First, seal script is the earliest form of calligraphy handed down from generation to generation.
Generally speaking, seal script can be divided into two types: big seal script and small seal script. Dazhuan refers to Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Jinwen, Jinwen and Six Kingdoms. This kind of calligraphy is mainly represented by hieroglyphics, which will be difficult to identify and write.
Later, after Qin unified the six countries, it began to standardize the characters, so it was simplified in the form of big seal script, which made the characters closer to real life. Although many people are not familiar with seal script now, it is the most connotative of so many kinds of calligraphy.
Second, official script, a font that began to be accepted by the public after seal script.
However, compared with seal script, it has greatly improved its aesthetics. Moreover, the effect of writing is a bit wide and flat, with long horizontal drawing and short straight drawing, all of which are its distinctive characteristics. Of course, the biggest feature of official script is its own unique ideological content. Through gentle brushwork and rigorous composition, it embodies thoughtful and connotative words.
Thirdly, official script has evolved into regular script, which can be divided into regular script, real script and official script.
Regular script is the oldest script in China, and there are many regular script writers in history. For example, Ou Yangxun, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan in the Tang Dynasty and Zhao Meng in the Yuan Dynasty all had deep attainments in regular script, and later they became independent. Nowadays, this kind of square and straight calligraphy has become the entry style of writing.
Because people need to study the strength and beauty of strokes, they also have very high requirements for the basic skills of calligraphy.
Fourth, the emergence of cursive script.
It means that writing not only stays at the connotation level, but also cares about its beauty, which is the highest artistic value among the five kinds of calligraphy. The structure of cursive script is extremely simple. On the whole, its strokes are endless, and the words seem messy, but they are natural. Since ancient times, there have been a few cursive scripts.