Pre-Qin calligraphy refers to which period includes several forms.

Pre-Qin is the initial stage of China's calligraphy, which can be divided into Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. China's calligraphy came into being when Chinese characters developed to a mature stage. The characters of Shang and Zhou Dynasties possessed three elements of calligraphy art: brushwork, structure and composition, and calligraphy was initially formed at this time. Calligraphy in Shang and Zhou Dynasties mainly includes Oracle Bone Inscriptions and inscriptions on bronze. In the middle of Shang dynasty, inscriptions appeared on bronzes, which were very short, usually two or three words, mostly family emblems. During the Warring States period, with the separatist regime of the seven countries, the local color of the characters became stronger, and the phenomenon of variant characters appeared since the late Spring and Autumn Period. The characters in the six countries of the East have diverse styles and high artistry.

Pre-Qin calligraphy form

Bamboo slips strung together

According to documents, there were simplified books in Shang Dynasty. According to the History Book Toastmasters, Duke Zhou once said to the Yin people, "Only the ancestors of the Yin people have books and classics". In the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period, there should also be ways to take notes on bamboo slips. Because bamboo slips are perishable, bamboo slips in Shang Dynasty, Western Zhou Dynasty and Spring and Autumn Period have not been found, but many bamboo slips were found in Warring States Period. According to records, bamboo slips were discovered in the Han and Jin Dynasties. The change of seal script from running script to official script stippling not only enriches the use of calligraphy, but also has a far-reaching impact on the further development of Chinese characters and calligraphy in the future.

A book copied from silk

During the Warring States period, there was another notebook writing material, silk, which was white silk. In the Han dynasty, silk was called silk or silk, or collectively referred to as silk, so silk books were also called silk books. In 1930s, a silk book was stolen from a Chu tomb in Changsha, Hunan, dating from the middle and late Warring States Period, which was the earliest silk book in China. Silk book is a math book with strange pictures and more than 900 words. Silk scripts appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. There is a saying in Guoyu Yuyue that "Wang Yueyong wrote silk books", which shows that silk books and simplified books were parallel at that time.

In the pre-Qin era, characters moved from application to art. At this time, calligraphy was closely related to the changes of characters, and gradually improved from the naive stage, thus establishing a special position in the history of calligraphy in China.