Every font in China's calligraphy has its history of development, and the development of seal script is closely related to the development of ancient Chinese characters. As the first five-style calligraphy, it is an independent and unique calligraphy style in calligraphy art. Today, although seal script is not dominant in the application of characters, it is directly related to the study of ancient civilization and the tracing of history in China because it is in the pre-calligraphy origin and application period. In addition, in the development history of more than two thousand years, this kind of calligraphy has also undergone many changes, and it runs through the whole history of calligraphy with its unique characteristics and beautiful performance. Therefore, it is the lifeblood of cultural heritage and plays an irreplaceable role and research value in archaeology, text research, philosophy, aesthetics and human sociology.
Chinese characters have a long history and various forms. In the stage of ancient Chinese characters, there have been different opinions on the boundaries of seal script. Generally speaking, in the seal script system, the characters before Qin Dynasty are called "Da Zhuan" and the unified characters in Qin Dynasty are called "Xiao Zhuan", which is a broader statement. In fact, after China first discovered Wen Tao, the earliest written materials recorded in Chinese characters can be said to be "Oracle Bone Inscriptions". In other words, Oracle Bone Inscriptions should be regarded as a kind of calligraphy alone; Secondly, the characters on bronzes, that is, "bronze inscriptions", were used by Qin in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and ancient prose was used by six countries, which later developed into the seal script of Qin State. These different views on the evolution of Chinese characters involve a lot of knowledge of Gu. Because this book is mainly aimed at beginners of seal script, from the perspective of the introduction of seal script writing, it only summarizes the main seal script and its development in the evolution period, and then introduces and guides Xiao Zhuan step by step as the main learning object.
(1) Oracle Bone Inscriptions
Oracle Bone Inscriptions was written on tortoise shells in Shang Dynasty and even in the early Zhou Dynasty. Because its content is mostly the words of royal divination, it is also called "Oracle". Oracle Bone Inscriptions was unearthed in Xiaotun Village, the site of Yin Shang Dynasty in the suburb of Anyang, Henan Province, so it is also called "Yin Ruins" and "Yin Qi".
According to records, Yin Ruins, centered on Xiaotun on the south bank of Huanshui, was the capital of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. After the demise of Shang Dynasty, these Oracle Bone Inscriptions were buried underground and could not be published. Thousands of years later, when local farmers were ploughing fields, they occasionally found that ancient bones were sold to pharmacies as "keels" because they were not used to treat knife wounds. On 1898, an antique dealer gave some to Wang Xiang and Meng in Tianjin for identification. They think they are precious cultural relics in ancient times, which means "ancient bamboo slips". 1899, Wang jianding, a Beijing epigraphist, identified these Oracle Bone Inscriptions and found that they were written in Shang dynasty. This discovery shocked the archaeological community. Later, archaeologists such as Liu E, Sun Yirang, Luo Zhenyu and Wang Guowei made a systematic study on Oracle bone inscriptions on the basis of collecting and sorting out a large number of Oracle bones, and wrote many accounts and monographs. Since then, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, another new research field in China's modern academic history, has flourished. Its discovery not only provides valuable information for studying the history of Shang Dynasty in China and the ancient history of human society as a whole, but also attracts great attention from scholars all over the world and becomes an independent international discipline. At the same time, it also had a far-reaching impact on the study of China's calligraphy history and calligraphy creation.
Judging from the150,000 objects unearthed from Oracle bones with more than 5,000 words, they are figures with a certain scale and level after a considerable period of development. Most of the Chinese characters in this period have conformed to the theory of "Six Books" (such as pictographic, knowing and phonological), and the grammar is similar to that of later generations. From the perspective of calligraphy, Oracle Bone Inscriptions's font styles are different in different periods, but the overall writing style is natural. Because it is lettering, the strokes are simple and simple, the font is simple and naive, the structure is uneven and the composition is natural. It not only shows the ancient ancestors' aesthetic consciousness of pursuing freedom, interest and beauty in writing, but also understands the brushwork of seal script and the differences caused by different carriers, which will inspire and draw lessons from later calligraphy creation.
(2) bronze inscription
Bronze inscriptions, a calligraphy style after Oracle Bone Inscriptions, are named for their die-casting or carving on bronzes. In ancient times, copper was called gold, so this inscription was generally called "bronze inscription". Most of its contents are records of offering sacrifices, praising ancestors, and making it clear to future generations.
The Western Zhou Dynasty was a prosperous period for the development of ancient civilization in China, and the culture of Zhou people made remarkable progress compared with that of Shang Dynasty. The inscriptions on bronze in the Western Zhou Dynasty developed greatly with the further respect of etiquette by Zhou people and the abnormal development of bronze smelting and casting industry. There are about six or seven hundred inscriptions on bronze relics in the world. Since the Song Dynasty, epigraphy has risen widely, from identification to imitation, from research to creation, constantly enriching the brushwork system and aesthetic field of China's calligraphy art, and its influence on calligraphy is far greater than that of Oracle Bone Inscriptions.
Jin Wen and Oracle Bone Inscriptions are a system in word creation, and they also show the relationship of inheritance and development in calligraphy. Because their carriers are bronzes, they have formed distinctive features such as special strokes, rounded lines, concise glyphs and vivid structures. Representative works include Yu Ding, Sanpan, Mao Dinggong and Baizipan. Panxian Wall unearthed in Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province 1977 is an excellent model for beginners to learn.
(3) essay writing
Wen Shu was a kind of Wen Ning that prevailed in the State of Qin during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties. It was named after Zhou Xuanwang's fifteen biographies of Shi Tong. What we are seeing now are hundreds of words labeled "Wen Shu" in Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi. From the perspective of calligraphy, Wen Shu and Jin Wen are both called "Da Zhuan", and Shi Guwen is its representative. Its characteristics are more standardized and more mature than the bronze inscription, which reflects the transition from the bronze inscription to the small seal script (see the following section, "Appreciation of seal script masters": the entry of Shigu).
(4) Biography
Xiao Zhuan is the symmetry of Da Zhuan, also known as "Qin Zhuan". In 22 1 year BC, after Qin Shihuang unified China, he adopted a series of national policies to consolidate his dominant position, including "writing in the same language", demanding the national unification of Wen Ning and the abolition of six languages. On the basis of the Warring States and the Qin Dynasty, Xiao Zhuan absorbed the advantages of six languages and abolished a large number of regional variants, making it more orderly, simplified and standardized. This is the first large-scale systematic collation of ancient Chinese characters in the ancient history of China, and it is also a major milestone in the development history of Chinese characters. In order to meet the needs of writing, the unified seal script tends to be abstract, the pictographic meaning is greatly reduced, and the symbolization is more obvious, which has a far-reaching impact on the standardization of later generations.
Although the Qin Dynasty existed in the history of China for only fifteen years, it was soon replaced by the Han Dynasty. Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the Eastern Han Dynasty preserved the official seal script. There are also Yishan Stone Carvings, Taishan Stone Carvings, Langyatai Stone Carvings and Huiji Stone Carvings written by Li Si during Qin Shihuang. The achievements and contributions of Xiao Zhuan in Qin Dynasty lie in the expression of lines and the structure of calligraphy. The center of the line pen is elegant, subtle, calm and dignified, which is the goal of a good book. The structure is balanced, symmetrical, dense, neat, methodical and rigorous. Its overall aesthetic feeling is undoubtedly suitable for the aesthetic needs of the public. Practical features have an important inspiration for later generations to write official script, regular script, especially seal cutting white cloth.
(v) The continuation and development of Qin Zhuan in the future.
Although seal script did not occupy the mainstream position in the Han Dynasty, it was still the preferred font in some important occasions, such as tablet, tile and seal. In the 1920s, two Han seal inscriptions, Yuan An and Chang Yuan, unearthed in Yanshi, Luoyang, had high status as tomb owners, so the inscriptions were written in seal script, which had typical characteristics of Chinese seal. Other masterpieces that have been handed down include the Sangong Mountain Monument, Shao Shi Shinto and Mu Kai Temple. These carved stones are honest and dense, and Jun Fang is tall and straight and unique. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei Zhengshi's "Three-body Stone Classics" was regarded as the font of standard classics, integrating ancient Chinese, seal script and official script. During the Three Kingdoms period, Wu's book Tianfa Monument was famous for its magnificent momentum. In the Tang Dynasty, the famous calligrapher Li left books such as Three Graves, City God Temple and The First Book. And his seal script has always been regarded as a model. In the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty, there were Xu Xuan and Xu Kai (known as "Erxu" in the world) who were good at Xiao Zhuan. Xu Xuan's Yi Mountain Monument and his carefully revised Shuowen were published in imperial academy and widely circulated. Xu Kai's Shuowen Biography series also contributed to the preservation and interpretation of the original Shuowen. The seal script of Yuan and Ming Dynasties declined slightly. Until the rise of epigraphy in Qing dynasty, due to specific historical reasons, a large number of scholars devoted themselves to the research and writing of epigraphy, and then a large number of seal script masters emerged. With the increase in the number of stone carvings unearthed, they broadened their horizons and made the Qing Dynasty a period of revival and prosperity in the development of seal script. Wang Shu, Hong, and others in the early Qing Dynasty. Based on the outstanding achievements of epigraphy, they created the atmosphere of combining calligraphy with philology. After the middle of Qing Dynasty, Deng took Changfeng Yanghao as the seal, paying attention to the change of pen and ink, dignified and simple. Influenced by him are Wu Xizai, Zhao, Wu Dacheng and so on. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, Zhao Tieshan, Chang Zanchun, Wang Fuan and Deng Sanmu all stood in the forest of calligraphy art with their unique new features of seal script. In the field of ancient philology, Luo Zhenyu, Wang Guowei, Ding Foyan, Guo Moruo, Dong Zuobin, Yu, Shang Chengzuo, Zhang Zhuan and other famous experts have made bold explorations on various forms of seal script on the basis of studying ancient characters, showing artistic charm and great innovation consciousness different from the traditional ones, expanding the creative ideas of seal script and promoting the development of seal script art.
What needs to be rewritten here is Zhao Tieshan, a famous calligrapher who lived in Shanxi in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. He devoted himself to academic research all his life, and was proficient in epic and epigraphy, knowledgeable and upright, and integrated into pen and ink. Calligraphy is world-famous, especially seal script, which has great influence. Most of the tablets and business signs in Sanjin Middle School are handwritten, and Kang Youwei commented on his calligraphy: "No one is comparable to the north of the river." At the same time, Chang Zanchun is also a famous calligrapher. He studied epigraphy and calligraphy all his life, recited classics and historical stories, and taught literary calligraphy. His seal script and seal cutting are concise and Gu Zhuo, with high attainments and unique style. Zhao and Chang were undoubtedly the giants of North China's book circles at that time, with far-reaching influence. They even gave birth to a group of masters who studied seal script in Shanxi, and they have continued to this day. Obviously, in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, not only a large number of calligraphers emerged in the south, but also famous calligraphers in the north, which were famous at home and abroad. Recently, Zhao and Chang received the attention of experts and scholars at home and abroad, and established the "Zhao Tieshan Calligraphy and Taoism Research Society" in Japan. For decades, they have not traveled far from Wan Li to Shanxi to search for textual research, print and engrave inscriptions, and achieved remarkable results. In this chapter, the author puts forward "an overview of seal script", aiming to let seal script lovers fully understand the historical development of seal script.
Above, we have made a brief overview of the emergence and development of seal script. It plays a leading and expanding role in the whole process of calligraphy history, and its deeper cultural and aesthetic significance is beyond the scope of this paper. As a beginner, one can only know the origin of seal script preliminarily and selectively, which is of great significance to learning seal script.