In ancient China, when historiographers compiled history, they had their own principles and styles in dealing with materials, commenting on historical events and praising and criticizing characters, which were called "calligraphy". "Zuo Zhuan Xuangong Two Years": "Dong Hu, a good history of ancient times, calligraphy is not hidden." It can be seen that the word "calligraphy" appeared in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period.
According to the biography of Zhou Pian in the Southern Qi Dynasty, the calligraphy works "learned the calligraphy method of Wei Heng's prose from the general Zang Zhi, who was a foreign rider, and learned it very well." It appeared in the period of Northern and Southern Dynasties.