Regular script is also called Zhengkai, Zhenshu, and Zhengshu. It gradually evolved from the official script founded by Cheng Miao, and became more simplified, horizontally
flat and vertical. "Cihai" explains that it "has a square shape and straight strokes, which can be used as a model." Hence the name regular script. It began in the late Han Dynasty and has been popular ever since.
The emergence of regular script closely followed the rules and regulations of the Han Dynasty, and pursued the further development of physical beauty. At the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, the writing of Chinese characters gradually changed from waves and stilts to apostrophes and swivelings, and had " Strokes such as "side" (point), "plunder" (long stroke), "peck" (short stroke), and "lift" (straight hook) make the structure more rigorous. Such as "Wuwei Medical Slips", "Juyan Han Slips", etc. The characteristic of regular script is that it is neat and orderly. It is a model among fonts, so it is called regular script and has been used to this day. [1]
Regular script has the meaning of being a model, which has been mentioned in Zhang Huaiguan’s "Shu Duan". People in the Six Dynasties still used it habitually. For example, Yang Xin's "Cai" article and Wang Sengqian's "Lun Shu Wei Dan Biography" said: "Dan Zi Zhongjiang, a native of Jingzhao, good at regular script." That is "eight points." The abbreviation of "Kaifa". It was only in the Northern Song Dynasty that it replaced the name of the official book. Its content is obviously different from the ancient name. Examples of different names but the same name but the same name but the same reality are probably the above.
Regular script is the most popular calligraphy style in my country’s feudal society from the Northern and Southern Wei to the Jin and Tang Dynasties. Before the emergence of regular script, my country's calligraphy had produced three calligraphy styles: large seal script, small seal script and official script. Dazhuan is relative to Xiaozhuan. Generally, all ancient characters before Xiaozhuan are collectively called Dazhuan, including oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions and the characters of the Six Kingdoms except Qin during the Warring States Period. Xiaozhuan was the script that became popular after the Qin Dynasty unified China. It was based on the characters of the Qin State, with reference to the characters of other vassal states, and was simplified and standardized for the convenience of writing. This was the first standardized calligraphy style in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Official script is another representative calligraphy style that emerged after Xiaozhuan. It was produced on the basis of Xiaozhuan. The emergence of official script is a great revolution in Chinese characters. Its significance is not only that Chinese characters have become symbolic, but more importantly, it has changed the writing style and aesthetic trend of Chinese characters, thus laying the foundation for the emergence of regular script calligraphy art, and then for China The development and prosperity of calligraphy art has opened up a vast world.
As a result, the art of calligraphy in regular script (called official script at that time, which assisted small seal script and made writing faster) was directly nurtured in the various calligraphy fields during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Following its rules, the development history of Chinese regular script can be divided into four periods: the embryonic period of regular script - Qin and Han Dynasties, the development period of regular script - Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the prosperous period of regular script - Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, and the period of regular script preservation. ——Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing.
Song Xuanhe's calligraphy: "In the early Han Dynasty, Wang Cizhong began to write regular script with official characters." The regular script here actually refers to the eight-point script created by Wang Cizhong, not what is called regular script today. It is also said that "on the tomb of Confucius, Zigong planted a regular regular tree with straight branches and not bending." The strokes of regular script must be simple and clear, and they must be like the branches of the regular script tree.