. The font is complex, the radicals often overlap, and writing is inconvenient. Among the stone carvings handed down from ancient times, Shi Guwen is the most representative. This kind of stone tool is undoubtedly the oldest and most reliable stone cultural relic in China. It is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Shi Guwen has an important position in the history of calligraphy. The oldest rubbings known in the world are Song rubbings collected by Fan Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. The font is roughly between Zhou and Qin Xiao Zhuan. It is known to belong to the calligraphy system before Qin Shihuang. Compared with Xiao Zhuan, it can be called Da Zhuan, which is a masterpiece of Da Zhuan. Its font is small and complicated, like a ritual vessel in Zongzhou period, which is relatively complete and can be called neat. Kang Youwei called Shi Guwen in "Guangyi, One Boat, Two Cans": "When gold falls to the ground, the grass clouds are strange, and it is not annoying to cut it all. The body is slightly flat, and the insect is similar to qi. Shigu is not only the first antique in China, but also the first method for calligraphers. " It can be said that it is appreciation. Shi Guwen was cherished by Yilin, but after the Northern Song Dynasty, calligraphy research flourished and few people set foot in it. Until the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the wind of archaeological respect for monuments revived, and the stone drum characters were especially valued by calligraphers. Wu Da, you can find four rhymes in his dictionary. Wu Changshuo, on the other hand, was angry that he was a man in ancient times. Both of them regard contemporary calligraphy as the most important thing for future generations.