The fonts of calligraphy are roughly divided into five types: seal script, official script, cursive script, running script, and regular script. Their respective characteristics are:
Seal script: Seal script is the collective name for large seal script and small seal script. The brushwork is thin, strong and straight, with many straight lines. There are square pens, round pens, and pointed pens, and there are many "hanging needles" in the handwriting. Dazhuan refers to bronze inscriptions, Zhou inscriptions and Six Kingdoms inscriptions, which preserve the obvious characteristics of ancient hieroglyphs. Xiaozhuan, also known as "Qin Zhuan", is the common script of the Qin Dynasty. It is a simplified font of Dazhuan. It is characterized by wide and flat shape, stretching left and right, balance, symmetry, neatness and uniformity.
Official script: Official script developed from seal script. Official script simplifies seal script, turns circles into squares, and arcs into straight lines. Its structural characteristics are that the character shape is flat and square, spreading out left and right, starting from silkworm head and closing down from dovetail to dovetail, turning circles into squares and arcs into straight lines, changing drawings into dots, connections and breaks, and strengthening the changes in the thickness of the stroke
3. Cursive script: Cursive script was formed in the Han Dynasty and evolved on the basis of official script for the convenience of writing. It is characterized by simple structure and continuous strokes.
4. Running script: Running script is a font between regular script and cursive script. It was created to make up for the slow writing speed of regular script and the difficulty of identifying cursive script. It is characterized by being both neat and clear, yet lively and lively.
5. Regular script: Regular script is also called Zhengkai, Zhenshu, and Zhengshu. It gradually evolved from the official script and became more simplified, horizontal and vertical. The font is square and well-organized.
Extended information
China's historical civilization is a diachronic and linear process. Chinese calligraphy art shows its own development under such a large background of the times. In the budding period of calligraphy (from the Yin and Shang Dynasties to the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms), writing evolved in sequence from oracle bone inscriptions, ancient inscriptions (bronze inscriptions), large seal scripts (Zhen inscriptions), small seal scripts, official script (eight points), cursive script, running script, and real script. . During the Ming Dynasty of calligraphy (from the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties), the art of calligraphy entered a new realm. From seal script to simple cursive script and real script, they became the mainstream style of the period. The emergence of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi made the art of calligraphy shine, and his artistic achievements spread to the Tang Dynasty and he was highly respected. At the same time, a group of calligraphers emerged in the Tang Dynasty, such as Yu Shinan, Ouyang Xun, Chu Suiliang, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan and other famous calligraphers. Each has its own merits and diverse styles in calligraphy attainments.
Oracle bone inscriptions are the earliest systematic writing seen so far. They already contain the basic elements of the art of calligraphy, including brushwork, structure, and composition. The brushwork changes in thickness, weight, and speed. The structure follows the body and shape, leaving it natural. The composition is scattered and colorful yet harmonious and unified. All this is full of the atmosphere of the Yin and Shang era, with the beauty of heaven and earth, and the spirit of Chinese culture has begun to show its light. The calligraphy of the Western Zhou Dynasty has thick strokes, strict and neat structure, scattered and natural composition, rich and vigorous calligraphy style, full of simple and dignified atmosphere, showing the powerful and vigorous style of the Zhou Dynasty.
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, which embodies It reflects the neat and majestic overall style of the Qin Dynasty that unified the world, and also reflects the aesthetic mentality of restraint, rational benevolence and the golden mean preached by pre-Confucianism.
The emergence of official script was a major milestone in the history of calligraphy development. It completely changed the uniformity of seal script lines. The meaning of the official script's wave movement is significantly strengthened, which allows 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. As a result, dots and lines, as modeling materials, gradually evolved into abstract lyrical symbols and became vital forms containing national aesthetic ideals and aesthetic habits. 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 it 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, as well as the ancient, solemn and simple animal sculptures in front of Huo Qubing's tomb.
During the Northern and Southern 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 in the transition period from the official script of the Han Dynasty to the regular script of the Tang Dynasty. Zhong Zhishuai said that "from the top, you can get a glimpse of the old styles of the Han and Qin Dynasties, and from the bottom, you can observe the practices of the Sui and Tang Dynasties." This is the calligraphy of the Northern Dynasties. A major feature of it is that its overall style is completely different from that of the south. The representative calligraphy tablets of "Apricot Blossoms and Spring Rain in the South of the Yangtze River" show beauty - the beauty of femininity; the representative calligraphy tablets of "Iron Horse in the Autumn Wind in the North Hebei" express the magnificence - the beauty of masculinity. This difference is related to the use of calligraphy and the different natural and social environments between the north and the south. Liu Xizai said in "Art Introduction" that "the books of a generation are not inferior to the people and writers of the generation." The "North Stele" that emerged during the great integration of ethnic minority and Han nationality cultures has a spiritual temperament that is indistinguishable from that of the nomadic people in the north. The nation's spirit of martial prowess secretly communicates.
"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. The Tang Dynasty reached its peak since the rule of Zhenguan and Kaiyuan, with far-reaching prestige and vigorous vitality. The culture of the Tang Dynasty presented an inclusive and magnificent scene, entering an epic and magnificent era of prosperity, with a clear, High-pitched, unrestrained and enthusiastic temperament of the times. 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. The style of Tang poetry, the fullness of Tang sculptures, the richness and splendor of Tang paintings. The richness of Tang books, the richness of Tang music, and the richness of Tang dances are all in line with the aesthetic thought of this era. They are full of realism spirit and romanticism, expressing the healthy and full cultural mentality and spirit of the Tang people. Bold and luxurious artistic taste.
"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. The culture and art of the Qing Dynasty inherited the traditions of the Ming Dynasty to a large extent. Li Zehou's "The Course of Beauty" said: "If the literature and art of the Han Dynasty reflect achievements and actions, the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties and the sculptures of the Northern Dynasties express the spirit and speculation, the poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the landscapes of the Song and Yuan Dynasties show the thoughts and ideas, then novels and operas are the examples. The representative literature and art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties depict secular human feelings. This is another vast world of objects, but it is no longer the conquest of nature in the art of the Han Dynasty, nor the triumph of ancient bravery, but entirely the prose of modern market life. A series of ordinary but colorful pictures of social customs."
Reference: Chinese calligraphy culture--Baidu Encyclopedia