How many stages has the development of calligraphy gone through?

Calligraphy has developed through the following four main stages:

1. Beginning stage: oracle bone script, golden script, big seal script (Shang and Zhou).

2. Developmental stage: Small Seal Script, Official Script, Cursive Script (Qin, Han and Three Kingdoms).

3. Mature stage: Regular Script, Running Script (Northern and Southern Dynasties of the Two Jin Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasty).

The order of development of calligraphic fonts is Oracle Bone Script, Seal Script, Clerical Script, Regular Script, Running Script and Cursive Script, and the chronological order of their creation is Seal Script, Clerical Script, Cursive Script, Regular Script and Running Script.

Small Seal Script began in the Qin Dynasty. The script is slightly longer, with rounded and even strokes, rich in patterned beauty. The Official Script began in the Qin Dynasty, and matured and became popular in the Han and Wei Dynasties. The script is broad and flat, stretching from side to side, balanced and symmetrical, neat and even.

Cursive Script originated in the early Han Dynasty and matured in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is a very creative style, rich in variations and unrestrained. The Regular Script was formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The font is square and the rules are strict and neat. Running Script began to flourish in the Jin Dynasty. It combines the strengths of both Regular Script and Cursive Script, and is both neat and clear, and lively.

Oracle Bone Script is the oldest surviving mature script of the dynastic period in China, and belongs to the ancient Chinese language. It appeared in China during the late Shang Dynasty, 14th century BC ~ 11th century BC.

Chinese calligraphy began with the oracle bone script, which, as a type of calligraphic script, has the disadvantage of not being easily recognizable and having lost all practicality, although it still has considerable artistic appreciation.

Jinwen refers to the inscriptions cast on Yin and Zhou bronzes, so it is also called Zhongdingwen. Bronzes are divided into two kinds of ritual instruments and musical instruments, the representative of ritual instruments is "tripod", and the representative of musical instruments is "bell", which was produced in the late Shang Dynasty in China, from 1300 BC to 1046 BC.

Seal script is the collective name for the Big Seal and the Small Seal. The term "Big Seal Script" mainly refers to the "Golden Script", "Preliminary Script", and "Local Scripts of the Six Countries before Qin Unification", while the term "Small Seal Script" mainly refers to the "Preliminary Script", "Preliminary Script", and "Local Scripts of the Six Countries before Qin Unification". "Small Seal Script" refers only to the Qin seal script after the Qin unification. Big Seal Script, late Shang Dynasty, China, 1300 BC ~ 1046 BC, Small Seal Script, Qin together with the Six Kingdoms, after 221 BC.

Classical script is roughly divided into Gu Li and Han Li (containing eight points). Gu Li, 309 BC ~ 111 BC, Han Li, after 180 BC.

Li Shu is relative to Seal Script, and the name of Li Shu originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The emergence of the official script was another major reform of Chinese writing, which brought the art of Chinese calligraphy into a new realm and was a turning point in the history of the evolution of Chinese characters.

Li Shu is said to have been compiled by Cheng Miao in prison at the end of the Qin Dynasty, and it was simplified, with the shape of the characters changing from round to square, and the strokes changing from curved to straight.