When did Chinese characters originate?

China script has a history of 5000 years, but the early script is gone. The earliest script handed down today is Oracle Bone Inscriptions (Wen Jia for short) unearthed from Yin Ruins in Shang Dynasty. The so-called Oracle Bone Inscriptions, is carved or written on tortoise shells and ox bones. These characters have a history of more than three thousand years. In addition, many bronzes from Shang and Zhou Dynasties were unearthed underground, on which many inscriptions were cast, and they were called Zhong Dingwen. These two kinds of characters are also called "ancient prose" because they are the earliest characters that can be seen now.

Zhou Xuanwang Taishi Shuan once wrote Wen Zhuan (also known as Da Zhuan), and some forms of Wen Zhuan can also be seen in the interpretation of the text. After Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, Lisi played the same script, so Xiao Zhuan became popular. The book Shuo Wen Jie Zi is based on explaining Xiao Zhuan. After the Han Dynasty, writing became easier and easier, and official script became the common writing in the Han Dynasty. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, the font was changed to regular script, which was convenient to write and remained quite stable after transmission, and it has been used ever since. At the same time, for the convenience of writing, running script and cursive script also appeared, which are variants of regular script.

Changji's creation

Huainanzi? Ben Jing Xun said: "In the past, Cang Xie wrote books, but it rained heavily at night, and the ghosts cried and screamed." The general idea is that when Cangjie used to make characters, millet began to fall in the sky and the ghosts cried and screamed at night. There are also records about Cangjie's word-making in ancient books such as Xunzi and Hanfeizi. In the Qin and Han dynasties, this legend spread more widely and had a deeper influence.

Historians in the past have verified whether Cang Xie is a real person. If so, in which era, it is difficult to draw a conclusion due to the lack of conclusive historical data.

Some people speculate that Cang Xie is the official historian of the Yellow Emperor. Xunzi? "Revealing the Secret" said: "So, there are many good readers, and Cang Xie's" Lonely Biography "is also one." Some people explain that the "one" here is the right way, that is, the Dharma. Xunzi believed that Cang Xie was an expert in arranging words by touching their laws, because he was focused on using them. Therefore, it is generally believed that he played a unique role in the transition of Chinese characters from original characters to more standardized characters. It can be inferred that such people will definitely exist in the later period of the origin of Chinese characters.

But the saying that "Cangjie creates characters" is just a legend. Because writing is definitely not created by Cang Xie alone, but by observing natural things in the process of collective production and labor, and according to the ideological content to be expressed when social culture develops to a certain stage. Chinese characters are a huge and rich system, and it is impossible to create success without a long time.

Inscriptions on pottery

The ancestor of Chinese characters. In the prehistoric period and early historical period of China, before the appearance of Chinese characters, the symbol that most resembled characters was Wen Tao. Wen Tao has unearthed a lot of materials, but it has no writing space like Oracle Bone Inscriptions's, only a single symbol. From the Neolithic Age to the late Shang Dynasty, the earliest unearthed Wen Tao was Banpo, Wen Tao, about 4800-4300 BC. In addition, Wen Tao also exists in Dawenkou culture, Longshan culture and Liangzhu culture. Tao Wen is mostly engraved on the black wide band pattern and black inverted triangle pattern on the outer edge of the pottery bowl, and a few are engraved on the outer wall and the bottom of the pottery bowl. Generally speaking, there is only one Wen Tao on the vessel. Academic circles have different views on the nature of these Wen Tao. Qiu Xigui thinks it is a "symbol", Guo Moruo thinks it is a "symbol with the nature of words", while Yu and other scholars think it belongs to the category of words. Mr. Tang Li 'an (Lan) said that Dawenkou culture is "the ancestor of existing characters with a history of about 5,500 years". It is very difficult to decipher Wen Tao. So far, only a few words can guess that it is equivalent to a certain word in later generations. However, Wen Tao is related to Chinese characters, which should be affirmed.

oracle bone script

Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty is the real writing of China.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions was written in Shang Dynasty (BC 1400). These characters are called Oracle Bone Inscriptions because they are carved on animal bones or tortoise shells. Characters are carved with a knife, so they are also called "Wen Qi" and "Qike". Except for a few notes, most of the words belong to the records of the divination by the princes at that time, so they are also called "Oracle Bone Inscriptions" or "divination words". In addition, because Oracle Bone Inscriptions was unearthed in Anyang County (the former capital of Yin), it is also called "Yin Ruins". Strictly speaking, it can only be called calligraphy in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Because Oracle Bone Inscriptions has possessed the three basic elements of China's calligraphy: writing with a pen, writing with Chinese characters, and composition. However, not all previous picture symbols have these three elements.

Ancient bronze inscriptions

In ancient times, copper was called gold, so people called the inscriptions on bronzes bronze inscriptions. Bronze first appeared in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, forming a splendid bronze culture in China history. Bronzes can be roughly divided into more than ten categories, mainly including food containers, wine containers, water containers, weapons, chariots and horses, and various tools.

Since the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, bells of different sizes have appeared on bronzes, which are the main ritual vessels for sacrifices and banquets. Dings in bronzes were mostly used as ritual vessels for cooking animals to worship heaven and ancestors. Later, Zhong Ding became a symbol of state power. Because Zhong and Ding are important ritual vessels in bronzes, bronze inscriptions are also called Zhong Dingwen.

Bronze inscriptions are important historical materials. The Book of Rites says: "Fuding has an inscription, and the inscription has its name. Since it is famous for the beauty of its ancestors, it is also known to future generations. " On Ming in the Han Dynasty said: "Zhong Ding's Book of Rites and Music shows his descendants by virtue and discipline." It can be seen that inscriptions on bronze inscriptions are mainly used by rulers to worship and praise their ancestors. The calligraphy art of inscriptions and the plastic arts of bronzes are a whole, and it is the calligraphy art of epigraphy and the magnificent plastic arts that complement each other, making bronzes the embodiment of beauty.

Since the mid-Shang Dynasty, bronzes have been engraved with inscriptions. From the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, bronzes became heavy and delicate. Clouds and thunder patterns are often used as backgrounds to set off gluttonous patterns and Kuiwen, giving people a deep, mysterious, ferocious and dignified atmosphere. The bronze inscription is made of clay model, which is quite different from Oracle Bone Inscriptions carved with a knife.

Mus Wu Ding is the representative work of Shang Dynasty. Bronze inscriptions are shaped by the image of things, stippling uses natural curves to describe things, and often uses one or two lines to highly summarize the characteristics of objective things. There have been new changes in the inscriptions on bronze in the Western Zhou Dynasty. 1976, a gift from China Merchants Bureau of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty was discovered in Lintong, Shaanxi. The inscription describes the winning process of the Battle of King Wu Konoha, which is the representative work of the early Western Zhou Dynasty. By the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the bronzes were gradually simple, but the inscriptions were constantly enriched, and the calligraphy art of bronze inscriptions reached a new peak, with skillful, beautiful and unrestrained calligraphy. At that time, there were three main styles of inscriptions on bronze: the first one was stretched with a pen, with correct handwriting and even strokes, representing works such as large, large and hairy. The second category, the brushwork is mellow, the body is rich and gorgeous, the density is proper, and it has a high level of calligraphy art; At the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a square inscription appeared, such as "white plate of auspicious fruit", which became another style and opened up the calligraphy style in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Inscriptions on drum stones in the Warring States Period (475-22 BC1year)

Shi Guwen pre-Qin stone inscriptions. Shi Guwen is the earliest and most representative stone carving in China. Stone drums and * * * ten-sided drums, each engraved with a four-character poem, are about three feet in diameter. The content describes Qin's hunting, so it is also called "hunting". Because it was abandoned in Chencang Ye Yun, it is also called "Chencang Shijie". It is engraved with the big seal script before Qin Shihuang unified the text, that is, the essay. Ishihara was discovered at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty at the Sancha source of Tianxing (now Baoji, Shaanxi). They have appeared in the world since Du Fu, Wei and Han Yu wrote songs and poems in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Sima Chi (the father of Sima Guang) discovered Jiuzi in the Song Dynasty, moved to the official school, and the emperor was transferred to Taifu (1049- 1053). Daguan (1107-110) moved to Biyong, Tokyo (now Luoyang, Henan Province), and then entered the Treasure Pavilion Hall in the Neifu. Jin people were broken, returned to Yanjing, and were placed in Dachengmen of Pai. 1937 After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, it moved south to Shu. After the war, it was transported back to Peiping and is now in the Palace Museum. In the stone carving era, Zhang Huaiguan, Dou Gao and Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty thought that Zhou Wenwang was a thing of the past. Wei and others think it is something of an era; In the Song Dynasty, Dong Ji and Cheng Dachang thought that Zhou Chengwang was something of an era. Jin Ma Dingguo thought that the eleventh year of the Western Wei Dynasty (545); In the Qing Dynasty, Yu believed that the Northern Wei Dynasty was the Taiping Town Army for seven years (446). Those who thought Qin affairs began in Zheng Qiao in Song Dynasty, and Zhenjun thought Qin Wengong affairs in Qing Dynasty. What is considered to be the times today, what Guo Moruo thinks is the times, and the eleventh year of Kao Ye (before 374). For details, please refer to Textual Research on Shigu Age. There are many damaged stone carvings. Ouyang Xiu recorded only 465 words in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the rubbings of the Song Dynasty collected by Fan Tianyi Pavilion in the Ming Dynasty were only 462 words. Today, one of the drums has no words. In the early Tang Dynasty, "Yu, Chu and Ouyang * * * were called ancient wonders" (quoted from Yuanhe County Atlas). Zhang Huaiguan's book "Broken" said: "Shi Guwen opened ancient prose, making it sharp, straight and fast, like an iron needle, and finally easy and graceful." Kang Youwei, a close friend, said, "The stone drum is like a golden monument, so it's hard to cut it." His masterpieces handed down from generation to generation include Zhao Mengfu in Yuan Dynasty (that is, Fan's Song of Heaven), Anguo Zhongquan in Ming Dynasty, Pioneer (also known as Qianmao) and Hou Li, all of which are Song Tuoben. "Tianyi Pavilion" has been destroyed by fire, and the last three buildings are all in Japan. There are photocopies for the world. The original stone is now in the Palace Museum.

Most of his calligraphy fonts are rectangular, beautiful, dignified and dignified, and his brushwork is steady. Stone and shape, poetry and words are integrated into one, full of primitive simplicity and vigorous beauty.

bradawl

"Turn" is originally a combination of small turn and big turn. Because it is customary to call Wen Zhuan Da Zhuan, later generations often call him "Wen Zhuan". Xiao Zhuan, also known as Qin Zhuan, is a font that was omitted from Da Zhuan. It originated in the Qin State at the end of the Warring States Period and prevailed in the Qin Dynasty and the early Western Han Dynasty. During the Warring States period, countries were separated, and their characters were not uniform and their fonts were quite complicated. So Qin Shihuang unified the world characters with Qin characters, abolished various forms different from Qin characters in six countries, omitted and deleted the original characters of Qin, and absorbed some simplified and popular fonts from folk characters and standardized them, thus forming a new font-Xiao Zhuan.

China characters developed to the stage of Xiao Zhuan, and gradually began to finalize the outline, strokes and structure. The pictographic meaning is weakened, which makes the characters more symbolic and reduces the confusion and difficulty of writing and human reading. This is also the product of the first large-scale use of administrative means to standardize writing in the history of China. The Qin Dynasty unified the national characters with the sorted seal script, which not only basically eliminated the phenomenon of different lines of characters in different places, but also greatly changed the situation of different fonts in ancient Chinese, and played an important role in the development history of China characters. In addition to Xiao Zhuan, it also includes Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jinwen, collectively referred to as Chinese characters; The development of ancient philology had a great influence on the study of ancient history, philosophy, economy, law, culture, science and technology in China.

official script

Although the seal script is a relatively neat rectangle and its structure is composed of even and round lines, it is quite inconvenient to write and the font is more complicated. Due to various shortcomings, a new type of font appeared quickly among the people, which used square folds to write the dignified, neat, round and curved lines of Xiao Zhuan. It is said that this font was very popular among lower-level officials, craftsmen and slaves at that time, so it was called "official script". In the Han Dynasty, official script replaced Xiao Zhuan as the main font, and the development history of China characters broke away from the ancient writing stage and entered the official script stage. After the Han Dynasty, Xiao Zhuan became an ancient font mainly used for carving seals and bronze inscriptions. The formation of official script changed the characters following the shape of objects into simplified Chinese characters composed of straight strokes, which greatly improved the writing speed. China script changed from seal script to official script, which is called "official script change". The official script reform is an important turning point in the development of China characters, ending the stage of ancient Chinese characters and making China characters enter a more stereotyped stage. After the official script was changed to official script, the characters are close to the existing characters and easier to identify than the ancient characters.

cursive script

Cursive script is a scribbled and fast font. Cursive script is a simple font used to assist official script, which is mainly used for drafting manuscripts and communication. During the formation of cursive script, government assistants and historians often need to use drafting documents, which affects the circulation of cursive script. After entering the Eastern Han Dynasty, after the processing of literati and calligraphers, cursive script has a more regular and rigorous shape, which can be used in some official occasions, called "Cao Zhang", which has a little taste of official script and retains the strokes and brushwork of official script. Because cursive script is too simple and easy to be confused with each other, it cannot replace official script as the main font. After the appearance of regular script, cursive script developed further on the basis of regular script. Not only strokes can be linked, but also strokes can be linked up and down. Some features of Lishu strokes have also disappeared, forming another cursive script called "Today Grass".

Semi-cursive/running/calligraphy (China's calligraphy)

Running script is a font between regular script and cursive script, which is neither neat nor bold. If regular script is like a person sitting and cursive running, then running script is a person walking, because running script is more casual and faster than regular script, and unlike cursive script, it is the most popular among people. Running script probably began to be popular among the people from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is known as the "sage of calligraphy" and has created a large number of running script works, which have long been loved by people. Running script has no strict writing rules. If it is written regularly and close to regular script, it is called true line or regular script. A little indulgence, cursive writing with strong flavor is called cursive writing, which is faster than regular script and not as difficult to distinguish people as cursive writing, so it has high practical value.

regular script

From the perspective of font structure, regular script is similar to official script, but it changes the writing method of official script strokes, from flat official script to basic square regular script, which is called "square character". Regular script is also called official script and original script, which shows that regular script is a regular script for people to learn and use. The earliest regular script writer was Zhong You in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. In his handed down works, the brushwork of official script is still reserved. Regular script experienced many changes in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and was basically finalized after Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the script is finalized, it is quite exquisite and rigorous in strokes and structure, such as the works of Ou Yangxun, a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty.

After China characters entered the regular script stage, the font continued to be simplified, but the font changed little. Printing, as one of the four great inventions in China, uses regular script as the main font for printing books. In the Song Dynasty, the regular script was refined to make it more regular and beautiful, and it was called "Song Style". Later, it was called "Song Style Imitation". The fonts used in the books and newspapers we read today are usually variants of this regular script style.