To talk about pre-Qin calligraphy, we must first talk about Chinese calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy is the quintessence of art, with a history of thousands of years, and numerous historical sites, so numerous that it is difficult to list them all. This article is divided into ten sections only in chronological order: Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Qin and Han Dynasties, Wei and Jin Dynasties, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and the Republic of China, just to briefly summarize its meaning.
When talking about the history of Chinese calligraphy, there is one question that cannot be avoided, that is: What did the earliest calligraphy look like? To answer this question is not simple. However, there are four aspects that should be covered: 1. When did the earliest history of China that can be researched begin; 2. How did writing come into being? 3. Whether the history of writing is synchronized with the history of calligraphy; 4. Existing physical materials can meet our research requirements. The first question is purely for historians to consider, the second and third questions are left to theorists to discuss, and the fourth question belongs to our calligraphers and calligraphy art lovers; in fact, the physical data Aesthetic value makes people more interested. Pre-Qin calligraphy art (before 221 BC)
The Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were important periods from the origin to the gradual formation of ancient Chinese characters.
There is no scientifically unified conclusion about the origin of Chinese characters. According to the "General History of China", the Bagua graphics that appeared in the Fuxi era from 7000 BC to 6000 BC replaced knotting ropes to record events and were the origin of Chinese characters.
Today, the earliest Chinese calligraphy that can be studied and appreciated is the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Mr. Dong Zuobin, a famous scholar of oracle bone inscriptions, divides the style of oracle bone inscriptions into five periods:
The first period, from the Pan Geng, Xiao Xin, Xiao Yi, and Wu Ding periods, has strong and clumsy fonts, an open layout, rough and unrestrained but less charming.
In the second period, during the Zu Geng and Zu Jia periods, the characters are beautiful and bright, the calligraphy style is careful and orderly, and the sword is used calmly and calmly.
In the third period, the period of Lin Xin and Kang Ding was the trough, and the strokes were sloppy and weak.
In the fourth period, during the periods of Wu Yi and Wen Ding, a hundred flowers bloomed, sweeping away the previous decadence.
The fifth period, the period of Emperor Yi and Emperor Xin, is fully mature, with the formula finalized and the fonts refined.
Oracle bone inscriptions are arranged vertically from top to bottom and from right to left. This method and rules of writing have influenced the writing method of Chinese characters for thousands of years. It was not until the May Fourth New Culture Movement that Correct the horizontal arrangement from left to right.
The evolution of calligraphy from oracle bone inscriptions to seal script was realized with the destruction of the Yin and Shang Dynasties by the Zhou Dynasty. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin Dynasty, the fonts were mostly the same, but with various font shapes. Today, we collectively refer to oracle bone inscriptions and the fonts of this period as Dazhuan.
In terms of art, there were copper-cast inscriptions in the late Shang Dynasty, but the number of characters was very small. The bells and tripod inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty were exquisite works of art. The bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty refer to the inscriptions engraved on bells and tripods. It is the same system of writing as the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty. From the strokes to the knots and composition, they are all directly inherited from oracle bone inscriptions.
The Western Zhou Dynasty gold calligraphy style can be divided into three periods: the first period is from the Wu, Cheng, and Kang periods. The fonts are inherited from the Yin and Shang Dynasties, with thick strokes, more fat pens, strict and square structures, and large and small They are not uniform, the composition is scattered and natural, and the style is simple and vigorous, showing the vigorous atmosphere when it was first built in the Three Dynasties. The second period is the Zhao and Mu periods. The strokes tend to be rounder and rounder, with fat brushes in between. The structure is regular, the number of words per line is fixed, and the composition begins to be meticulous. The third period is the period of ***, Yi, Xiao, Yi, Li, ***he, Xuan, and You. The strokes are more even and thin, the fat strokes completely disappear, and the structures are colorful and vivid.
Regarding the origin of Chinese characters, there are theories such as Pa Xi’s Bagua creation, Shennong’s knotting of ropes and Cangjie’s pictograms, but no one can say for sure. What is basically certain is that after writing is born and put into use, there is a maturation process. On this road, it advances on the two legs of practical value and aesthetic value. As early as the Yangshao Culture period of the Neolithic Age more than 6,000 years ago, ancestors had already used pens to draw or mark on the pottery they used daily. If the theory that calligraphy and painting have the same origin is reasonable, then the history of writing or calligraphy should at least be no later than this.
Pre-Qin calligraphy is the earliest mature calligraphy that can be seen at present. In 1899, Wang Yirong accidentally discovered some carved symbols on a Chinese medicinal material called dragon bone. The dragon bone is the turtle shell, and the symbols engraved on it were later proved by archaeologists and paleographers to be oracle bone inscriptions. It was first unearthed from the Yin Ruins in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan. It is a relic of the Shang Dynasty about 3,400 years ago.
Later, after continuous excavation, as many as 100,000 oracle bone fragments were unearthed; the symbols on them totaled 4,500, of which 1,700 were deciphered and explained one by one. Most of the contents of oracle bone inscriptions are inscriptions, which record events that predict good or bad luck.
Oracle bone inscriptions are mainly made of inscriptions. From the perspective of calligraphy, they already have the main components such as composition, structure, and pen usage. For example, a piece of ox blade from the Shangwu Ding period (13th to 12th century BC) currently in the History Museum has as many as 128 inscriptions on it, describing the events of Dingyou and the Shang border. The composition of oracle bone inscriptions may be neat or scattered, the structure may be regular or random, and the lines may be delicate or strong. In addition to the objective limitations of the tools and materials used, the subjective aesthetic taste and calligraphy consciousness cannot be denied. In addition, oracle bones from the Zugengzujia period, Linxinkangding period oracle bones, Wuyiwending period oracle bones, etc., also have their own characteristics. Interestingly, a few oracle bones were not carved with knives, but were written in Zhu or ink script, which proves that writing tools such as brushes were already in use at that time. During the Warring States Period, another kind of writing material was silk script. Silk is a white silk fabric. In the Han Dynasty, silk fabrics were generally called silk fabrics or silk fabrics, or collectively called silk scrolls, so silk books were also called silk scrolls. In the 1930s, someone unearthed a silk book from a Chu tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province. It dates from the middle to late Warring States Period and is the earliest silk book in China. The silk book has pictures of gods and monsters and more than 900 words written on it. It is a numeracy book. Silk scripts had already appeared during the Spring and Autumn Period. "Guoyu·Yueyu" contains the words "The king of Yue wrote on silk in volumes", which shows that silk scripts and bamboo slips were used in parallel at that time.
In the pre-Qin era, writing moved from practicality to artistry. Calligraphy at this time was closely linked to the transformation of characters. It gradually matured from a naive stage to perfection, thereby establishing a special position in the history of Chinese calligraphy.