The origin of Chinese characters:
One kind is abstract square symbols, represented by carvings on painted pottery at Dadiwan site in Gansu Province; The other is the hieroglyphic symbol of the zodiac represented by Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the site of Jiahu, Henan. The former evolved into a series of carved symbols on Jiangzhai Village in Lintong, Xi 'an Banpo. The latter developed into images on Dawenkou pottery.
By the end of Longshan culture, the patriarchal society was basically established, and groups of inscriptions appeared on jade articles of Liangzhu culture during this period. Some of these inscriptions are the same as or similar to Dawenkou pottery images, and some are similar to those in Xi 'an and other places. These inscriptions may be one of the most basic pre-Chinese character systems at that time. It is worth noting that Liangzhu culture is on the eve of the birth of China's centralized slave country, and the Xia Dynasty should be the most critical period for the formation of the formal Chinese character system, which greatly promoted the development of Chinese characters. Chinese characters may also be made in Cang Xie. It may have been adapted by Cang Xie according to the footprints of birds, animals and insects. But this is just a legend. The details need scientific verification.
Small/small seal characters
In this book, ancient characters refer to the characters before Xiao Zhuan, including Da Zhuan, including Jinwen, Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Da Zhuan.
oracle bone script
In ancient times, written or carved words were left on tortoise shells and animal bones. The earliest discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions was Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Pan Geng period of Shang Dynasty. What is its content? Oracle Bone Inscriptions? How many more? Notes? . Oracle Bone Inscriptions is mostly pictographic or knowing characters, and pictographic characters only account for about 20%. Oracle Bone Inscriptions is very pictographic, with many characters and uncertain strokes. This shows that China's writing was not unified in the Yin and Shang Dynasties.
Ancient bronze inscriptions
In ancient times, copper was called gold, so the words carved on bronzes were called inscriptions, also known as Zhong Dingwen and inscriptions. Bronze inscriptions were first discovered in Erligang of Shang Dynasty, but only a few bronzes were found in Erligang of Shang Dynasty. There are many bronze inscriptions unearthed in Yin Ruins. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, inscriptions on bronzes became more common. Most of the inscriptions on bronze in Shang Dynasty are hieroglyphs and interchangeable characters synthesized from hieroglyphs. These words are picturesque, vivid, vigorous and natural, while others are ups and downs.
big seal character
According to legend, it was created by the history of Shu in the Zhou Dynasty, so it is also called Wen Shu, Shu Chuan and Shu Shu. Shicheng is a historian in Zhou Xuanwang. Dazhuan can be found in Shuowen Jiezi and various Zhong Ding artworks collected by later generations, among which Shi Guwen by Zhou Xuanwang is the most famous. Dazhuan is a kind of Chinese character font that changes from ancient Chinese characters to Xiaozhuan.
Small/small seal characters
Small seal script is simplified from big seal script. Compared with the big seal, the small seal has a simple, regular and harmonious body structure, even and neat strokes, and the radicals have also changed and merged to some extent. Compared with the big seal script, the picturesqueness of the small seal script is greatly weakened, and the structure of each word is relatively fixed.
Legend has it that Biography was compiled by Li Si, Prime Minister of Qin State during the Warring States Period. If Xiao Zhuan was really sorted out in a short time, Qin must have a reform process of actively advocating Xiao Zhuan and actively rejecting ancient Chinese characters including Da Zhuan.
Six-country script
What are the characters used in countries other than Qin? Six languages? . Six-country characters belong to the category of ancient Chinese characters, which are graphic, uncertain in shape and difficult to identify.
In 22 1 year BC, the king of Qin attacked Linzi, the capital of Qi State, and died. At this point, Qin unified the six countries. Ying Zheng, king of Qin, became the first emperor in the history of feudal society in China, claiming to be? First emperor? . Qin Shihuang carried out a series of major reforms in politics, economy, society and culture in order to strengthen and promote the rule of the landlord class he represented over the whole country. Text reform is one of them.
In 22 1 year BC, Qin Shihuang ordered the whole country to implement the small seal script as a unified character, but? Who doesn't cooperate with Qin Wen? All kinds of words. In order to popularize Biography, Qin Shihuang ordered Li Si, Zhao Gao and others to compile books and articles such as Cang Xie, Ji Li and erudition as standard text models. Due to the great attention of the emperor and the great influence of imperial power, Xiao Zhuan was quickly popularized throughout the country, but is it complicated? Six languages? Also immediately withdrew from the historical stage.
Kai Li
Shortly after the popularity of Biography, folks created a new book style that was simpler and more stereotyped than Biography. so this is it？ Official script? . At the beginning of official script, it was a kind of irregular seal script. By the time Qin Shihuang unified the characters, the official script had formed a fixed and standardized font. Li Shu changed the lines of seal script into square strokes, which complied with the social demand for convenient and standardized writing. According to legend, a prisoner named Cheng Miao compiled a popular official script of 3,000 words in prison and passed it on to Qin Shihuang. Qin Shihuang greatly appreciated this, made an exception and promoted Cheng Miao to the position of censor, and allowed his words to be used among the people in early Lebanon. Since then, official script has not only been widely popular among the people in Qin dynasty, but also government documents are generally written in official script, but important imperial edicts are still written in small seal script, so official script is also called "official script" in Qin dynasty. Sasuke
The appearance of official script is an important milestone in the development history of Chinese characters. Before the official script, Chinese characters were written with lines, but after the official script, Chinese characters were composed of left and right strokes. After the appearance of official script, the structure of Chinese characters was basically fixed, and there was basically no big change until the founding of New China.
With the collapse of the Qin Dynasty, Xiao Zhuan quickly withdrew from the historical stage, and Lishu became the primary writing method and calligraphy model in society. Shortly thereafter, a more standardized regular script font appeared. After the Han Dynasty, regular script occupied an orthodox position.
Let's talk in detail about the reform process of Chinese character structure at this stage.
Since ancient times, many Chinese characters have been written in various ways, some with more strokes and some with fewer strokes. More strokes are called traditional Chinese characters, and fewer strokes are called simplified Chinese characters.
When official script and regular script stepped onto the historical stage, all kinds of simplification and simplification in the form of small seal script were naturally eliminated, but for some Chinese characters in the form of official script and regular script, people gradually created new writing forms, some with more strokes and some with fewer strokes. Generally speaking, there are few strokes. These writing forms with few strokes are called simplified Chinese characters, and those with many strokes are called traditional Chinese characters. Simplified characters are generally not recognized by the government, but only popular among the people, so they are also called vulgar characters. By the way, after we carried out the simplified Chinese characters movement in the last century, some simplified or vulgar characters replaced the traditional Chinese characters that occupied the orthodox position and became orthodox characters. These simplified words are called simplified words. Visible? Simplified characters? And then what? Simplified Chinese characters? Are two related but different concepts.
1909 Lu feikui published the article "common words should be used in general education" in Education magazine, which explained the advantages of simplified characters to Chinese people for the first time, indicating that simplified characters themselves are not ugly. This article is regarded as the beginning of the movement of simplified Chinese characters in modern times.
1922, the National Language and Character Unified Planning Committee of the Ministry of Education of the Kuomintang government established the Chinese Character Provincial Committee to formally organize and lead the research on simplified Chinese characters. Through Qian's case of saving the strokes of current Chinese characters, this case first illustrates the importance of saving the strokes of Chinese characters, and points out that although Pinyin is the fundamental solution and saving the strokes of Chinese characters is the palliative solution, the disadvantages of Chinese characters at that time are becoming increasingly obvious, and there is no fundamental solution at that time, so the strokes are saved. The case also tells several ways to save strokes, all of which have a certain mass base and a history of folk use.
From 65438 to 0935, after more than ten years of academic discussion and preparation, the Kuomintang government issued an order to popularize the first list of simplified characters throughout the country. However, the implementation of watches was quickly opposed by some conservatives. 1936, officially released by the Ministry of Education by order of the Executive Yuan? Should simplified characters be shelved? The explanation marks the premature death of the simplified Chinese character movement in the Republic of China.
However, the movement of simplified Chinese characters is still going on among the people, especially in the liberated areas of the Red Army, where simplified Chinese characters can be seen everywhere. They appear in people's manuscripts and various printed materials, and people call them? Liberation words? . With the expansion of the liberated areas, liberation words? But also spread to the whole country, which laid a good foundation for the Chinese character simplification movement among the masses in New China.