What do ancient Chinese characters look like?

The evolution of ancient Chinese characters;

Bone inscription:

Oracle Bone Inscriptions refers to the symbols carved on animal bones-hieroglyphics or graphic characters, which are found in Shandong (Chifeng, Guanzhong and other places) and are the earliest recognizable characters in China. In 2005, Professor Fengjun Liu, a famous archaeologist and director of the Institute of Fine Arts and Archaeology of Shandong University, discovered and named it, which was originally called "Dongyi characters" and later called "bone carving", and determined that the carving tools were sharp gems such as agate, which was formed between 4600 and 3300 years ago and was a popular character in Longshan culture period.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions:

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the earliest, most systematic and most mature writing we have ever seen. It was formed in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. The early Tao Wen was named after being carved on Oracle bones. Because it was first discovered in the Yin Ruins in Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan Province, it is also called "Yin Ruins". It was first discovered by the late Qing Dynasty stele engraver Wang. As the "keel" of Chinese medicine, it was identified as Chinese characters.

It is also called Oracle Bone Inscriptions, because most of the contents inscribed on it are divination and sacrificial ceremonies. Oracle Bone Inscriptions is carved on hard tortoise shells and animal bones with better tools, so its characteristics are outstanding. His strokes are mainly straight and oblique, with curved lines in the middle.

Shi Guwen:

Wen Shu, also known as Shi Guwen, was named after Zhou Xuanwang's history books. On the basis of the original text, he transformed it and got his name because it was engraved on the stone drum. It is the earliest stone carving text that has been circulated so far, and it is the ancestor of stone carving. After vicissitudes of life, the stone drum moved from south to north. After many twists and turns, most of the characters peeled off, leaving only a few clear words, which are now hidden in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Its calligraphy is characterized by vigorous and natural calligraphy, vigorous brushwork, square structure, strict specification and relatively complete form.

Jinwen:

With the development of society, fonts are constantly evolving. Bronze inscriptions from Shang Dynasty to Qin Dynasty were developed on the basis of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Bronze inscriptions are the general name for bronze inscriptions. Ancient bronzes were mostly Zhong Ding, so they were also called Zhong Dingwen. Compared with Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the inscriptions on bronzes are much richer, with symmetrical size, lines and certain decorative features.

Seal text:

We have studied history, and we all know that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the warlord scuffle also resulted in abnormal language and writing. It was not until Qin Shihuang unified the six countries that the characters were unified into biographies. Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jin Wen used to be known as Da Zhuan, and The Carving of Stone in Langxietai and Mount Tai handed down from generation to generation are all masterpieces of Xiao Zhuan.

Official script:

Although the seal script is standardized and looks beautiful, it is not easy to write and its application is not satisfactory. People's hope for writing, a tool to spread the thought recording language, is that the more convenient it is, the better, so a new font, official script, appeared on the basis of Xiao Zhuan. According to legend, the founder of official script is Cheng Miao. Because he offended Qin Shihuang, he went to prison and spent ten years in prison, sorting out a set of new fonts with simple application, which was called official script by later generations. Qin Shihuang was very happy. He not only pardoned his crimes, but also made him an empire.

In italics:

Official script further evolved into regular script, which is the font we use today. Richer and more complete than official script. During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhong You made great contributions to the processing and arrangement of regular script. In the Tang Dynasty, culture was highly developed and calligraphy reached its peak. A large number of famous writers who are good at regular script have emerged, such as Ou Yangxun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan.

Cursive script:

Besides, cursive script. Cursive script came into being after regular script appeared. "Grass" means preliminary and hasty. No matter which font is scrawled, it is cursive. As a special font, it only existed in Han Dynasty. By the end of the Han Dynasty, cursive script was very popular, first in Cao Zhang, then today's cursive script, and finally developed into wild grass and grass. There are many kinds of cursive scripts, which are not suitable for beginners to learn, so I won't say much here.

Run the script:

Finally, let's talk about running script. Running script is a font between regular script and cursive script, which was produced in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The real period of prosperity was the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Wang Xizhi's masterpiece Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, known as the sage of books, was a running script. Because running script is more practical, writing is more convenient than regular script, and it is not as difficult to recognize as cursive script, so it is still the most commonly used font until today.

Extended data:

The evolution of China characters has gone through several stages: Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Dazhuan, Xiaozhuan, Lishu, cursive script, regular script and running script. This is in line with the development law of characters from complexity to simplicity and from nonstandard to standardized. Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Dazhuan and Xiaozhuan can be collectively called seal script. Then, seal script, official script, regular script, running script and cursive script constitute the five fonts of China's calligraphy. With the development of Chinese characters, regular script and running script are still in use, while seal script, official script and cursive script, especially seal script, are no longer used in daily life, but exist as a kind of calligraphy art.

References:

Ancient Chinese Characters-Baidu Encyclopedia