Chinese characters in China originated from hieroglyphics and are one of the oldest characters in the world. It has both the image beauty of painting and the artistic conception beauty. As a kind of writing, it is not only practical, but also an art that can be appreciated by people.
After a long historical development, the calligraphy art of Chinese characters has different styles and changes, but as far as calligraphy style is concerned, it can be divided into five types: seal script, official script, regular script, running script and cursive script.
Seal script: including the big seal script and the small seal script, evolved from Oracle Bone Inscriptions and prevailed in the Qin Dynasty, with a unified and neat form.
Regular script: also known as official script and original script, developed from official script. It started at the end of Han Dynasty and prevailed in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and has been popular ever since. The graphics are square and the strokes are forceful.
Running script: between regular script and cursive script, it is not as straight as regular script, nor as scribbled as cursive script. Relatively free, there is no set of prescribed writing methods. Those close to regular script are called running script, and those close to cursive script are called running script. Writing is simple, easy to identify and practical. According to legend, the running script began in the late Han Dynasty and has been in use ever since.
Cursive script: a font based on running script for the convenience of writing. It is said that it began in the early Han Dynasty and developed from Cao Zhang to today's grass and weeds after several generations.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions, born in the middle and late Shang Dynasty, painted a single line, thin and powerful, showing his edge at times. The layout is mostly vertical, the lines are scattered, the size changes, and the density is good. These earliest remains of Chinese characters have three elements of calligraphy: brushwork, composition and structure. Especially from Oracle Bone Inscriptions's writing, it embodies the beauty of lines and the symmetry of word modeling.
Therefore, the appearance of Oracle Bone Inscriptions laid the foundation of China's calligraphy art and marked the appearance of China's calligraphy art. Bronze inscriptions, or "Zhong Dingwen", appeared in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and their strokes are neat and thick, more round than Oracle Bone Inscriptions's beginning, receiving and flowing, with rich changes in form and tone.
Mature bronze inscriptions are long in shape, symmetrical in size, and each department pays attention to coordination. Mao and Pan is his masterpiece. Judging from the bronze inscriptions left behind, the artistry of calligraphy is gradually enriched.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the country was divided and the society was in turmoil. Under different artistic pursuits, the vassal States developed towards their own aesthetic trends, forming a colorful situation of calligraphy art. For example, the mainstream of Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jinwen always developed along the road of carving; Then in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the brush began to be widely used in calligraphy.
The expressive force of the brush is rich, especially the inherent brushwork, which constitutes an important element of China's calligraphy in the future ── calligrapher's emotion, aesthetic taste and brushwork. From the rubbings of "Stone Drum" preserved in this period, it can be seen that the structure writing is more regular than the bronze inscriptions, with vigorous strokes and dense structure. "Shi Guwen" began to transform into Xiao Zhuan. It is not only the basis of unified writing in Qin dynasty, but also has a great influence on the calligraphy style of later generations.