The development of bronze inscriptions promoted the development of calligraphy art, and bronze inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty were very mature calligraphy art, which was valued by calligraphy historians. It rewrote the traditional understanding that calligraphy can only be truly understood after the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and pushed the history of calligraphy art in China back to more than 3,000 years ago.
The style of inscriptions on bronze is generally called Da Zhuan or Shu Shu, and some are also called Li Shu. The book is a historian in Zhou Xuanwang's time, and the book is his calligraphy. Bronze inscriptions are first carved with ceramic models of inscriptions according to the original ink book, and then turned over and cast. Due to the superb casting technology of bronzes in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the inscriptions on bronzes can generally reflect ink calligraphy's brushwork to a certain extent. Therefore, inscriptions on bronze in Shang and Zhou Dynasties are actually a kind of calligraphy art in ink calligraphy.
Bronze calligraphy in Shang Dynasty was produced on the basis of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. It has few words, slender fonts, vigorous and beautiful brushwork, heavy atmosphere, rigorous structure, dignified situation and its own charm. Someone once summed it up as two styles, one is thick and plump, with sharp edges and corners at the beginning and end, with a fat pen in the middle, and the other is thick and thin, with straight strokes and little or no edges and corners.
After the demise of the Shang Dynasty in the Zhou Dynasty, the craftsmen who cast bronzes in the Shang Dynasty returned to Zhou one after another. Zhou people inherited the merchant's bronze calligraphy and developed it into a unique bronze calligraphy.
Judging from the style and style of calligraphy, bronze inscriptions in the early Western Zhou Dynasty are generally exquisite and beautiful, with obvious ups and downs, rigorous structure and free brushwork. The style of his early works is simple and unpretentious, and the hanging needle brushwork is more upright, which still has the influence of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. For example, the fonts of Li Chan and Tian Wuchan (or Dafeng Chan) during the reign of King Wu were simple and simple, and the strokes of Fiona Fang were simple and straight. In just 32 words, Li Chan described the important historical events of the Wu Dynasty, so he was called the Wu Dynasty. This is the earliest bronze carving found so far in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which pioneered the calligraphy of bronze inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Later, the style was dignified and bold, which showed the unique art of inscriptions on bronze. Such as Ling and Bao 'e when they became kings, and the big and generous ding when they were kings of Kang. Calligraphy is simple and quaint, majestic and magnificent. The herringbone or people-centered characters, Wang characters and other characters are commonly used with fat pens, which are obviously heavy, and calligraphers call them "wave style". In particular, the bronze inscription on Dayu Ding, line *** 19, word 29 1, records the great achievements of Kang Wang's recall of Wu Wen Order and Yin Kejianbang. Its dignified and elegant characters, appropriate size and vivid form are the highest achievements of bronze calligraphy in Cheng Kang world, and its rubbings are still treasured by calligraphers.