Paleography is a branch of Chinese character study that focuses on what is the object of study.

Paleography is a branch of Chinese character study that takes ancient Chinese characters and various ancient Chinese character materials as its object of study. The scope of paleography includes the origin, evolution, development, structure, shape, sound, meaning and usage of Chinese characters.

Paleography is of great significance to the study of ancient Chinese culture, history, archaeology and other fields. Through the study of ancient Chinese characters, it is possible to understand the development and changes in culture, science and technology, philosophy, religion, politics, and military of ancient societies.

The research objects of paleography mainly include oracle bone inscriptions, gold inscriptions, seal carvings, official scripts, regular scripts, etc. These Chinese character materials are derived from ancient divination, inscriptions, tablets and calligraphic works. These Chinese character materials not only record ancient historical events and cultural traditions, but also serve as an important basis for studying the evolution and development of ancient Chinese characters.

In the study of paleography, in addition to the systematic classification and comparison of the morphology and usage of Chinese characters, it is also necessary to comprehensively analyze and study them in conjunction with the historical and cultural background, socio-linguistic environment and other factors. Therefore, paleography requires an interdisciplinary research ability, including knowledge from many disciplines such as history, linguistics, archaeology, literature and philosophy.

In short, paleography is an important discipline for the study of ancient Chinese characters and their materials, and it has an irreplaceable role in gaining a deeper understanding of ancient Chinese culture and history.