Common sense of seal script

Xiao Zhuan, also known as Qin Zhuan, is a font evolved from Da Zhuan.

It came into being in the state of Qin at the end of the Warring States and prevailed in the Qin Dynasty and the early Western Han Dynasty. Xu Shen in Shuo Wen Jie Zi? "Syria" said: "At the beginning of Qin Shihuang, Prime Minister Li Si played politics, but he didn't cooperate with Qin Wen.

Cang Xie wrote a book, Zhao Gao was instructed to write a calendar, and Hu Wujing was instructed by Taishi to write academic works, all of which were based on the big seal script of Shangshu, or changed, namely the so-called small seal script. According to this statement, Xiao Zhuan seems to be a font directly changed from Da Zhuan Province by a few people such as Li Si, Zhao Gao and Hu Wujing.

However, from the unearthed Qin cultural relics, it can be seen that Xiao Zhuan gradually evolved from Da Zhuan, and there is no clear time limit between them. Some characters of seal script are also very complicated, which is inconvenient to write and does not meet the requirements of social development. Therefore, simplification began in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was obviously accelerated in the Warring States Period. Li Si and others just collected and sorted out the seal script fonts that have been widely used in society and promoted them to the whole society as standard fonts.

The written materials of Xiao Zhuan in Qin Dynasty include Taishan stone carving, Langya stone carving, Yishan stone carving, Huiji stone carving and so on. , as well as many Qin Liang editions, Qin Quan editions and Marsh editions. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xu Shen wrote Shuo Wen Jie Zi and collected 9353 words of Biography.

2. What are the characteristics of Xiao Zhuan?

Rectangular, with half-word block letters as the degree, one word is straight and half-word is vertical, and the approximate ratio is about 3:2.

2. The strokes are horizontal and vertical, round and even, and the thickness is basically the same. All horizontal paintings and vertical paintings are equidistant and parallel, and all strokes are mainly round. The circle is round and square, which makes the circle lively and interesting.

3. Balance and symmetry, spatial division, balance and symmetry are the unique charm of seal script. Symmetry exists not only in left-right symmetry and up-down symmetry, but also in local symmetry of characters and left-right oblique symmetry of circular strokes.

4. Tightening up and loosening down, most of the characters of Xiao Zhuan are in the upper part, and the lower part is telescopic and vertical. Of course, there are also characters with no feet below. The main strokes are in the lower part, and the upper strokes can be raised.

Extended data:

Li Si, the prime minister of Qin Dynasty, was called the originator of Xiao Zhuan. According to Biography of Historical Records, after being imprisoned by Zhao Gao, Prime Minister Reese tried to write a letter to Qin Ershi, in which he retorted that it was a crime to "paint more pictures in the name of Qin Shu, measure articles and spread them around the world" during his administration.

From this, it can be inferred that Reese probably directly participated in the work of "writing books and making statements". In addition, Shu Duan compiled by Zhang Huaiguan, a calligraphy theorist in the Tang Dynasty, and Kangxi Dictionary in the Qing Dynasty also think that the author of seal script is Li Si in the Qin Dynasty.

Therefore, later generations often compare the small seal script depicted on Qin dynasty artifacts with the small seal script written by Li Si, and the most credible one is the "Taishan stone carving".

3. What is seal script?

Xiao Zhuan is a kind of seal script in Qin Dynasty.

After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, in order to adapt to the centralized and unified situation of its politics and economy, he also implemented the policy of unified measurement and "cars on the same track, books with the same text". The so-called "calligraphy with the same language" is the second reform of Chinese characters in the history of our country, and it is also the second standardization and unification of seal script.

But this time, the outstanding feature is simplification, that is, on the basis of the essays of the Zhou Dynasty, the strokes and characters with relatively simple structures are retained, and the strokes and characters with complex structures are simplified, just like "Explaining the Characters by Explaining the Writing"? "Xu" said: "They are all based on the big seal script of stone brush, or they are quite modified. The same is true of the so-called' Xiao Yan'. " Judging from the aesthetic principles of Xiao Zhuan, it is basically the same as those of Wen Shu and Shi Guwen, that is, the strokes are vigorous, round, beautiful, stable, correct, balanced and symmetrical. His masterpieces are Mount Tai, Peak Mountain and Langya Terrace.

4. Knowledge of seal script

[Edit this paragraph] Seal script

One of the ancient Chinese characters in China. The Dialectical Development of Ancient Chinese Characters by Guo Moruo, a close friend, said: "Those who slap seals are also officials. The official system of the Han Dynasty generally followed the Qin system, with officials of the Ministry of Interior being officials of the Ministry of Housing and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs being officials of Cao, all of whom were subordinate to official documents. Therefore, the so-called seal script is actually an official script.

In a broad sense, seal script includes all the characters before official script and their extensions, such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Jinwen, Shi Guwen, the ancient prose of the Six Kingdoms, Xiaozhuan, Miaozhuan and overprint. Narrow sense mainly refers to' big print' and' small print'. The variant of seal script is extremely complicated. The ancients believed that seal script was written by Cang Xie, but it was not credible. Zhou Xuanwang Taishi Shuan wrote Shi Shuan Pian, titled Da Zhuan, and detailed the article Da Zhuan. Later, the nations divided and ruled, the governors were in power, and the characters were shaped. In the Qin Dynasty, the same was true of Li Si, and * * * was called "Xiao Zhuan". See "Xiao Zhuan" for details. The characters of seal script are round, and the structure is based on the meaning of six books. Therefore, Sun in the Tang Dynasty said, "Seal script is still beautiful and smooth."

big seal character

One of the ancient styles of Chinese characters. Its name first appeared in the works of Han Dynasty, which is symmetrical with Biography. Broadly speaking, it refers to the characters before Xiao Zhuan, including Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Zhong Dingwen, Wenshu and Six Kingdoms. In a narrow sense, it refers to the written language defined in Zhou Xuanwang Taishi, that is, "writing". The representative works of Da Zhuan include the inscriptions of Shi Guwen and Qin Gonggui.

Evolution of seal script

Since the Han Dynasty, it is generally believed that Da Zhuan was written by Zhou Xuanwang Taishi Biography (827 BC). For example, in the Han Dynasty, there were 15 historical records, and Ban Gu pointed out: "Zhou Xuanwang wrote 15 seals." Xu Shen also said: "Emperor Wang Xuan wrote 15 pieces of Da Zhuan, which is different from ancient Chinese." Ancient prose or others, that is, the supplement and deletion of ancient prose in Taishi Zhuan, so Dazhuan is also called Zhu Wen. Therefore, later generations all think that Da Zhuan is a form after ancient Chinese prose.

Shi Guwen is the most representative stone carving handed down from ancient times. This kind of stone tool is undoubtedly the oldest and most reliable stone relic in China. It is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Shi Guwen has an important position in the history of calligraphy.

The oldest rubbings in Shi Guwen are known to the world. It is the Song rubbings collected by Fan Tianyi Museum in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.

The font is roughly between Zhou and Qin Xiao Zhuan. It is known that it belongs to the calligraphy system before Qin Shihuang. Compared with Xiao Zhuan, it can be called Da Zhuan, and it is a masterpiece of Da Zhuan. Its font is small and complex, like a sacrificial vessel in the Zongzhou period, and it is relatively complete, which can be called rigorous and strict. Kang Youwei called Shi Guwen in the book Guangyi Twin-cylinder Ship: "It is strange that gold falls to the ground and grass grows clouds, and it is completely cut without being bothered." The body is slightly flat, and insects are similar to gases. Stone drum is not only the first antique in China, but also the first rule of calligraphers. "Can be said to be appreciated. Shi Guwen was cherished by Yilin, but after the Northern Song Dynasty, calligraphy research flourished and few people set foot in it. Until the mid-Qing Dynasty, the wind of honoring monuments in archaeology revived, and the stone drum characters were especially valued by calligraphers. Wu Da, you can get strict rhymes. On the other hand, Wu Changshuo was angry that ancient times were male. They all think that contemporary calligraphy is very important to future generations.

I want to know something about Xiao Zhuan, thank you, but I don't know how.

Xiao Zhuan is also called "Qin Zhuan". In the Qin Dynasty, Li Si was ordered to unify the characters, which was called Xiao Zhuan. It was very popular in the Qin Dynasty. The shape is long and neat, and it evolved from Da Zhuan. Xu Shen in the Eastern Han Dynasty said in the Record of Explaining Words: "Qin Shihuang was the first emperor in the world, ... but he was not in harmony with Qin Wen. (Li) Thinking about writing, Zi Gui ordered Zhao Gao to write a calendar, and Taishi ordered Hu Wujing to write a learning record, all based on the big seal of history, or quite preserved, the so-called small seal. " Today, the residual stones (pictured) of "Langyatai Carving Stone" and "Taishan Carving Stone" are the representative works of Xiao Zhuan.

The seal script carved by Qin Quan is said to have been written by Li Si. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he implemented the policy of "the same words, the same cars on the same track". Li Si, the prime minister, is in charge of state affairs. On the basis of the original seal script used by Qin, he simplified it, canceled the variant characters of other six countries, and created a unified writing form of Chinese characters. It was popular in China until the end of the Western Han Dynasty, and was gradually replaced by official script. But because of its beautiful font, it has always been favored by calligraphers. Because of its complicated strokes and quaint form, it is possible to add twists and turns and seal cutting at will, especially the official seal that needs anti-counterfeiting has been using seal script until the collapse of feudal dynasty and the emergence of modern new anti-counterfeiting technology. All the words in Kangxi Dictionary are also marked with seal script writing.

Hezhuan script

Seal script is a general term for big seal script and small seal script. Big seal script refers to Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, bronze inscriptions and six-country scripts, which preserve the obvious features of ancient hieroglyphics. Xiao Zhuan, also known as "Qin Zhuan", is a common character in Qin State and a simplified font of Da Zhuan, which is characterized by uniform and neat shape and is easier to write than Wen Shu. In the development history of Chinese characters, it is the transition between official script and official script.

6. Knowledge of seal script

[Edit this paragraph] Seal script is one of the ancient Chinese characters.

The Dialectical Development of Ancient Chinese Characters by Guo Moruo, a close friend, said: "Those who slap seals are also officials. The official system of the Han Dynasty generally followed the Qin system, with officials of the Ministry of Interior being officials of the Ministry of Housing and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs being officials of Cao, all of whom were subordinate to official documents.

Therefore, the so-called seal script is actually an official script. In a broad sense, seal script includes all the characters before official script and their extensions, such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Jinwen, Shi Guwen, the ancient prose of the Six Kingdoms, Xiaozhuan, Miaozhuan and overprint. Narrow sense mainly refers to' big print' and' small print'.

The variant of seal script is extremely complicated. The ancients believed that seal script was written by Cang Xie, but it was not credible.

Zhou Xuanwang Taishi Shuan wrote Shi Shuan Pian, titled Da Zhuan, and detailed the article Da Zhuan. Later, the nations divided and ruled, the governors were in power, and the characters were shaped. In the Qin Dynasty, the same was true of Li Si, and * * * was called "Xiao Zhuan". See "Xiao Zhuan" for details.

The characters of seal script are round, and the structure is based on the meaning of six books. Therefore, Sun in the Tang Dynasty said that "seal script is still beautiful and smooth" is one of the ancient characters of Da Zhuan. Its name first appeared in the works of Han Dynasty, which is symmetrical with Biography.

Broadly speaking, it refers to the characters before Xiao Zhuan, including Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Zhong Dingwen, Wenshu and Six Kingdoms. In a narrow sense, it refers to the written language defined in Zhou Xuanwang Taishi, that is, "writing". The representative works of Da Zhuan include the inscriptions of Shi Guwen and Qin Gonggui.

Since the Han Dynasty, it is generally believed that the evolution of seal script was completed by Zhou Xuanwang Tai Shihuan (827 BC). For example, in the Han Dynasty, there were 15 historical records, and Ban Gu pointed out: "Zhou Xuanwang wrote 15 seals."

Xu Shen also said: "Emperor Wang Xuan wrote 15 pieces of Da Zhuan, which is different from ancient Chinese." Ancient prose or others, that is, the supplement and deletion of ancient prose in Taishi Zhuan, so Dazhuan is also called Zhu Wen.

Therefore, later generations all think that Da Zhuan is a form after ancient Chinese prose. Shi Guwen is the most representative stone carving handed down from ancient times.

This kind of stone tool is undoubtedly the oldest and most reliable stone relic in China. It is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Shi Guwen has an important position in the history of calligraphy. The oldest rubbings in Shi Guwen are known to the world and are collected by Fan Tianyi Museum in Ningbo, Zhejiang.

The font is roughly between Zhou and Qin Xiao Zhuan. It is known that it belongs to the calligraphy system before Qin Shihuang.

Compared with Xiao Zhuan, it can be called Da Zhuan, and it is a masterpiece of Da Zhuan. Its font is small and complex, like a sacrificial vessel in the Zongzhou period, and it is relatively complete, which can be called rigorous and strict.

Kang Youwei called Shi Guwen in the book Guangyi Twin-cylinder Ship: "It is strange that gold falls to the ground and grass grows clouds, and it is completely cut without being bothered." The body is slightly flat, and insects are similar to gases. Stone drum is not only the first antique in China, but also the first rule of calligraphers. "

It can be said that it is appreciated. Shi Guwen was cherished by Yilin, but after the Northern Song Dynasty, calligraphy research flourished and few people set foot in it. Until the mid-Qing Dynasty, the wind of honoring monuments in archaeology revived, and the stone drum characters were especially valued by calligraphers.

Wu Da, you can get strict rhymes. On the other hand, Wu Changshuo was angry that ancient times were male.

They all think that contemporary calligraphy is very important to future generations.

7. What's the difference between Da Zhuan and Xiao Zhuan?

Seal script is divided into big seal script and small seal script.

Dazhuan is also called Wen Shu, Biography of Shu, Shushu and Shangshu. Taishishuan wrote fifteen "Da Zhuan" when he was in Zhou Xuanwang. Because he wrote it, it was called "Shuan Wen".

Wen Shu is based on ancient prose, which is sorted out on the basis of ancient prose, so it is the same or different from ancient prose. Today, his works are scattered in Shuo Wen Jie Zi and various Zhong Ding Yi wares collected by later generations.

Among them, Shi Guwen in Zhou Xuanwang is the most famous. Xiao Zhuan, also known as Qin Zhuan, was created by Li Si, the prime minister of Qin Dynasty.

Qin Shihuang destroyed six countries and unified China. It has a vast territory, numerous state affairs and more and more documents, so it is difficult to apply the original text. In addition, the original books of Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Zhao, Wei and Han are different, and their writing methods are also different, which needs to be unified urgently. Innovating writing style is the order of ministers.

Therefore, Prime Minister Reese wrote Cang Xie, CZ ordered Zhao Gao to write a calendar, and Taishi ordered Hu Wujing to write a book to study, all of which were changed and simplified. Xiao Zhuan, also known as Yujin Zhuan, got its name because of its writing meaning.

I hope I can help you.

8. How did Xiao Zhuan develop?

After Qin Shihuang unified the world, he began to unify the writing, which was in charge of Prime Minister Reese. He absorbed fonts from other countries, simplified fonts, and cancelled variant characters on the basis of Qin's Da Zhuan, thus creating a unified writing form, namely Xiao Zhuan, also known as Qin Zhuan.

The appearance of Xiao Zhuan marks the first unification of ancient Chinese characters in China, which is a key setback in the development history of Chinese characters. The font of Xiao Zhuan is characterized by stippling all lines, uniform thickness, circle in the circle, dignified and rigorous, solid and virtual, proper density, calm and peaceful, vigorous and powerful.

Although Xiao Zhuan was gradually replaced by Li Shu after the end of the Western Han Dynasty, it was favored by calligraphers because of its beautiful font. It has been an important calligraphy font for more than 2,000 years. Almost all ancient seals use small seal script, so it is also called seal cutting.