History of Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese calligraphy is an ancient art of writing Chinese characters. During the budding period of calligraphy (Yin and Shang to the end of Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms), the script went through the stages of oracle bone script, ancient script (jinwen), the Great Seal Script (籀文), the Small Seal Script (小篆), the official script (八分), the Cursive Script (草书), the Running Script (行书), and the Zhen Script (真书), which were in order.

During the bright period of calligraphy (Jin, North and South Dynasties to Sui and Tang dynasties), the art of calligraphy entered a new realm. From seal script and clerical script tended to be subordinated to the simpler cursive line and true script, and they became the dominant styles of the period.

The emergence of Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher, made the art of calligraphy shine, and his artistic achievements were highly esteemed in the Tang Dynasty. At the same time, the Tang Dynasty saw the emergence of a group of calligraphers such as Yu Shinan, Ouyang Xun, Broussonetz Suiliang, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, and other great masters.

The calligraphic attainments of each of these masters were varied and their styles were diverse. Through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Chinese calligraphy has become a national symbol, representing the profoundness of Chinese culture and the eternal charm of national culture.

Expanded information:

Famous Scripts in the History of Calligraphy:

1, Clerical Script

Clerical Script, Qin Clerical, Han Clerical, and so on, is generally regarded as having developed from Seal Script. It is generally regarded as a development of the seal script, and is characterized by wide and flat characters, long horizontal strokes and short vertical strokes, and "silkworm head and goose tail" and "one wave and three twists".

According to unearthed documents, the official script was first created in the Qin Dynasty, and legend has it that Cheng Miao made the official script, and the official script of the Han Dynasty reached its peak in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which inherited the tradition of the seal script, and opened up the Wei, Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and had an undeniable influence on the calligraphy of the later generations, and it is known in the calligraphy circles as the "Han Clerical Script and Tang Regular Script".

2. Regular Script

Regular Script is also known as Regular Script, True Script and Regular Script. By the gradual evolution of the official script, more simplified, horizontal and vertical. The Dictionary explains that it is "square in form, with straight strokes, and can be used as a model for the Regular Script". This kind of Chinese character font is upright, is the modern popular Chinese character handwritten orthographic characters.

The regular script is also an official name. The New Book of the Tang Dynasty - Hundred Officials Zhi II recorded that there were twenty people who wrote the Regular Script in the Historical Hall of the Zhongshu Province, and eighteen people who wrote the Regular Script of the State History. Regular book as an official name is also known as regular book hand, in charge of the repair and writing, in the same organization, because the specific division of labor is different. General Dictionary - Officials 22" recorded the Regular Scribe as an official of Hoon Pin outside the stream. Song dynasty, no regular book hand, but called the regular book.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese Calligraphy