The evolution of China's calligraphy is described as follows:
1. The art of calligraphy came into being in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in the middle and late Shang Dynasty, and the strokes are all single lines, which are thin and powerful, showing their sharpness at times. The layout is mostly vertical, and the lines are scattered, the size changes, and the density is good. These earliest remains of Chinese characters have possessed three elements of calligraphy: brushwork, composition and knot writing.
2. The inscriptions on bronze or "Zhong Dingwen" appeared in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, with neat and thick strokes, rounder starting, collecting and running than Oracle Bone Inscriptions's, and rich changes in the straightness. Mature bronze inscriptions are long in shape, the size of each word is symmetrical, and all parts pay attention to echo and cooperation. Mao Gong Ding and San Shi Pan are his representative works. Judging from the remains of bronze inscriptions, the artistry of calligraphy has gradually enriched.
3. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the country was divided and the society was in turmoil. Under different artistic pursuits, the vassal countries developed towards their own aesthetic trends, forming a gorgeous and colorful situation of calligraphy art. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the brush began to be widely used in calligraphy. The expressive force of the brush is rich, especially the inherent brushwork skills, which constitute the important elements of China's calligraphy in the future ── the emotion, aesthetic taste and brushwork skills of the calligrapher.
4. After the reunification of Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang ordered that "cars should be on the same track, and books should be in the same language", and Prime Minister Li Si popularized Xiao Zhuan, which became the official script. The unification of characters laid the foundation for the maturity of calligraphy art. From Li Si's Stone Carving on Mount Tai, it can be seen that Xiao Zhuan has the characteristics of flat shape, solitary strokes and complex structure, so it is inconvenient to sketch as an official text. As a result, Li Shu, which has a simple structure, turns a circle into a square, and is easy to write quickly, came into being.
5. In the Han Dynasty, official script gradually occupied the dominant position, became the official standard font, and entered the stereotyped period. The strokes of the official script in the Han Dynasty are straight, the structure is simple, and the setbacks are obvious, especially the inscriptions, which are exquisite. At the same time, in order to make the characters neat and convenient to write, the official script stipulates a special form of the single character used as a radical.
6. When people use words, they always want them to be easier to recognize and simpler to write, especially when the business is urgent and busy. At the same time, in the evolution from seal script to official script, cursive script came into being because of the rapid writing with brush and the development of brushwork.
that is, after the disintegration of the official law, what is written more accurately becomes a real script (regular script), what is written more closely becomes a cursive script, and what is between truth and cursive script. At this point, several writing forms of Chinese characters have been produced, and writing is not only practical, but also aesthetic feeling and enjoyment have become the driving force for development, and calligraphy art has entered a mature period.
7. The Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties is an important period in the history of Chinese calligraphy. In the process of development, the grass, block letters and lines have fully matured, and the technique system of China's calligraphy has basically taken shape. Calligraphy moves towards the stage of complete consciousness, and calligraphy has generally become a conscious appreciation object at all levels of society. Thirdly, the literati consciously pursue the beauty of calligraphy, regard calligraphy as an artistic practice, and diligently pursue it in skill and aesthetic style.
8. The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of feudal society in China. At that time, the unprecedented prosperity of social economy provided material conditions for the development of literature and art. The vigorous mind and mentality of the Tang people formed by the broad weather in the Tang Dynasty are embodied in the art of calligraphy as free and easy, grand and broad momentum.
9. After the Song Dynasty, there was no great achievement or breakthrough in fonts, and they only incorporated their own styles on the original basis, giving priority to individuality. In Song Dynasty, because the political environment was relatively relaxed, the rulers valued literature over martial arts, and calligraphy became an art that scholars generally liked, especially the casual running script.
1. Several emperors in the early Ming Dynasty, such as Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, all loved calligraphy. The state has a Chinese calligraphy department. Anyone who can write books will be awarded the official Chinese calligraphy, and the documents will be handled in the cabinet. However, the calligraphy of the Ming Dynasty was basically a continuation of the calligraphy of the Yuan Dynasty, and there was no major breakthrough.
11. The Qing Dynasty was an important turning point in the history of calligraphy in China, and the calligraphy circle gradually became a situation of "Tiexue" and "Inscription", which led to an unprecedented division of calligraphy schools. Wang Shihong, He Chao, Chen Yixi, and Jiang Chenying, four great masters in the early Qing Dynasty, were famous for their calligraphy skills, which had great influence on the literati at that time, and many of them were court calligraphers.