There are different writing styles, or scripts written by hand
in the Chinese language. The breakdown in style is roughly as follows:
zhenshu (regular script prevalent in the Han Dynasty), caoshu (cursive
script), lishu (official script) and zhuan-shu (seal character script).
Chronologically, script style has experienced three epochs in the
course of its over four thousand years bf history. The three epochs
are marked by three different scripts that came into fashion: seal
character script, official script and regular script. The seal character
period ran from the end of primitive society to the Qin Dynasty
(221-206B.C). The period, lasting more than two thousand years,
is divided into three phases: early seal character, greater seal
character and lesser seal character.
Early seal characters are characters written by primitive people,
being the earliest form of writing on record. The inscription on
the pottery vessel in Dinggong Village is an example of this. It
has a mild style and assumes varied postures. The characters look
like a length of knotted rope. This form of writing was perhaps
related to the use of rope by primitive people to record events.
However, this point needs investigation.
Greater seal characters generally refer to ancient scripts of pre-Qin
Dynasty, such as inscriptions on bones, tortoise shells, bronze
vessels and drum-shaped stone blocks and the ancient language of
the Six States.
Inscriptions engraved on bones and tortoise shells belong to the
ancient language of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Seal characters'
feature is that strokes are carved in the round; however, the seal
characters in inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells are mostly
stiff and straight, because it is not easy to make a turn with the
cutting edge of the tool in engraving. If we compare inscriptions
on bronze vessels or hand script with inscriptions on bones and
tortoise shells of the same period, we shall find that inscriptions
en bones and tortoise shells have the attributes of the greater
seal character script.
Early inscriptions on bronze vessels were first engraved on a clay
mold and later cast on the bronze. Since it was easy to engrave
on clay, the brush strokes showed roundness, fullness and roundabout
turns. These features have been preserved to this day in vivid forms.
Inscriptions on bronze vessels of later periods were engraved directly
on the bronze with sharp knives or chisels. The characters became
decorative, known as suspended-stitch seal characters.
Inscriptions on drum-shaped stone blocks were discovered in the
early Tang Dynasty (around the year 618) in Shaanxi Province. The
inscriptions were written in language of the pre-Qin period. They
are famous works of calligraphy belonging to the period preceeding
the Qin Dynasty and are in the collection of the Palace Museum in
Beijing. Scripts of the pre-Qin period also include the ancient
language of the Six States. They are all classified as greater seal
character scripts.
Lesser seal character script was the officially approved script
following the unification of Chinese languages by the Qin Dynasty.
It is also known as Qin seal character script. Since it contrasts
with the previous seal character script, the two are called greater
and lesser. The Qin Dynasty used lesser seal character script to
engrave inscriptions on stones extolling the merits of persons or
things, to engrave seals or marks of authenticity or emblems or
to write imperial edicts. It replaced greater seal character script,
marking tremendous historical progress. For a country the size of
China, where dialects are more numerous than in the various countries
of Europe, a unified written language plays an important part as
a link between various nationalities to cement national solidarity
and achieve national unification. It was the Qin, or lesser, seal
character script that served as a link and deserves much credit.
An outstanding work representative of Qin seal calligraphy is the
writing of Li Si (?-c 208 B.C.), regarded as the father of lesser
seal character script. He exerted a profound influence on the seal
character script of later generations.
Different Chinese Calligraphy Scripts
Jia Gu Wen.
These refer to the scripts carved by the ancients of the Shang
Dynasty (2100 B.C.-1600 B.C.) on tortoise shells and ox scapulas
(shoulder blades), which are considered to be the earliest written
language of China. Their discovery was by accident.
In 1899, Wang Yirong, an official under the Qing Dynasty,
fell ill. One of the medicaments prescribed by the physician was
called "longgu" (dragon bones). They turned out to be
fragments of tortoise shells which were found to bear strange carved-on
patterns. He kept the "dragon bones" and showed them to
scholars who, after careful study, came to the conclusion that the
carvings were written records from 3,000 years before and were of
great historical significance. Further inquiries revealed that the
"dragon bones" had been unearthed at Xiaotun Village,
Anyang County, Henan Province, site of the remains of the Shang
Dynasty capital.
Further digs made at the site in later years brought to light a
total of more than 100,000 pieces of bones and shells all carved
with words. About 4,500 different characters have been counted,
and 1,700 of them deciphered.
Three thousand five hundred years ago, Anyang was a marshy area
teeming with tortoises, a favourite food of the local inhabitants.
And the Shangs were a very superstitious people. Their rulers would
resort to divination and ask the gods for revelation whenever there
was a gale, downpour, thunderstorm, famine or epidemic. Before going
on a war or a big hunt, they would still more want to divine the
outcome.
The method of divination then was to drill a hole on the interior
side of the tortoise hell and put the shell on a fire to see what
cracks would appear on the obverse side. By interpreting the cracks
the soothsayer predicted the outcome of an event. After each divination,
the dates, the events and the results would be written down and
carved on tortoise shells or bones. And the collection of these
became the earliest recorded historical material in China, from
which modern scholars have divined "how things were in the
Shang society".
In the oracle inscriptions, one finds many pictographs in their
primitive picture forms, for example,  for
the sun,  for
the cow, and so on. Together they show that a well-structured script
with a complete system of written signs was already formed in that
early age.
Later on, the area around Anyang became dry, and tortoises grew
scarce, so people began to use bamboo strips instead for divination.
From this grew the practice of asking the gods about the future
by drawing bamboo sticks, as one may see today at certain temples--a
practice that has its remote root in the superstition of the Shang
people.
Zhou Wen.
According the literature, Shi Zhou of Zhou Xuan Wang (827 B.C.-
782 B.C.) created Zhou Wen. Zhou is his name.
Jin Wen.
Jin Wen is the scripts carved on bronze wares during Shang (2100
B.C.-1600 B.C.) and Zhou dynasty (1600 B.C.- 221 B.C.).
Da Zhuan.
Usually by Da Zhuan we mean Zhou Wen or Jin Wen. At that period,
there's no standard for scripts yet. Almost all piece we still have
is in different scripts. We call all of these scripts Da Zhuan.
Xiao Zhuan.
Qin Shi Huang defeated all other countries in China in 221 B.C.
Then he made a standard of the scripts. The scripts at that time
is called Xiao Zhuan.
Zhuan Shu.
Actually, we call all of the scripts before and include Xiao Zhuan.
But sometimes, some people call Da Zhuan and Xiao Zhuan as Zhuan
Shu.
Li Shu.
Although Xiao Zhuan is the official written language in Qin dynasty
(221 B.C - 206 B.C.), it can not be written efficiently. So another
script, Li Shu became popular since it is much easier to write.
Li Shu was the official written language in Han (206 B.C. - 265).
And the best Li Shu calligraphy is in Han Dynasty.
This form of Chinese script germinated in pre-Qin times. By the
Qin Dynasty it came to be used by low-ranking officials in the Chinese
government. It simplified the more complicated strokes of seal character
script and used a bend instead of making a roundabout turn. Lishu
is attributed to Cheng Miao, who lived in the state of Qin. The
script was used by clerks working in prisons, hence the Chinese
term lishu (servitude script). By the Han Dynasty it was promoted
as a writing style. In over four hundred years of propagation lishu
created many schools of writing. Lishu was underwent a development
of over four hundred years through the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern
dynasties. By the latter part of the Southern and Northern Dynasties
the script rid itself of any remaining influence of lishu, attaining
complete maturity.
Chinese calligraphy entered its golden age during the Sui and Tang
dynasties, when China produced the largest number of calligraphers
and made the greatest achievements in calligraphic art, unmatched
other historic periods or dynasties. I mentioned four schools of
calligraphy before: Yan, Liu, Ou and Zhao. of the four the first
three thrived in the Tang Dynasty.
Cao Shu. (cursive script)
According to Xu Shen <<Shuo Wen Jie Zi>>, Cao Shu appeared
in Han dynasty. Cao Shu is the simplified script from Li Shu. Can
Shu also can be divided into Zhang Cao and Jin Cao. Zhang Cao is
close to Li Shu. We can see it keep some stroke from Li Shu. Huang
Xiang's "Ji Jiu Zhang" is a typical Zhang Cao piece. Jin
Cao is much more simple than Zhang Cao. It's said Jin Cao is created
by Zhang Zhi, who is called Cao god by calligraphers after him.
Famous Cao Shu calligraphers at the end of Han dynasty include
Du Du, Cui Yuan, Cui Shi and Zhang Zhi.
Kai Shu.
Kaishu came into use in China at the end of the Han Dynasty. It
is still used in China today after more than 1.700 years. It is
the main Chinese writing style, called kaishu, or regular script.
It is also called zhengshu or zhenshu.
Kaishu was initiated by Wang Cizhong toward the end of the Han
Dynasty, according to legend. In the Wei-Jin period Zhong You (151-230)
and Wang Xizhi(303-363) initiated a new way of writing that allowed
kaishu and lishu to separate and form two systems. Chinese script
unused today in China to serve the needs of society are kaishu (regular
script) and xingshu (running script), but in the art arena zhen,
cao, official script and seal character script compete with each
other. They give a resplendent view of the beauty of calligraphy
and the depth and breadth of this Oriental art, formed through several
thousand years of ancient culture.
Kai means standard. It's also called Zhen Shu or Zheng Shu. Kai
Shu is evolved from Li Shu. The shape of Kai Shu is square. The
strokes are staight. The rules to write it is strict. It appears
at the end of Han dynasty.And it's the official written language
since then.
Wei Bei.
Wei bei is all of the calligraphy of Bei Wei dynasty. They belong
to Kai Shu.
Xing Shu.
Cao Shu can be written fast but it's hard to read. Kai Shu can
be read easily but can not be written efficiently. Xing Shu is the
script between Cao Shu and Kai Shu. It's easy to write and easy
to read.
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