Which official script is the oldest?

Lai Zihou carved stone.

There are fewer stone carvings in the Western Han Dynasty than in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Compared with the ink on bamboo slips in the same period, the stone carvings in the Western Han Dynasty show two characteristics. On the one hand, because stone carving is often for heavy code, seal script is used more, and the font is much larger than ordinary bamboo slips.

On the other hand, due to engraving and long-term weathering, the shape and texture of lines are different from ink, which is the "stone spirit" that future calligraphers are keen on when learning to carve stones with pens.

In the Han Dynasty, mature official script was also used in stone carving, but compared with the ink of bamboo slips and silk scripts, the unique wave strokes of official script were not emphasized in the process of seal carving, which made the official script in the stone carving in the Western Han Dynasty show more characteristics of seal script structure and brushwork, and it was more simple, clumsy and powerful on the whole.

The first few lines are mainly horizontal and vertical, and the body trend is relatively flat. The last few lines gradually strengthen the diagonal lines and vividly fluctuate. Because of the stone carving, the lines are more vigorous and clumsy, the structure is more straight and open, so the pattern is more atmospheric.

At this time, this stone was highly praised by historians after it was discovered during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Yang Shoujing's Comments on Inscriptions in the late Qing Dynasty said: "It's just magnificent. The existence of Han Li is the oldest and highest.