Tai Shicheng of Zhou Xuanwang once wrote the seal script (also known as the big seal script), and part of the seal script can also be seen in the interpretation of Chinese characters. After Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, Lisi played the same script, so Xiao Zhuan became popular, and the book "Explaining Chinese Characters" was based on explaining Xiao Zhuan. After the Han dynasty, the characters became more and more easy, and official script became the common character in the Han dynasty. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the font changed into regular script, which was easy to write, and remained quite stable after passing, and it has been used ever since. While regular script is popular, for the convenience of writing, there are also running scripts and cursive scripts, which are variants of regular script.
Cangjie creates characters
Huai Nan Zi? Ben Jing Xun said: "In the past, Cang Xie wrote books, but it rained heavily and ghosts cried at night." The general idea is that in the past, when Cangjie made characters, millet began to fall in the sky and ghosts cried at night. There are also records about Cangjie's word-making in ancient books such as Xunzi and Hanfeizi. In the Qin and Han dynasties, this legend spread more widely and had a deeper influence.
Historians in the past have verified whether Cang Xie was a real person, and if so, in which era, due to the lack of conclusive historical data, it is difficult to draw a conclusion.
Some people speculate that Cang Xie is the official historian of the Yellow Emperor. Xunzi? "Unveiling" said: "Therefore, there are many good readers, and Cang Xie's solo biography is also one." Someone explained that the "one" here is the correct way, that is, the correct law. Xunzi believed that Cang Xie was an expert who sorted out the characters by touching their laws because he concentrated on using them. Therefore, it is generally believed that he played a unique role in the process of Chinese characters' transition from primitive characters to more standardized characters. It can be inferred that such a person will definitely exist in the late stage of the origin of Chinese characters.
But the saying that "Cangjie creates characters" is just a legend. Because writing is definitely not original by Cang Xie alone, but it was created by observing natural things in the process of collective production and labor and according to the ideological content to be expressed when social culture developed to a certain stage and writing was needed. Chinese characters are a huge and rich system, which cannot be created successfully without a long time.
Wen Tao
the ancestor of Chinese characters. In the pre-historical period and early historical period of China, before Chinese characters came into being, the symbol that most resembled characters was Wen Tao. Wen Tao has unearthed a lot of materials, but it doesn't have a written space like Oracle Bone Inscriptions's, only a single symbol. From the Neolithic Age to the late Shang Dynasty, the earliest unearthed Wen Tao is Banpo Wen Tao, which is about 48-43 BC. In addition, Wen Tao also existed in Dawenkou culture, Longshan culture and Liangzhu culture. Wen Tao is mostly engraved on the black wide band pattern and black inverted triangle pattern on the outer edge of the pottery bowl, and a few are engraved on the outer wall of the pottery bowl and the bottom of the pottery bowl. Generally, there is only one Wen Tao on the utensils. There are different views on the nature of these Wen Tao in academic circles. Qiu Xigui thought it was a "sign", Guo Moruo thought it was a "symbol with the nature of words", while Yu Shengwu and other scholars thought it belonged to the category of words. Mr. Tang Li 'an (Lan) said that Wen Tao, a Dawenkou culture, was "the ancestor of the existing scripts, which have a history of about 5,5 years". It is very difficult to decipher Wen Tao, and so far only a few words can guess that it is equivalent to a certain word of future generations. However, Wen Tao is related to Chinese characters, which should be affirmed.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions
Oracle Bone Inscriptions in the Shang Dynasty was the real writing of China.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions was written in Shang Dynasty (14 BC). These characters are named Oracle Bone Inscriptions because they are carved on animal bones or tortoise shells. Characters are carved with a knife, so they are also called "Qiwen" and "Qike". The contents of the characters, except for a few notes, mostly belong to the records of the princes and diviners at that time, so they are also called "oracles" or "divination characters". In addition, because the inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells were unearthed in Anyang County, Henan Province (formerly the old capital of the Yin Dynasty), they are also called "Yin Ruins". Strictly speaking, only in Oracle Bone Inscriptions can it be called calligraphy. Because Oracle Bone Inscriptions has possessed the three basic elements of China's calligraphy: writing with a pen, writing with words, and composing. However, not all the previous picture symbols have these three elements.
inscriptions on bronzes
In ancient times, copper was called gold, so people called the inscriptions on bronzes inscriptions on bronzes inscriptions. Bronze first appeared in Shang and Zhou dynasties, forming a splendid bronze culture in Chinese history. Bronzes can be roughly divided into more than ten categories, mainly including food containers, wine containers, water containers, weapons, chariots and horses, and various tools.
Since the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, bells with different sizes have appeared in bronzes, which are the main ritual vessels for sacrifice and banquet. Ding in bronze ware was mostly used as a sacrificial vessel for cooking livestock to worship the heavens and ancestors, and later Zhong Ding became a symbol of state power. Because the bell and tripod are important ritual vessels in bronze wares, the bronze inscription is also called Zhong Dingwen.
bronze inscriptions are important historical materials. "Book of Rites" said: "Fu Ding has an inscription, and the inscription has its own name. Since the name is known for the beauty of its ancestors, it is also known to the later generations. " "On Ming" in the Han Dynasty said: "Zhong Ding's book of rites and music shows virtue and discipline to show his descendants." From this, it can be seen that the inscriptions on bronze are mainly used for the rulers to worship their ancestors and sing praises. The calligraphy art of inscriptions and the plastic arts of bronzes are a whole, and it is the calligraphy art of epigraphy and the magnificent plastic arts that reflect each other, making bronzes the embodiment of beauty.
from the middle of Shang dynasty, bronzes began to be inscribed. from the late Shang dynasty to the early western Zhou dynasty, bronzes became thick and exquisite. Clouds and thunder patterns are often used as the background to set off gluttonous patterns and Kui Wen, giving people a deep, mysterious, ferocious and dignified atmosphere. The bronze inscription was cast with a clay model, which is quite different from Oracle Bone Inscriptions carved with a knife.
Simu Wuding is a representative work of Shang Dynasty. The inscriptions on bronze are shaped by the image of things, the stippling uses natural curves to describe things, and one or two lines are often used to highly summarize the characteristics of objective things. There were new changes in the inscriptions on bronze in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In 1976, the Emperor Wu of Wu was found in Lintong, Shaanxi Province. The inscription described the victory of the Battle of Muye, a representative work of the early Western Zhou Dynasty. By the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the bronze wares were gradually simple, but the inscriptions were constantly enriched, and the calligraphy art of bronze inscriptions reached a new peak, with skillful, beautiful and unrestrained calligraphy. At that time, there were three main styles of inscriptions on bronze: the first kind, the pen was stretched, the handwriting was correct and the strokes were even, and the representative works were Jing Gui, Da Ke Ding and Mao Gong Ding. The second category, the brushwork is round, the body is vigorous and gorgeous, the density is proper, and it has a high artistic level of calligraphy; At the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there appeared a kind of inscription with a square shape, such as "White Plate of Guo Ji Zi", which became another style, which opened up the calligraphy style in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Shi Guwen
Pre-Qin stone carving characters in Shi Guwen. Shi Guwen is the earliest and most representative stone inscription in China. Stone drum, * * * ten drums, respectively engraved with a four-character poem, about three feet in diameter. The content describes Qin Guojun's hunting, so it is also called "hunting". Because of being abandoned in Chencang Yunye, it is also known as "Chencang Shijie". It is engraved with the big seal script before Qin Shihuang unified the text, that is, the essay. Ishihara was discovered in Sanchayuan, Tianxing (now Baoji, Shaanxi) in the early Tang Dynasty. Since Du Fu, Wei Yingwu and Han Yu wrote songs and poems in the Tang Dynasty, they have appeared in the world. It is said that Sima Chi (the father of Sima Guang) in the Song Dynasty found the ninth, moved to the government school, and the emperor Hu (149-153) spread the teacher to get it all. Daguan (117-111) moved to Tokyo (now Luoyang, Henan Province) and later entered the Gugu Pavilion in the Baohe Hall of the Inner Government. When the Jin people were broken, they returned to Yanjing and were placed in the Dacheng Gate of Guozi School. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, Shi Guwen moved south to Shu. After the war, he was transported back to Beiping and is now in the Palace Museum. In the age of stone carving, Zhang Huaiguan, Dou Gao and Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty thought that Zhou Wenwang was a thing of the past. Wei Yingwu and others thought that Zhou Xuanwang was a thing of the time; In Song Dynasty, Dong Ji and Cheng Dachang thought that Zhou Chengwang was a thing of the time; In Jin Dynasty, Ma Dingguo thought that in the 11th year of the Western Wei Dynasty (545); In the Qing Dynasty, Yu Zhengxie thought that the Northern Wei Dynasty was Taiping Zhenjun for seven years (446). Those who thought Qin things began in Zheng Qiao in the Song Dynasty, and Zhen Jun thought Qin Wengong things in the Qing Dynasty; Today, Ma Heng thinks that Qin Mugong is a time thing, Guo Moruo thinks that Qin Xianggong is a time thing, and Tang Lan takes an examination of the 11th year of Qin Xiangong Ye (before 374). For details, please refer to the Textual Research on Shigu Age. There are many damaged stone carvings. There are only 465 words recorded by Ouyang Xiu in the Northern Song Dynasty, and only 462 words in the rubbings of the Song Dynasty collected by Fan's "Tianyi Pavilion" in the Ming Dynasty. Today, there is no word left in one of the drums, "Yu, Chu and Ouyang * * * are called ancient wonders" in the early Tang Dynasty (quoted from "Yuanhe County Atlas"). Zhang Huaiguan's Book Broken says: "Shi Guwen opens the ancient prose, which makes it sharp, but it folds straight and fast, like an iron needle, and the end is easy and graceful." Kang Youwei, a close friend, said: "The Stone Drum is like a golden tablet, and the grass and grass clouds don't bother to cut it." The excellent books of Mo Tuo handed down from generation to generation include Zhao Mengfu in Yuan Dynasty (that is, Fan's Tian-Ge), Zhongquan in Anguo in Ming Dynasty, Pioneer (also known as Qianmao) and Houli, all of which are Song Tuo editions. "Tianyi Pavilion" has been destroyed by fire, and the last three are all in Japan. There are photocopies for the world. The original stone is now in the Palace Museum.
most of his calligraphy fonts are rectangular, with clean body, dignified and dignified style, steady brushwork, stone and shape, poetry and characters integrated, full of simple and vigorous beauty.
Xiaozuan
"Zhuan" was originally a combination of Xiaozhuan and Dazhuan. Because it is customary to refer to Zhuan Wen as Dazhuan, later generations often refer to "Zhuan Wen" exclusively. Xiao Zhuan, also known as Qin Zhuan, is a font changed from the omission of Da Zhuan, which originated in Qin State in the late Warring States Period and prevailed in Qin Dynasty and the early Western Han Dynasty. During the Warring States period, when countries were separated, the characters of different countries were not unified, and the fonts were quite complicated. So Qin Shihuang unified the world's characters with the script of Qin, abolished all kinds of forms different from those of Qin's characters in six countries, omitted and deleted the original script of Qin, and at the same time absorbed some simplified and popular fonts from folk characters and standardized them, thus forming a new font-Xiao Zhuan.
China characters developed to the stage of Xiao Zhuan, and gradually began to finalize the outline, strokes and structure, which weakened the pictographic meaning, made the characters more symbolic, and reduced the confusion and difficulties in writing and human reading. This is also the product of using administrative means to standardize the characters on a large scale for the first time in Chinese history. The Qin Dynasty unified the national characters by using the sorted seal script, which not only basically eliminated the phenomenon of different lines of characters in different places, but also greatly changed the situation of different fonts in ancient Chinese, and played an important role in the history of the development of China characters. In addition to Xiao Zhuan, it includes Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jinwen, which are collectively referred to as Chinese characters; The development of ancient philology has a great influence on the study of China's ancient history, philosophy, economy, law, culture, science and technology.
Li Shu
Although Xiao Zhuan is a relatively neat rectangle, its structure is composed of evenly rounded lines, but it is quite inconvenient to write, and the font is complicated. Due to various shortcomings, a new font has quickly appeared among the people, in which the dignified and neat, rounded and curved lines of Xiao Zhuan are written with square folds. This font is said to be popular among lower-level small officials, craftsmen and slaves at that time, so it is called ". In the Han Dynasty, official script replaced Xiao Zhuan as the main font, and the development history of China characters broke away from the stage of ancient characters and entered the stage of official script. After the Han Dynasty, Xiao Zhuan became an ancient font mainly used for engraving seals and inscriptions on bronzes. The formation of official script changed the characters that follow the shape of the object into simple characters composed of some straight strokes, which greatly improved the writing speed. China script changed from seal script to official script, which is called "official script change". Official script change is an important turning point in the development of China script, ending the stage of ancient script and making China script enter a more stereotyped stage. After official script change, the script is close to the current script and easier to identify than the ancient script.
cursive script
cursive script is a sloppy and fast font. Cursive script is a simple font to assist official script, which is mainly used for drafting manuscripts and communication. In the process of the formation of cursive script, because the government's assistants and historians often need to use drafting documents, it has affected the circulation of cursive script. After entering the Eastern Han Dynasty, after being processed by literati and calligraphers, cursive script has a relatively regular and strict shape, which can be used in some official occasions, called "Zhangcao", with a little taste of official script, retaining the strokes and strokes of official script. Because the cursive script is too simple and easy to be confused with each other, it can't replace the official script as the main font. After the emergence of regular script, cursive script developed further on the basis of regular script. Not only strokes can be linked, but also strokes can be linked up and down. Some features of official script strokes also disappeared, forming another type of cursive script, which is called "modern grass".
Running script
Running script is a font between regular script and cursive script, not as neat as regular script, nor as bold as cursive script; If regular script is like a person sitting and cursive script running, then running script is a person walking, because running script is more casual than regular script and can be written quickly, and it is not like cursive script that people can't understand, so it is most loved by people. Running script probably began to be popular among the people in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, known as the "Book Sage", created a large number of running script works, which have long been loved by people. Running script has no strict writing rules, and if it is written regularly and close to regular script, it is called true line or regular script; What is written with a little indulgence and a strong taste of cursive script is called cursive script, which is faster than regular script and not as difficult to distinguish people as cursive script, so it has high practical value.
regular script
in terms of font structure, regular script is similar to official script, but it changes the writing style of official script strokes from flat official script to basically square regular script, that is, the so-called "square characters". Regular script is also called official script and real script, which shows that regular script is a regular script for people to learn and use. The earliest calligrapher of regular script was Zhong You at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In his works handed down, the brushwork of official script still remains somewhat. Regular script experienced many changes in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and it was only after Sui and Tang Dynasties that it was basically finalized. After finalization, the regular script was quite exquisite and rigorous in strokes and structure, such as the works of Ou Yangxun, a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty.
After China characters entered the regular script stage, the font style continued to be simplified, but the font style did not change much. As one of the four great inventions in China, printing used regular script as the main font for printing books. In the books engraved in the Song Dynasty, regular script was refined and written more regularly and beautifully, and it was called "Song Style". Later, it was changed by imitating Song Style, which was called "Imitation Song Style". The fonts used in books and newspapers we read today are generally variations of this style of regular script.