Where did the flower-and-bird characters originate?

Flower-and-bird characters originated in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, began in the Han Dynasty, "developed" in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and matured in the Tang and Song Dynasties. They evolved from the Book of Birds and Insects in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, prevailed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and have been passed down to this day. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, local governors dominated, and bronzes were cast casually. Artists changed a few strokes into "figures" of birds, insects and animals, and inlaid them with gold for decoration. In the Warring States period, they followed suit, and after writing and making models, they directly cast the word "decoration" on bronzes. This word is also used in the inscription of Gou Jianjian and the national seal of Qin Shihuang. This special artistic feature continued to develop in the Han Dynasty and was applied to seals and bronzes. It was not until the appearance of "official script" in Han Dynasty that it was "classified" as the so-called "bird and insect book". In fact, it should be called the initial word (prototype) of the word flower and bird, which is the predecessor of the word flower and bird (combination).

The maturity of Han Li and cursive script, the appearance of regular script and running script, the invention and application of paper and various materials, the creation of "flying white book" by Cai Yong, a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Han Dynasty (inspired by seeing workers writing with brooms in Hongdumen during Xiping period), and the use of blackboard pens have all promoted the evolution of flower, bird and insect books to flower-and-bird characters. Since then, artists have created "bird and insect official script", "bird and insect book" and "bird and insect regular script" when decorating bronzes, pottery, stone carvings, jade articles and buildings. The strokes and patterns of Chinese characters complement each other and learn from each other. Most of the characters and strokes in the works have been gradually replaced by patterns such as flowers, birds, fish and insects, and a flat pen in the shape of a bamboo brush has also been used. The name of "flowers and birds" came into being with the pace of the times. The rise of running script in Wei and Jin Dynasties promoted the development of flower-and-bird characters. By the Tang Dynasty, painters had integrated Shu Shu, Sui Shu, Shu Yun, Qiuci and other techniques, and in the early Qing Dynasty, they absorbed western perspective and other techniques, and the flower-and-bird figures were basically stereotyped. Today, the word "flower and bird" was created by our ancestors and passed down from generation to generation, and gradually developed and perfected through thousands of years of long-term labor practice.

Artists of past dynasties absorbed the essence of pictographs, totem symbols, insect books, bird books, dragon books, ear books, forest books, fish books, tadpoles and rock paintings, and studied and borrowed the expressions and artistic techniques of western paintings, bottle paintings, shadow play paintings, etching paintings, Chinese and foreign decorative paintings, traditional calligraphy and painting, paper-cutting, embroidery and New Year pictures. With rich decorative language and beautiful lines with a sense of rhythm, they vividly depict all kinds of colorful flower-and-bird brushstrokes, which constitute different artistic charms in different times. Gradually, the book of flowers, birds and insects will be innovated into its own unique artistic form, expression and style-"modern" flowers and birds (combined figures).