With the development of Chinese characters, after China was unified by Qin Dynasty, Chinese characters were constantly simplified and sorted out, and gradually standardized. The development of Chinese characters can be roughly divided into several stages, such as ancient prose, seal script, official script, regular script, running script and cursive script. Among them, seal script is divided into big seal script and small seal script; Lishu is different from Qin Lishu and Lishu. It can be seen that any new font in history has been gradually formed through long-term evolution. Generally speaking, after the formation of regular script, China characters have been basically finalized.
(Table 1: Evolution of Chinese Characters) (Attached)
1, ancient prose
Ancient prose includes Oracle Bone Inscriptions and inscriptions on bronze; Among them, the former is considered as the earliest stereotyped writing in China. Oracle Bone Inscriptions: In the late Shang Dynasty, most of the characters left on tortoise shells and animal bones were "Oracle Bone Inscriptions" and a few were "notes". Most of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's characters conform to the principles of pictographic characters and knowing characters, with pictophonetic characters accounting for only 20%. Bronze Inscription: In the pre-Qin period, copper was called gold, so the words engraved on the bronze were called bronze inscriptions, also known as money in harmony (the concave inscription on the bronze is money, and the convex inscription is knowledge, collectively referred to as inscriptions). Oracle Bone Inscriptions (attached)
2, seal script:
Seal script is divided into big seal script and small seal script. Legend has it that the historian Shi Chuan of Zhou Xuanwang once compiled inscriptions on bronze and wrote 15 pieces of Dazhuan, so Dazhuan is also called "Wen Shu". Dazhuan can be found in Shuowen Jiezi and various Zhong Ding Yi wares collected by later generations. Among them, Shi Guwen in Zhou Xuanwang is the most famous.
Shi Guwen Film Company
Xiao Zhuan, also known as Qin Zhuan, is a standard font compiled by Li Si, the prime minister of Qin Dynasty. Xiao Zhuan's body structure is harmonious, the strokes are even and neat, and the radicals have also been changed and merged. The change of characters from Dazhuan to Xiaozhuan is of great significance in the history of China characters.
Qin Xiaozhuan's "Taishan Stone Carving" is now in the Daimiao Temple in Taishan.
3. Official script:
The first step in the evolution from Xiao Zhuan to Li Shu, the most remarkable change is from graceful money bars to straight strokes, and from angular to angular. In the Western Han Dynasty, official script completed the transformation from seal script to official script, and the structure changed from vertical to horizontal, and the line ripple (inclined to the right with a pen) became more obvious. The appearance of official script is a great progress of China characters and a revolution in the history of calligraphy, which not only makes Chinese characters tend to a founder mode, but also lays the foundation for various calligraphy schools in the future.
Cao Quanbei, the official script of the Eastern Han Dynasty, is now in Xi 'an Forest of Steles.
Zhang Qianbei was an official script in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is now displayed in the Daimiao stele gallery.
4. Regular script
"Regular script" is also called original script, official script and official script. This font has been used to this day and is regarded as a standard font, which is deeply loved by the world. Regular script has a sense of stability and tranquility; Characters have different styles of the same font because of their different personal writing styles and personalities.
Ou Yangxun's regular script "Jiuchenggong Liquan Ming" was originally inscribed in Jiuchenggong, Linyou, Shaanxi Province, and is now preserved in xi 'an Stele Forest.
The preface to the sacred teachings of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda written by Chu Suiliang in Tang Dynasty is a regular script of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi 'an Ci 'en Temple in Shaanxi Province.
5. Running script
"Running script" is a writing style between regular script and cursive script, and it is free to write. Running script is different from official script and official script, and its fluidity can be freely used by writers. Running script shows a romantic and aesthetic atmosphere, smooth but not hasty, neat and bold. Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is considered to be the first person to run calligraphy.
"The best running script in the world" Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting
6, cursive script
"Cursive script", also known as "broken grass" and "modern grass", is a variety of ancient characters such as seal script, eight points and Zhang Cao. The cursive script originated in Cao Zhang, and Cao Zhang has a strong taste of official script, so it is named because it is mostly used for memorials. Cao Zhang has further developed into a "modern grass", also known as a "book". Cursive script can best reflect the beauty of lines in calligraphy art, with connected glyphs, flying strokes, vividness and simplicity, and can best express the heroic mood of artists and the personality style of creators. Zhang Xu and Huai Su in the Tang Dynasty were the best cursive writers. They wrote very fast, and their calligraphy was illegible. They were called "Wild Grass" and Zhang Xu was called "Grass Sage" by later generations.
Xufutong plaster
Su's thousand-character writing