Regular script was used in the Tang Dynasty, and all official documents had fixed fonts.
There were about three kinds of fonts in the Han Dynasty:
(1) seal script is used for stone carving, lettering, and writing of high-level official documents and important ceremonies, such as imperial edicts, inscriptions on official bronzes, inscriptions, and words on palace tiles. ;
(2) Official script is mostly used to write intermediate official documents and classics, such as imperial edicts, classics, inscriptions, etc.
(3) Cursive script is used for low-level official documents and manuscripts, such as Yongyuan Artifact Book, Wuwei Medical Bamboo Slips, Japanese Taboo, Miscellaneous Bamboo Slips, etc. Other words, such as "ancient prose", have a narrow scope of application.
Seal script-There are few seal scripts in the Western Han Dynasty. Because the stele was not erected in the Western Han Dynasty, most of the seals left today are inscriptions, and their seal scripts gradually changed from round to square in the Qin Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the wind of erecting steles rose, and the steles were engraved with seal characters. The calligraphy was dense and the style was combined with Fiona Fang, which was different from the stone carving style in the Qin Dynasty. The most colorful inscriptions and seal scripts in the Han Dynasty are inscriptions. Some of them are square, strange in structure, and some are elegant, not only with diverse styles, but also with endless pens, or round and beautiful, or straight and square, or dense and sparse.
Another rich treasure house of seal script in Han Dynasty is bronze inscriptions. Most of the inscriptions on Han wares are written first and then carved by craftsmen, so the strokes are mostly square-folded, and the turning point is broken but not connected, which makes the seal script present another style. But its structure and strokes still show a variety of faces. Most of the bronze inscriptions in Xin Mang period were neat and upright square seals, with tall and upright structure and elegant and beautiful style.
Brick and tile characters in Han dynasty are mostly seal script, which is slender and decorative. The tile-shaped characters are written according to the shape, which has a unique style and gives the seal script a strong decorative interest.
There are not many seal scripts unearthed in Han Dynasty. The dried bamboo slips unearthed in Dunhuang, Gansu, the banners of Mozizi Han Tomb in Wuwei, and the seven letters of Zhang Wei unearthed in Juyan are all square seal scripts with thin and hard pens. Some of the silk scripts in Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province are seal scripts in the early Han Dynasty, which can be said to have the meaning of official script.
Lishu-Lishu originated very early and can be traced back to the Warring States Period. During the Qin Dynasty, official script was very popular among the people. After constant revision and improvement, it reached the highest stage in the Han Dynasty and became the main font in the Han Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty to the early Western Han Dynasty was the ancient period of official script. Most of the stone carvings in the Western Han Dynasty are official scripts, except for some ancient characters in the process of the gradual evolution of official scripts. Its structure is already the style of official script, but we haven't seen the typical strokes yet. From the end of the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, the official script developed to a mature stage. At this time, the shape of official script changed from rectangle to wide and flat, from vertical to horizontal, the strokes became neat and the waves became more perfect. The pitch echo of stippling makes the artistry of official script reach a harmonious and perfect state. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Li Shu's brushwork was more abundant, and he gave full play to the changes of brushwork in picking waves, and stopped with a pen, showing the characteristics of the swallowtail wave of the silkworm head. The change of structure density and the echo of stippling show the complex and changeable posture of official script and more diverse styles.
Bamboo slips and silks in Han dynasty are the main ink of official script. Judging from the discovered Han bamboo slips, neat official scripts are more common in pre-Qin classics and official imperial edicts. The most representative achievement of Lishu is the inscription in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the custom of setting up steles and carving stones prevailed. The stele itself is a stone carving work of art. As an important part of the stele, the inscription should form a perfect artistic form with the stele, so it pays special attention to calligraphy. Inscriptions in the official script of the Eastern Han Dynasty can be roughly divided into two types: the glyph is relatively square, the statutes are rigorous, and the waves are distinct; The style of writing is more casual and natural, the statutes are not very strict, and there is an unrestrained interest.
The former can be divided into two styles: ① the style tends to be dignified and beautiful, with more delicate carving, more obvious brushwork effect and clear brushwork. Knot, strokes frustrated. (2) tend to be simple and strong style, the knife carving effect is obvious, the strokes are square, the turns are neat and the structure is square.
The latter can also be divided into two styles: ① scribbling and uneven font size. (2) Because writing on a cliff is limited by the uneven stone surface, writing with stone has a natural and informal effect.
Han brick official script, there is a kind of prisoner's tomb brick, which is an inscription that records the burial of prisoners who serve hard labor after death. The words are carved casually with a knife, which is different from the brick text printed by the company.
The printed words are relatively simple and primitive, while the brick words in the criminal's tomb are scrawled at will, the writing is wireless, and the strokes are scattered at will, which has a bold and unrestrained interest and may be carved by folk calligraphers or craftsmen.
From Lishu to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the excessive pursuit of form and decoration, the structure was sluggish and lacked interest, and it began to decline. This trend was even worse in Wei and Jin Dynasties, so the decline of official script became an inevitable trend.
The cursive script of Qin and Han Dynasties is the Cao Zhang period in the development history of China cursive script. The cursive script in the early Han Dynasty is a kind of official script (ancient book) written simply and quickly. This kind of cursive script can be seen from the bamboo slips of Shenque for four years. The cursive script of this period is the stage of Cao Li or Cao Li.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, cursive script gradually appeared. At this time, cursive scripts can be found in medical bamboo slips unearthed in Wuwei, bamboo slips unearthed in Dunhuang and bamboo slips unearthed in Beihou. In Cao Wei and the Western Jin Dynasty, cursive script was continuously processed by calligraphers, forming a formal cursive script. Later generations called this cursive script Cao Zhang to distinguish it from the cursive script popular in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Cao Zhang was popular in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In addition to a large number of cursive scripts unearthed, such as Zhuan Xu bricks, Ram Zhuan Xu bricks, Horse bricks and Cao Shi tomb bricks unearthed in Bozhou, Anhui Province, are all engraved with calligraphy, which shows that the Eastern Han Dynasty was quite popular among the people.
The Sui Dynasty was dominated by traditional regular script, supplemented by traditional running script and cursive script. Calligraphy in Sui Dynasty inherited from the Southern and Northern Dynasties and started from the Tang Dynasty. The calligraphy style is unique, comprehensive, and inseparable from the rules. In the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, it was elegant and elegant, and in the Northern Dynasties, it was full of vigor and vitality. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the standard of great demeanor has been initially formed here, and the calligraphy style of the two kings began to prevail. Famous calligraphers include Ding Daohu, Shi Ling and Zhi Yong. There are thousands of words in calligraphy ink and thousands of words in classics. The inscriptions of Longzang Temple, Qifa Temple and Dong Nianpu show the calligraphy style of this period.
Regular script in the Tang Dynasty, like the prosperity of the national situation in the Tang Dynasty, is really unprecedented. Calligraphy style is mature, and calligraphers come forth in large numbers. In terms of regular script, Yu Shinan, Ou Yangxun, Chu Suiliang in the early Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing in the middle Tang Dynasty and Liu Gongquan in the late Tang Dynasty all valued their regular script works and regarded them as models of calligraphy.
In ancient times, there was a saying: "Learning calligraphy must start with the pattern, and writing must start with the big characters. Chinese characters are based on Yan, Chinese characters are based on Europe, Chinese characters are familiar, and then they are gathered into small characters. " However, according to the results of many years of experimental research, it is not appropriate for beginners to learn too big words first, but it is more suitable for Chinese letters.
The regular script of Ou Yangxun, Yu Shinan and Chu Suiliang, three great calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty, is the most suitable model for copying Chinese characters. This is a simple introduction as follows:
Regular script, which originated from ancient Li, is based on the style of two kings and the style of northern school in the Six Dynasties. They are unique in structure, unique in originality, authoritative and influential in society, and are the standard for learning books. Investigating the characteristics of regular script, the pen is strong and powerful, the strokes are neat and tidy, and the structure is cheerful and healthy. His representative works of regular script inscriptions include "Jiuchenggong Liquan Ming" and "Huadu Temple Monument".
Yu Shinan's regular script, elegant and graceful, inherited the legacy of the wise and brave Zen master and was the clique of the Wang school. Although it originated in Wei and Jin Dynasties, its softness on the outside and rigidity on the inside swept away the cowardice of Wei and Jin calligraphy style. His masterpiece in regular script is Confucius Temple Monument.
Chu Suiliang's regular script is famous for its sparseness and strength. Although he is the ancestor of the right army, he can win its charm. Its font structure seems very bold and unrestrained, but it can skillfully reconcile the quiet style and create an unprecedented situation. His masterpiece in regular script is Preface to the Sermon of Yanta.
Lower case, as the name implies, is the lower case in regular script, which was founded by Zhong Yao in the Wei Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms. He is the most outstanding authoritative official script master, and his regular script style is also born out of Han Li, and his brushwork is very vivid. However, the structure is wide and flat, the horizontal painting is long and the vertical painting is short, and the legacy of official division still exists. However, the model method is ready, and it is actually the ancestor of the official book. When Wang Xizhi came to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he studied the lower case calligraphy more carefully and made it perfect, which also set a good appreciation standard for China's lower case calligraphy.