Variant characters are a group of words with the same pronunciation and meaning but different glyphs. Because Chinese characters are composed of signifiers, notes and symbols, the angle of choosing signifiers varies from person to person, and the notes are different from the letters in Pinyin, so the phenomenon of multiple forms of one word can be found everywhere in the history of Chinese characters.
Reasons for abolishing variant forms
The existence of variant characters will cause confusion of words. 1955, the Language and Character Reform Commission of China and the Ministry of Culture published the first list of variant characters, which stipulated the standard characters and abolished the variant 1055, thus reducing our learning difficulty.
Reasons for many variant characters in calligraphy
China's calligraphy art has a profound historical origin, which is different from ordinary writing. Writing with simplified characters in calligraphy works tends to dilute the historical and cultural background of the formation of calligraphy art itself. For example, simplified Chinese characters appear when writing official script calligraphy works, which will make people feel awkward and incompatible with the ancient cultural heritage contained in official script. So there are many variations of calligraphy.
First, China's calligraphy is not monotonous, but full of changes.
In calligraphy works, if the same word appears or the same stroke appears in a word, the writing style must be changed, which is the established law and requirement of calligraphy creation. Writing variant characters can just meet this requirement.
Second, pursue the perfection of writing font and avoid writing timidity.
People who often write calligraphy have this experience. Some words or strokes are just not well written, so they are afraid to write. Rewriting variant characters can often get rid of this embarrassment.
Third, it embodies the charm and beauty of writing.
Variant characters are not written casually, but also have specific standard writing requirements, and their writing method is an artistic beauty formed in long-term calligraphy practice. Using such variant characters in calligraphy works can increase the aesthetic feeling of calligraphy works.