Oracle Bone Inscriptions → bronze inscription → seal script → official script → regular script → running script.
(Shang) (Zhou) (Qin) (Han) (Wei and Jin Dynasties) cursive script
The seven fonts of the above-mentioned "Jin Jia seal, Cao Li and Xing Kai" are called "seven-body Chinese characters"
2. It is well documented that China script, Chinese characters, came into being in the late Shang Dynasty, about14th century BC, when a preliminary stereotyped script was formed, namely Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Oracle Bone Inscriptions is both a hieroglyph and a phonography. Until now, there are still some pictographs in Chinese characters, which are very vivid.
In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, Chinese characters developed into Da Zhuan. The development of seal script has produced two characteristics: first, the lines with uneven thickness in the early days became even and soft, and the lines they drew with utensils were very concise and vivid; Second, standardization, the glyph structure tends to be neat, and gradually deviates from the original shape of the picture, laying the foundation for the square characters.
Later, Li Si, the prime minister of Qin Dynasty, simplified Da Zhuan and changed it to Xiao Zhuan. Small seal script not only simplifies the shape of big seal script, but also achieves the perfection of lineation and standardization, almost completely divorced from pictures and characters, and has become a neat, harmonious and very beautiful square font which is basically rectangular. However, Xiao Zhuan also has its own fundamental shortcoming, that is, its lines are very inconvenient to write with a pen, so almost at the same time, a kind of official script with flat sides was produced.
By the Han Dynasty, the official script had developed to a mature stage, and the readability and writing speed of Chinese characters had been greatly improved. After Li Shu, it evolved into Cao Zhang, and now it is grass. In the Tang dynasty, there was Weeds, which expressed the writer's thoughts and feelings with a pen. Subsequently, regular script (also known as original script), a combination of official script and cursive script, became popular in the Tang Dynasty. The print we use today evolved from regular script. Between regular script and cursive script is a running script, which is fluent in writing and flexible in using a pen. It is said that it was invented by Liu Desheng in Han Dynasty, and it is still the font used in our daily writing today.
In the Song Dynasty, with the development of printing, block printing was widely used, and Chinese characters were further improved and developed, resulting in a new type of calligraphy-Songti printing font. After the invention of printing, the carving knife used for lettering had a far-reaching influence on the glyph of Chinese characters, resulting in a kind of printing font with fine horizontal and thick vertical, which was eye-catching and easy to read, and was later called Song Style. There are two kinds of fonts for the moment: fat imitation face, Liu style, thin imitation European style and dangerous style. Among them, the strokes of Yan and Liu are towering, with some characteristics of horizontal, thin and vertical. In the Ming Dynasty, between Qin Long and Wanli, it changed from Song style to Ming style, with fine strokes and square fonts. It turned out that at that time, a kind of Hongwu style with thin horizontal and thick vertical was popular among the people, and this font was used for the title cards of official posts, lanterns, notices, private stones, ancestral halls and other gods. Later, some book carvers created a non-face and non-European skin silhouette in the process of imitating Hongwu's style. Especially because the strokes of this font are horizontal and vertical, it is really easy to engrave. It is different from seal script, official script, original script and cursive script, unique, fresh and pleasing to the eye. Therefore, it has been widely used since16th century and has become a very popular main printing font. It's also called Song Style, and it's also called lead font.
In Chinese characters, all kinds of fonts formed in different historical periods have their own distinctive artistic characteristics. For example, seal script is simple and elegant, official script is static and dynamic, rich in decoration, fast in cursive script, compact in structure, neat and beautiful in regular script, easy to read and write, practical, diverse in style and different in personality.
The evolution of Chinese characters is from pictographic pictures to linear symbols, strokes adapted to brush writing and printed fonts convenient for carving. Its evolution provides rich inspiration for China's font design. In character design, if we can give full play to the characteristics and elegant demeanor of various fonts of Chinese characters, we will certainly be able to design exquisite works with ingenious application and unique conception.
Since the unification of Qin Shihuang, China characters have gradually embarked on the road of development. China characters in different times have distinct and unique national and folk customs, and the history of China's characters is deeply engraved with the wisdom and hard work of China people. However, now some people know little about their own language, but their enthusiasm for other languages is still half-toned. Words are the soul of a country. In order to understand the changes, history and soul of the motherland, we chose this topic.
With the development of Chinese characters, after China was unified by Qin Dynasty, Chinese characters were constantly simplified and sorted out, which made them gradually standardized. The development of Chinese characters can be roughly divided into four stages: ancient prose, seal script, official script and regular script. Among them, seal script is divided into big seal script and small seal script; Lishu is different from Qin Lishu and Lishu. It can be seen that any new font in history has been gradually formed through long-term evolution. Generally speaking, after the formation of regular script, China characters have basically been finalized.
The evolution of Chinese writing style
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.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions's brushwork is very difficult, because most of them are carved on tortoise shells with knives. This knife method has also been applied to modern graphic design.
2 major seal scripts
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.
4 official script
The first step in the evolution from Xiao Zhuan to Li Shu, the most remarkable change is from graceful money bars to straight strokes, and 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.
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", consists of seal script, eight points and chapter grass, and follows a variety of ancient characters. 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.
8 print font
After the invention of printing, in order to meet the needs of printing, especially the printing of books and periodicals, characters gradually developed in the direction suitable for printing, and a horizontal, vertical and square printing font-Song Style appeared. It originated in the Song Dynasty in the golden age of block printing and was shaped in the Ming Dynasty, so the Japanese called it "Ming style". Songti is the main font used in publishing and printing, because it is suitable for printing and engraving and people's visual requirements when reading.
9 computer fonts
With the development of culture and science and technology, under the influence of western writing style, many new fonts have appeared, such as bold and artistic fonts. , have appeared, such as poster (POP) style, comprehensive art style, pavilion style, girl font, etc. , and more genre variants, such as imitation song, Pingsong and so on. Moreover, all kinds of Chinese characters are computerized, and the scope of application is wider.
The origin of four Chinese characters is an unsolved mystery. Speaking of Chinese characters, I have to mention Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Archaeological evidence of Shang Dynasty Oracle Bone Inscriptions first appeared 3,300 years ago, nearly 2,000 years later than the ancient Egyptian and Sumerian scripts in the two river basins. Up to now, * * * has found more than 5,000 Oracle characters, of which about 1700 characters can be recognized. To some extent, China, as one of the four ancient civilizations, has no reason to lag behind others so much! At the same time, we found that the earliest Oracle Bone Inscriptions had a certain degree of understanding and pictophonetic elements. In these Oracle Bone Inscriptions, "literacy" accounts for less than 80%, and pictophonetic characters account for more than 20%. This is very different from other early hieroglyphics such as the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians.
Some people think that the level of science and technology in ancient China is far less than that in ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. When the ancient Egyptians had built huge pyramids with huge stones, China had only rammed earth buildings. The ancient Egyptians had carved exquisite hieroglyphs on hard stones, while China could only carve rough scratches on animal bones or tortoise shells. But look at China's Oracle Bone Inscriptions's abstraction, but it is far higher than those of ancient Egypt. Chinese characters seem to have directly crossed the early stage of early hieroglyphics and entered a more abstract and advanced stage. There is almost no pictographic stage in the development of Chinese characters: pictophonetic characters, and the so-called pictographic characters have been highly abstracted in Oracle Bone Inscriptions stage. Later, with the evolution of Chinese characters, Chinese characters are no longer purely ideographic characters. When the Greeks built the exquisite sculpture of the Parthenon and the Romans built the huge dome of the Pantheon, there were only rammed Great Wall and pottery terracotta warriors and horses in China during the Qin and Han Dynasties, while the seal script of the Qin Dynasty was a unified national standard, and the official script of the Han Dynasty was very close to today's Chinese characters. Whether it's a leap forward text. Cang Xie, also known as Cang Xie, is the legendary historian of the Yellow Emperor and the creator of Chinese characters. However, it is generally believed that Cang Xie's creation of Chinese characters is only a legend, but he may be the organizer of Chinese characters.
Legend of the origin of five characters
1 It is said that Cang Xie has "two eyes and four eyes". There are only three people recorded in China's history books, namely Yu Shun, Cang Xie and Xiang Yu. Yu Shun is a modest and filial saint, Cang Xie is Wen Sheng, and Xiang Yu is a warrior.
Cang Xie was the assistant of the Yellow Emperor in the late primitive society of China. He once collected, sorted out and used the characters circulated among ancestors, which played an important role in the creation of Chinese characters and made immortal contributions to the reproduction and prosperity of the Chinese nation.
This prehistoric legend has never been mentioned in the ancient books of China before the Warring States Period. Cang Xie was first mentioned by Xun Qing during the Warring States Period. Followed by Lu's Chunqiu and Han Feizi, which are based on Xunzi's "so many people write good books, one person writes", and their main point is "writing books". After the Han Dynasty, in Huai Nan Zi and Lun Heng, it has developed from "Cangjie's creation of characters" to "Cang Xie's four eyes" and began to be deified. Especially in the Han Dynasty, Shu Wei further exaggerated Cang Xie's "being born literate, being recorded by the river, changing from time to time, looking up at the joy of the stars, overlooking the feathers of fish and birds, knowing the mountains and rivers, and coining words" (Spring and Autumn Life Bud). Later, it became more and more magical and developed into a legend that Cang Xie was "the historian of the Yellow Emperor". Huangdi was one of the leaders of tribal alliances in the late primitive society. At that time, there was no state machine. It can be seen that the theory of "historian" is obviously the result of later generations using the official name of the state machine for prehistoric legends.
The Legend of Cangjie's Word-making
According to legend, Cang Xie was an official under the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor assigned him to be in charge of the number of livestock in the fence and the number of food on the chariot. But slowly, the storage of livestock and food is also gradually increasing and changing, and my head alone can't remember it. Cang Xie was puzzled.
Cang Xie tried to tie a knot on the rope all day and all night, and used ropes of different colors to represent different animals. But over time, it won't work. It is easy to tie a knot on the rope for this increased number, but it is troublesome to untie a knot on the rope when reducing the number. Cang Xie thought of winding the rope and hanging all kinds of shells in the circle, instead of what he was in charge of. If it increases, a shell is added; if it decreases, a shell is removed. This method works best and has been used continuously for several years.
Seeing that Cang Xie was so capable, the Yellow Emperor put him in charge of more and more things, such as the number of sacrifices each year, the distribution of hunting and the increase or decrease of tribal population, all of which were called Cang Xie. Cang Xie has made another mistake, which is no longer a matter of hanging a shell with a rope. How can I not make mistakes?
On this day, he took part in collective hunting and came to a fork in the road. Several old people were arguing about which way to take. An old man insisted on going east, saying there were antelopes; An old man wants to go north, saying that he can catch up with the deer not far ahead; An old man insisted on going west, saying that there were two tigers, and if they were not killed in time, they would miss the opportunity. Cang Xie, it turns out that they are all looking at the footprints of underground beasts. Cang Xie suddenly felt happy: Since a footprint represents a wild animal, why can't I use a symbol to represent what I am responsible for? He ran home happily and began to create various symbols to represent things. Sure enough, manage things well.
When the Yellow Emperor knew it, he praised it and ordered Cang Xie to teach this method to all tribes. Gradually, the usage of these symbols has been popularized. In this way, the text is formed.
Cang Xie made a word, and the Yellow Emperor attached great importance to him. Everyone praised him, and his reputation is growing. Cang Xie's mind was a little hot, and his eyes slowly moved to the top of his head. No one looks down on him, his handwriting is very scrawled.
This word reached the ears of the Yellow Emperor, who was very angry. Courtiers have no room for deterioration in his eyes. How did Cang Xie realize his mistake? The Yellow Emperor called the oldest old man around him to discuss. The old man has tied more than 120 knots on his long beard, which shows that he is over 120 years old. The old man hesitated and went to Cang Xie alone.
Cang Xie is teaching people from all tribes to read. The old man sits quietly at the end and listens as carefully as everyone else. After Cang Xie finished speaking, everyone else dispersed, and only the old man was still sitting in his old place. Cang Xie was a little curious and asked him why he didn't go.
The old man said, "Cang Xie, your words have become a household name, but I am old and dizzy, and a few words are still unclear. Will you teach me again? "
Cang Xie looked at such a tall old man and respected him very much. He is very happy, urge him to speak quickly.
The old man said, "Are there four legs in the words horse, donkey and mule?" ? Cows also have four legs. Why didn't you invent the word' cow' with four legs and only one tail? "
Cang Xie was a little flustered when he heard this: when he first coined the word "fish", it was written like a cow, and when he coined the word "cow", it was written as a fish. It's all my own carelessness, and I actually taught it backwards.
The old man went on to say, "The word' heavy' you made means that you have to pronounce the word' out' from a long distance away, but you taught people to pronounce the word' heavy' as weight. On the other hand, the word "out" when two mountains are combined should be the word "heavy" for weight, but you have taught it to be the word "out" when going out. These words really puzzle me, so I have to ask you. "
At this time, Cang Xie was ashamed and knew that he had made a big mistake because of his pride. These words have been taught by all tribes and spread all over the world and cannot be changed. He quickly knelt down and expressed his regret with tears.
The old man took Cang Xie's hand and said sincerely, "Cang Xie, you have created words, so that the experience of our older generation can be recorded and passed on. You have done a great thing, and people will remember you from generation to generation. You can't be arrogant! "
From then on, every time Cang Xie made a word, he always scrutinized the meaning of the word, but he could ask people's opinions, and he was not careless. Everyone agreed, then decided, and then gradually spread to every tribe. 2, knot notes
Before writing appeared, people often tied ropes to help them remember. Traditionally, different knots, or ropes of different lengths and colors, all mean something. After thousands of years, the colored rope is no longer a tool for people to remember. When it is tied into various knots, it resurrects ancient and beautiful legends. Today's "Chinese knot" is a legacy recorded by knots in ancient times.