The origin of official script: Official script is an important milestone in the development history of Chinese characters, and it is an important traditional script. It has a long history and a long history. Whether as the creation of calligraphy art or the application in social life, its vitality is enduring and deeply loved by people of all ages.
in 221 BC, the first unified feudal empire in the history of China was established after the Qin dynasty destroyed the Six Kingdoms. In order to consolidate the rule and make the government decrees smooth, Qin Shihuang carried out a drastic text reform. He first simplified the big seal script into a small seal script, and then defined it as a national standard language, and official script was developed on the basis of seal script.
why is the word "Li" used as a style of writing? It turns out that "Li" means slave, which was created and used by people with low status.
In order to strengthen ideological control, Qin Shihuang tyrannized over scholars and "burned books to bury Confucianism". According to legend, there was a disciple named Cheng Miao, who was denounced and put into prison because he said a few words of dissent in private. That Cheng Miao thought: This time I went to prison, I was ill-fated. If there were no special actions to impress Qin Shihuang's heart, there was no hope of survival. He happened to see the prison officer's waist tag, and thought it was very troublesome to write with seal script. So he made a reform and created a sketch book to present Qin Shihuang, hoping to be adopted and popularized.
This font changes the complicated and tortuous strokes of seal script into simple and square strokes, and the font changes from slender to square, tightening up and down, stretching left and right, and changing from slow to short, thus showing a lively and diverse atmosphere and bringing great convenience to writers. After reading it, Qin Shihuang appreciated it, not only pardoning his sins, but also making him an empire. However, since Xiao Zhuan has been publicized as a national common character, and it is difficult to change it, it is stipulated that this font will be used in official prisons in the future. Because this new book style was originally designed for the use of official servants, and Cheng Miao was an official servant, it was called official script, or Zuoshu and Zuoli. Later, it became popular among small officials, craftsmen and other lower classes. Of course, this is just a legend, which may have a great collateral component. Because, in fact, the emergence of any kind of representative calligraphy is by no means created by individual strength, nor can it be completed in a period. It gradually changes and finally takes shape with the progress of society and the actual needs. What Cheng Miao has done is probably sorting out the work.
The emergence of official script, like regular script and cursive script, is a major change in the history of calligraphy in China. Since then, calligraphy has bid farewell to the ancient Chinese characters that lasted for more than 3, years and started the modern Chinese characters. The structure of characters no longer has the pictographic meaning of ancient Chinese characters, but is completely symbolic. It is a qualitative change and transition that official script inherits seal script and opens regular script. The China script entered a more stereotyped stage
Qin died after thirteen years of existence, and Xiao Zhuan, as a national standard font, also ended its mission, and official script developed vigorously in the Han Dynasty. The extensive use of official script paved the way for the further development of Chinese calligraphy, and formed an unprecedented prosperity in the history of calligraphy in China.