Current location - Music Encyclopedia - Chinese History - The Evolution of China Characters and Their Founders and Stories
The Evolution of China Characters and Their Founders and Stories
Chinese characters have changed for more than 6000 years, and the evolution process is as follows:

Oracle Bone Inscriptions → bronze inscription → seal script → official script → regular script → running script.

(Shang) (Zhou) (Qin) (Han) (Wei and Jin Dynasties) cursive script

The above seven fonts of Jin Jia Biography of Cao Li Xing Kai are called "seven-style Chinese characters" 1 Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

Before the Qin Dynasty unified Chinese characters, China's Chinese characters were still confused in font and application. In a broad sense, ancient Chinese includes the characters before Xiao Zhuan, and also includes Da Zhuan. In a narrow sense, it refers to the characters before Dazhuan in the history of China characters. Here, the narrow concept of ancient prose is adopted. Ancient prose includes Oracle Bone Inscriptions and inscriptions on bronze; Among them, the former is considered as the earliest stereotyped writing in China.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions: Most of the characters left on tortoise shells and animal bones by writing or carving in the late Shang Dynasty are "Oracle Bone Inscriptions" and a few are "notes". Most of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's characters conform to the principles of pictographic characters and knowing characters, with pictophonetic characters accounting for only 20%. Its characters are carved with a knife, some filled with cinnabar, and some written directly in ink. Because characters are mostly evolved from pictures and characters, they are pictographic, multi-character, and the strokes are uncertain. This shows that China's writing was not unified in the Yin and Shang Dynasties.

Image Inscription in the Yin Dynasty: In the pre-Qin period, copper was called gold, so the words cast on bronze ware were called inscriptions, also known as Zhong Dingwen and Qi Yi. Compared with Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions are more pictographic, showing ancient characters. The bronze inscription has a solid brushwork and vivid and natural image.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a vulgar style in Shang Dynasty, and the bronze inscription is an orthodox style, which shows that the orthodox style is complex and the vulgar style is simplified.

In the history of China, Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties made the most important contribution to philology. Shicheng is a historian in Zhou Xuanwang, and should not innovate for simplicity. Biography is also called Wen Shu, Biography of Shu, Shushu and History Book. Because it was written by Ishikawa, it is called "Wen Chuan". Dazhuan can be found in Shuowen Jiezi and various Zhong Ding Yi wares collected by later generations. Among them, Shi Guwen in Zhou Xuanwang is the most famous.

3 biographies

Xiao Zhuan, also known as Qin Zhuan, is a standard font compiled by Li Si, the prime minister of Qin Dynasty. It was simplified by Da Zhuan. Also known as Yujin Seal, because it has the meaning of vigorous brushwork. Xiao Zhuan's body structure is harmonious, the strokes are even and neat, and the radicals have also been changed and merged. Compared with Dazhuan, it has no pictographs. The change of characters from "Dazhuan" to "Xiaozhuan" is of great significance in the history of China characters.

The first step in the evolution from Xiao Zhuan to Li Shu, the most remarkable change is from graceful money bar to straight strokes, from angular to angular. Generally speaking, official script refers to a kind of official script with wavy tail like a meat cleaver, which is just one of them. There are mainly Qin Li and Han Li in official script, and Qin Li is the early form of official script. Han Li is a mature official script font. Official script usually refers to Han Li's "eight points". "Eight points" was gradually formed after Qin tune. Official script has developed to eight points, which is very mature. The official script is thick because of the square characters, and the overall feeling is very serious.

5 regular script

"Regular script" is also called original script, official script and regular script. Such as Ou Yangxun and Liu Gongquan. It includes the founder of ancient Li, the beauty of eight points and the simplicity. This font has been used to this day and is regarded as a standard font, which is deeply loved by the world. Regular script has a sense of stability and tranquility; Characters have different styles of the same font because of their different personal writing styles and personalities. Figure 1 1, the thin gold body in Hui Zong, Song Like, uses thin lines to outline characters, but because of the smooth performance at the turning point, it presents a completely different visual sense from the thin gold body. Six-line script

"Running script" is a calligraphy style between regular script and cursive script, and it is free to write. Running script is different from official script and official script, and its fluidity can be freely used by writers. Running script presents a romantic and aesthetic atmosphere. 7 cursive script

"Cursive script", also known as "broken grass" and "modern grass", is a variety of ancient characters such as seal script, eight points and Zhang Cao. The cursive script originated in Cao Zhang, and Cao Zhang has a strong taste of official script, so it is named because it is mostly used for memorials. Cao Zhang has further developed into a "modern grass", also known as a "book". Today's cursive script is mostly simpler than Cao Zhang's and running script. The cursive script gives the viewer a bold and fluent feeling.