I. Oracle Bone Inscriptions
Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the earliest Chinese character form found at present. It originated in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and got its name because it was carved on the bones of tortoise shells. At present, there are more than 4,500 characters used in more than 100,000 pieces of Oracle bones, of which about 1700 have been cracked. Most of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's pictographs refer to things. Influenced by the recorded material blades and tortoise shell bones, the glyphs are much simplified, which initially shows the trend of symbolization.
In addition, because Oracle Bone Inscriptions is not completely finalized, the stroke position of a word changes greatly, and there are often many ways to write a word. But as far as Oracle Bone Inscriptions's content is concerned, there are descriptions of simple things and complex events; There are both notes and ideas. This shows that Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a very mature writing system.
Second, Jinwen
Jinwen is the abbreviation of "Ji Jin Wen Zi". The ancients used sacrifice as a gift, and the bronze ritual vessel used for sacrifice was auspicious gold. This kind of writing is commonly cast on bronzes, money and seals. Collectively referred to as "Jinwen". Bronze inscriptions first appeared in the late Shang Dynasty, prevailed in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and evolved from Oracle Bone Inscriptions. There is not much difference in structure from Oracle Bone Inscriptions, but there are obvious differences in form: thick strokes and more fat pens; Turn round at the corner.
Bronze inscriptions basically belong to the brush seal style. These characters were discovered during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and Zhao Mingcheng, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, wrote books to study and record inscriptions on bronze. With the development of history, bronze inscriptions have been gradually eliminated, not as many as inscriptions handed down from generation to generation. However, because it is cast in bronze, it is older than the characters on bamboo slips and fabrics, so its development and influence on China characters and calligraphy can not be ignored.
Third, the big seal script
The big seal script, also known as Shu Wen, is said to have been created by Taishi Shu of Zhou Wenwang. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was popular in Qin and other places. The seal script is mainly written on wooden slips, bamboo slips or silks. It is fixed and neat in shape, with proper structure, more curved strokes and more beautiful fonts than bronze inscriptions. However, it is not very different from Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jinwen in essential connotation, and it is still based on pictographs, with sound and form as the main construction method.
Fourth, Xiao Zhuan
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were great differences in languages among countries, which was a major obstacle to the development of economy and culture. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, Prime Minister Li Si presided over Qin Zhuan as the national unified script, also called Xiao Zhuan, which was based on Jin Wen and Shi Guwen. Later, due to the harsh seal method, the inconvenience of writing was replaced by subordination. Thus, it set off a revolution in Chinese character writing and laid the foundation for various calligraphy schools in the future.
The most obvious change in the transformation of Xiao Zhuan to Da Zhuan is in the strokes. It changes all the right angles and hard pens of Da Zhuan into rounded corners and soft pens. The font is round and stretched, well-behaved and lively, showing a strong aesthetic feeling. The structure is neat, the writing and position of the radicals are relatively fixed, and the shape is generally placed on the left, which promotes the further stereotype of Chinese characters.
It was the first time in China's history that Xiao Zhuan deleted the complicated strokes of Da Zhuan and omitted the variant forms. Li Si's handwriting was first-class in the Qin Dynasty. He had a whole set of calligraphy theory: writing, using a pen to turn quickly, folding pictures quickly, like an eagle swooping and circling. Collecting a pen is like a duck to water, and carrying a pen is like walking in a mountain. The weight and volume of strokes should be natural, generous and beautiful.
V. Official script
Lishu, also called "Zuoshu", was formed in the late Warring States period and matured in the Han Dynasty. It is a further simplification of the small seal script. Mature official script is very close to regular script, and most people don't regard official script as ancient script. According to legend, the official script was originally a common emergency font for junior officials, and after finishing by Cheng Miao, it gradually formed a unified official script font. The main characters used in the Han Dynasty were official scripts.
Six, regular script
Regular script, also called "official script", appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty, further improved in the Six Dynasties and matured in the Tang Dynasty. Named for its square font and straight strokes, it can be used as a model text. Regular script is the simplification of official script, which is mainly reflected in two aspects: changing the bend into a hook; Change the twists and turns into straightness. After the official script is changed into regular script, the aesthetic feeling of the font is mainly reflected in the brushwork and personality characteristics, which is conducive to the further development of calligraphy art.
Zhong You created a new look from official script to regular script, and he has always been regarded as the ancestor of China's book history. He first established regular script in calligraphy, which made great contributions to the development of Chinese characters.
Seven, cursive script
Cursive script is a variant of regular script, which was produced in Han Dynasty. This is a variant of scribbling official script when drafting manuscripts, which later became a popular writing method and even evolved into a pure calligraphy art.
The cursive script in the Han Dynasty was mainly Zhangcao. It pays attention to the coherence of pen and ink, and the words and strokes are interlocking. Although there are occasional breaks, the strokes are still connected.
Eight, running script
Running script, like cursive script, originated in Han Dynasty, and is a font between regular script and cursive script. Writing is simpler than regular script, recognition is easier than cursive script, simplicity is the purpose, practicality is strong, and it is easy to be popular. It has become the first choice for people to write letters and write notes. The Preface to Lanting, the most representative work of Wang Xizhi, a book sage, is known as "the best running script in the world".