As for the history of Chinese characters, based on the existing ancient documentary records and now confirmed archaeological discoveries, there are at least Dawenkou Culture pottery inscriptions
five thousand years ago, and the origin of Chinese characters History is the beginning of ancient Chinese civilization, so we usually say that the Han nation has a history of 5,000 years of civilization.
Archaeological and documentary records show that Chinese characters originated from the Yangshao Culture period of the Neolithic Age, around 4000 BC. The character accumulation stage began in 2000 BC, and a fairly systematic writing system was formed during the Shang Dynasty.
During the evolution of Chinese characters over thousands of years, many differences have emerged. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in the 1950s, a specialized agency was organized to standardize the shape, sound, and meaning of Chinese characters, commonly known as "Simplified Chinese characters" (Chinese characters before the 1950s were commonly known as "Traditional Chinese characters"), and the "Xinhua Dictionary" and "Modern Chinese Dictionary" "" and other reference books were popularized, and simplified Chinese characters and traditional (different) Chinese characters were juxtaposed in these reference books. Currently, simplified Chinese characters are used in Southeast Asia such as mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, while "traditional Chinese characters" are still used in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.
The evolution of Chinese characters
The evolution of Chinese characters has gone through a long process of thousands of years, and has gone through stages such as oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, seal script, official script, regular script, cursive script, and running script. Not fully finalized.
Chinese characters in the ancient writing stage, characters before the Han Dynasty. More visual.
Warring States text: "The princes are in charge of government and are not unified by the king. If they harm themselves with bad rituals and music, all their books will be discarded." , the words have different sounds and the characters have different shapes. "It has strong regional characteristics.
Qin characters are the mainstream of the development of Chinese characters.
The characters of the Six Kingdoms have great regional differences and do not reflect the development trajectory of Chinese characters. They are tributaries.
1. Oracle bone inscriptions
The originator of Chinese characters - oracle bone inscriptions (40 pictures) refers to the Yin Ruins oracle bone inscriptions, which were used by the royal family in the late Shang Dynasty (14th to 11th century BC) for divination and recording. And the words carved (or written) on tortoise shells and animal bones. It is the earliest text with a relatively complete system among the ancient texts discovered in China.
Oracle bone script is an ancient Chinese writing. It is considered to be an early form of modern Chinese characters. It is sometimes considered to be one of the calligraphy styles of Chinese characters. It is also the oldest mature writing in China. Oracle bone inscriptions are also called deed inscriptions, tortoise shell inscriptions or tortoise shell and animal bone inscriptions. Oracle bone inscriptions are a very important ancient Chinese character material. Most of the oracle bone inscriptions were found in the Yin Ruins. The Yin Ruins are famous ruins from the Yin and Shang era, located in Xiaotun Village, Huayuanzhuang, Houjiazhuang and other places in the northwest of Anyang City, Henan Province. This place was once the location of the capital of the Central Dynasty in the late Yin and Shang Dynasties, so it is called Yin Ruins. These oracle bones are basically divination records of the rulers of the Shang Dynasty. The rulers of the Shang Dynasty were very superstitious, such as whether there would be disaster within ten days, whether it would rain, whether there would be a good harvest of crops, whether the war would be won, which sacrifices should be made to ghosts and gods, and whether fertility, disease, etc. Divination is needed to understand the will of ghosts and gods and the good or bad luck of events. The materials used for divination are mainly the plastron and carapace of tortoises and the shoulder blades of cattle. Usually, some small holes are dug or drilled on the back of the oracle bones that are to be used for divination. Such small holes are called "drilling" by oracle bone scientists. During divination, heating these small pits will cause cracks on the surface of the oracle bones. This kind of crack is called a "sign". The word "divination" in oracle bone inscriptions for divination looks like a omen. People who engage in divination judge good or bad fortune based on the various shapes of divination signs. Judging from the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, Chinese characters at that time had developed into a writing system that could be complete and used in the Chinese language. In the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin Ruins that have been discovered, the number of single words that appear has reached about 4,000. There are a large number of characters referring to things, pictographic characters, knowing characters, and many pictophonetic characters. There is a huge difference in appearance between these characters and the characters we use today. But from the perspective of word formation methods, the two are basically the same.
At present, about 150,000 oracle bones and more than 4,500 single characters have been found. The contents recorded in these oracle bone inscriptions are extremely rich and involve many aspects of social life in the Shang Dynasty, including not only politics, military, culture, social customs, etc., but also science and technology such as astronomy, calendar, medicine, etc. Judging from the approximately 1,500 single characters that have been identified in oracle bone inscriptions, it already possesses the character creation methods of "pictogram, meaning, pictophonetic, referring to things, annotation, and borrowing", showing the unique charm of Chinese characters.
Documents based on tortoise shells and animal bones from China's Shang Dynasty and early Western Zhou Dynasty (approximately 16th century BC to 10th century BC). It is the earliest known form of Chinese literature. The characters engraved on armor and bones were previously called deeds, oracle bone inscriptions, oracle inscriptions, tortoise edition inscriptions, Yinxu inscriptions, etc., and are now commonly known as oracle bone inscriptions. Due to superstition, the emperors of the Shang and Zhou dynasties used tortoise shells (the most common ones were tortoise shells) or animal bones (the most common ones were the ox shoulder blades) for divination. The omen results, verification status, etc.) were engraved on the oracle bones and kept as archival materials by the royal historian (see Oracle Bone Archives). In addition to the inscriptions on divination, there are also a few inscriptions on oracle bones to record events. The contents of the oracle bone documents involve astronomy, calendar, meteorology, geography, country, lineage, family, characters, officials, conquests, prisons, agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting, transportation, religion, sacrifices, diseases, fertility, disasters, etc. It is extremely precious first-hand information for studying the social history, culture, language and characters of ancient China, especially the Shang Dynasty.
2. Bronze inscriptions
Bronze inscriptions refer to the characters engraved on the bronzes of the Yin and Zhou dynasties, also called bell and tripod inscriptions. The Shang and Zhou dynasties were the age of bronzes. The ritual vessels of bronzes were represented by tripods, and the musical instruments were represented by bells. "Zhongding" is synonymous with bronzes. Therefore, bell and tripod inscriptions or bronze inscriptions refer to the inscriptions cast or engraved on bronze vessels.
The so-called bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. China had already entered the Bronze Age in the Xia Dynasty, and the smelting of copper and the manufacturing of bronze wares were very developed. Because copper was also called gold before the Zhou Dynasty, the inscriptions on the bronzes were called "jinwen" or "jinjinwen"; and because this type of bronzes had the largest number of characters on bells and tripods, they were also called "zhongdingwen" in the past. ".
The period when bronze inscriptions were used ranged from the early Shang Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty when it destroyed the Six Kingdoms, about 1,200 years ago. The number of characters in bronze inscriptions, according to Rong Geng's "Inscriptions on Bronze Inscriptions", totals 3,722, of which 2,420 are identifiable.
The number of words in the inscriptions on the bronze vessels varies. The content recorded is also very different. Most of its main contents are to praise the achievements of ancestors and princes, and also record major historical events. For example, the famous Mao Gongding has 497 characters, covering a wide range of events and reflecting the social life at that time.
.3. Large Seal Script
The representative stone drum script that exists today is named after the script written by Taishi Zhen during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty. He carried out reforms on the basis of the original writing, which was named after it was carved on a stone drum. It is the earliest stone-engraved writing that has been handed down to this day, and is the ancestor of stone carving.
It started in the late Western Zhou Dynasty and spread in the Qin State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The font is similar to Qin seal script, but the configuration of the glyphs often overlaps.
4. Xiaozhuan
Xiaozhuan is also called "Qin Zhuan". During the Qin Dynasty, Li Si was ordered to unify the script, and this script was Xiaozhuan. Popular in the Qin Dynasty. The shape is relatively long, evenly rounded and neat, and it is derived from the large seal script. Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty said in "Shuowen Jiezi·Xu": "The first emperor of Qin took over the world at the beginning,... let alone those who did not agree with Qin Wen." Li Si wrote the "Cangjie Pian", and Zhao Gao, the magistrate of the Zhongche Mansion, wrote the "Ai Li Pian" , Taishi ordered Hu Wujing to write the "Erudition Chapter": "All of them are based on the large seal script of Shi Zhen, or some provincial changes, the so-called small seal script." Today there are (Langyatai Stone Carving) and the remaining stones of "Taishan Carving Stone", which are the representative works of small seal script.
The small seal script engraved on Qin Quan is said to have been written by Li Si. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he implemented the policy of "writing with the same text and carriages with the same track" and unifying weights and measures. Prime Minister Li Si was in charge of it. On the basis of the large seal script originally used in China, it was simplified, canceled the variant characters of other six countries, and created a unified Chinese character writing form. It remained popular in China until the end of the Western Han Dynasty, when it was gradually replaced by official script. But because of its beautiful font, it has always been favored by calligraphers. And because its strokes are complex, its form is ancient, and twists and turns can be added at will, seals were carved in seal script, especially official seals that required anti-counterfeiting, until the fall of the feudal dynasty and the emergence of new anti-counterfeiting technology in modern times. All characters in the Kangxi dictionary are also written in Xiaozhuan.
5. Official script
Official script basically evolved from seal script. It mainly changed the round strokes of seal script into square folds. The writing speed is faster. It is easy to write with lacquer on wooden slips. It is difficult to draw round strokes.
Official script is also called "official script" and "ancient script". It is a font based on seal script and produced to meet the needs of convenient writing. Simplify the small seal script, and change the evenly rounded lines of the small seal script into straight and square strokes, making it easier to write. It is divided into "Qin Li" (also called "Ancient Li") and "Han Li" (also called "Modern Li"). The emergence of official script is a major change in ancient writing and calligraphy.
Clerical script is a common solemn font in Chinese characters. The writing effect is slightly wide and flat, with long horizontal strokes and short straight strokes. It pays attention to "silkworm head and swallow tail" and "twists and turns". It originated in the Qin Dynasty and reached its peak in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is known as "Han Li Tang Kai" in the calligraphy circle. It is also said that official script originated during the Warring States Period.
Official script is relative to seal script, and the name of official script originated from the Eastern Han Dynasty. The emergence of official script was another major reform of Chinese characters, which brought Chinese calligraphy art into a new realm. It was a turning point in the history of the evolution of Chinese characters and laid the foundation for regular script. The structure of official script is flat, neat and delicate. By the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, pointillisms such as strokes and strokes were transformed into upward strokes, with varying light and heavy pauses, and the beauty of calligraphy art. The styles are also becoming more diverse, which is of great value for artistic appreciation.
It is said that the official script was compiled by Cheng Miao of Qin Dynasty in prison. The complex was eliminated and simplified, the character shape was changed from round to square, and the strokes were changed from curved to straight. Change "continuous strokes" to "broken strokes" and move from lines to strokes, making it easier to write. "Liren" is not a prisoner, but refers to a "subordinate official", that is, a small official in charge of documents. Therefore, in ancient times, the official script was called "zuoshu". Official script became popular in the Han Dynasty and became the main style of writing. As the first Qin Li, many seal meanings were left, which were continuously developed and processed later. It broke the writing tradition since Zhou and Qin Dynasties and gradually laid the foundation for regular script. Under the unification of the idea of ??"deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", the official script of the Han Dynasty gradually developed and became the dominant calligraphy style. At the same time, cursive script, regular script, and running script were derived, laying the foundation for art.
6. Cursive script
A calligraphy style of Chinese characters. It was formed in the Han Dynasty and evolved on the basis of official script for the convenience of writing. There are Zhangcao, Jincao and Kuangcao. There are rules to follow when making changes in Zhangcao's strokes. Representative works include the Songjiang version of Wu Huangxiang's "Jijiuzhang" of the Three Kingdoms. Jincao's writing style is informal and smooth, and his representative works include "Chu Yue" and "De Shi" written by Wang Xizhi of the Jin Dynasty. Kuangcao appeared in the Tang Dynasty, represented by Zhang Xu and Huaisu, with wild and uninhibited writing styles, and became an artistic creation that was completely divorced from practicality. From then on, cursive script was just a calligraphy work that calligraphers copied from Zhangcao, Jincao and Kuangcao. Representative works include Zhang Xu's "Belly Pain" and Huai Su's "Autobiography". Cursive script is a font created for the convenience of writing. It began in the early Han Dynasty. What was commonly used at that time was "Cao Li", that is, scrawled official script. Later, it gradually developed into a kind of "Zhang Cao" with artistic value. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhi changed "Zhangcao" to "Jincao", and the style of the characters was formed in one stroke. In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xu and Huai Su developed "Kang Cao" with continuous and convoluted strokes and numerous changes in glyphs.
7. Regular script
Regular script is also called Zhengshu, or Zhenshu. Its characteristics are: square shape and straight strokes, which can be used as a model, hence the name. It began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are many famous regular script writers, such as "Ou Ti" (Ouyang Xun, Tang Dynasty), "Yu Ti" (Yu Shinan, Tang Dynasty), "Yan Ti" (Yan Zhenqing, Tang Dynasty), "Liu Ti" (Liu Gongquan, Tang Dynasty), "Zhao Ti" (Song and Yuan Dynasties-Zhao Mengfu) and so on.
In the early stage of "regular script", there are still very few official scripts left. The structure is slightly wider, with long horizontal strokes and short straight strokes. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties handed down, such as Zhong Yao's "Declaration Table" ( Pictured on the left), "Jian Ji Zhi Biao", Wang Xizhi's "Le Yi Lun", "Huang Ting Jing", etc., can be regarded as representative works. Looking at its characteristics, as Weng Fanggang said: "The wave painting of the official script is changed, and the horizontal and straight lines of the ancient official script are still retained."
After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the north and the south split, and calligraphy was also divided into two schools. The Northern style calligraphy has the legacy of the Han Dynasty. The writing style is clumsy and vigorous, but the style is simple and strict. It is better than the list book. This is the so-called Wei stele. Southern calligraphy is more sparse, graceful and subtle, and is better than rulers and tablets. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to regional differences, personal habits and calligraphy styles were very different. The northern books are strong and the southern books are borrowed, and each is perfect, regardless of superiority or inferiority. However, Bao Shichen and Kang Youwei strongly praised the books of the two dynasties, especially the stele style of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Kang cited ten beautiful things to emphasize the advantages of Wei stele.
The regular script of the Tang Dynasty is like the prosperity of the country in the Tang Dynasty, which is truly unprecedented. The style of calligraphy is mature and calligraphers emerge in large numbers. In terms of regular script, Yu Shinan, Ouyang Xun, and Chu Suiliang in the early Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing in the middle Tang Dynasty, and Liu Gongquan in the late Tang Dynasty all had their regular script works valued by later generations and regarded as models for calligraphy practice.
8. Running script
A font between regular script and cursive script. It can be said to be the cursive version of regular script or the regular script version of cursive script. It was created to make up for the slow writing speed of regular script and the difficulty of legibility of cursive script. The writing style is not as sloppy as cursive script, nor does it require regular script to be as straight. Those with more regular script than cursive script are called "Xingkai". Those with more cursive than regular script are called "Xingcao". Running script was produced around the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Representative figures: "Two Kings": Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi.