Zhangcao is a form of cursive writing.
Cursive script is a big concept in calligraphy, which generally refers to all calligraphy styles with connected strokes and fast writing speed. In addition to Zhangcao, it also includes Jincao.
Originated in the Han Dynasty. Since the official script was popular in the Han Dynasty, in order to pursue speed when writing, people used the official script to "preserve the outline of the characters, destroy the rules of official script, indulge in running around, and go to work quickly. Because of the meaning of cursive creation, it is called cursive script." From here we can It can be seen that cursive script is based on official script.
Zhangcao is an early form of cursive script, which began in the Han Dynasty and evolved from cursive official script. Zhangcao is the predecessor of "Jincao". The main difference from "Jincao" is that it retains the traces of official script writing, and the upper and lower characters are independent and not written consecutively.
Cursive script based on official script is actually the most primitive "ancient cursive script". Because Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty liked this style of calligraphy very much, it became widely popular in the Han and Wei dynasties, so it was called "Zhangcao". Zhang Cao still looks like official script, with clear waves, the strokes are connected in a "wave" shape, the characters are independent, flat and square, and the pen is horizontal.
Jincao is also called "little grass". A type of cursive writing. It began in the late Han Dynasty. It is an innovation of Zhangcao. The strokes are continuous and convoluted, and there are connections between the words, making the writing simple and convenient. The typical one is Zhang Zhijincao.
Famous Zhangcao Tie: Han History Travel Book "Jijiu Zhang"
Jin Luji's "Pingfu Tie" (the earliest extant Zhangcao calligraphy)
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Zhangcao is a calligraphy style derived from the evolution of seal script into the official script stage. It is a type of style in the process of cursive writing gradually moving from the embryonic stage to standardization. Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang Dynasty called it "the success of both official script", which evolved from the simple writing method of official script. It is a cursive style of official script or a style of writing that combines official script and cursive script. It can also be said that Zhangcao is a part of cursive script. A calligraphy style with a clerical style.
Zhangcao was definitely not created by one person at a time. It evolved from the Caoli of the Qin Dynasty. After a long period of popular use, it became a common practice. Zhangcao was roughly formed between the Xuan and Yuan Dynasties in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Eastern Han Dynasty. , Three Kingdoms and Western Jin Dynasty, it became a mature and perfect calligraphy style, representing the appearance of cursive calligraphy art from the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Jin Dynasty for more than 400 years.
By the Eastern Jin Dynasty, running script, regular script, and cursive script as the new styles of modern writing were fully mature, and official script and its popular style, Zhangcao, were replaced.
Wang Xizhi, Xianzhi and his son also created a cursive style with characters connected up and down. By the time of Zhang Xu and Huai Su in the Tang Dynasty, Mi Fu and others in the Song Dynasty, they developed into a free-flowing style with the characters connected and connected. of wild grass.
After the Han Dynasty, Zhangcao was further "cursed", removing the traces of official script strokes and making the upper and lower characters interconnected. The radicals were also simplified and borrowed from each other, which was called "Jincao". Jincao is our most common cursive script. The most obvious difference between it and Zhangcao is that Zhangcao's writing style uses the "一" shape, while Jincao's writing style uses the "s" shape.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Cursive Script
Baidu Encyclopedia - Zhang Cao
Reference source: Baidu Encyclopedia - Pingfu Post