The earliest calligrapher in China was Li Si.
Li Si (about 280 BC - 208 BC), the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, was a famous politician, writer and calligrapher in Chinese history. Li Si was not only a famous politician, but also the first calligrapher recorded in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Li Si used Xiaozhuan as the standard to unify the writing system across the country. He himself had a great influence on the development of Xiaozhuan calligraphy. Later generations of calligraphers respected him as the "ancestor of Xiaozhuan calligraphy". Li Si's Xiaozhuan font is superb and has an exquisite structure. His brushwork is strong and the font structure is tight at the top and loose at the bottom. On the whole, the font of the inscription is stable and strict, graceful and elegant. Li Si's calligraphy can be said to be the leader of calligraphy in the past dynasties. He is the earliest great calligrapher in my country.
Li Si's "Taishan Stone Carvings" is the only authentic Qin seal that has been preserved to this day, and it is also Li Si's only handwriting handed down from generation to generation. The rest are copied by later generations. Although they are not as exquisite as the original work, they can still express something. The seal script of "Taishan Stone Carvings" has also become a model for later generations of small seal script. The stone carvings that are said to have been written by Li Si include "Taishan Fengshan Carving Stone", "Langya Carving Stone", "Yishan Carving Stone", "Kuiji Carving Stone", etc.