What is the origin and evolution of Chinese characters?

Chinese characters are a very ancient script, and its history can be traced back to Oracle Bone Inscriptions over 3000 BC. The following is a major historical overview of the origin and evolution of Chinese characters:

Oracle Bone Inscriptions period (BC14th century-BC 1 1 century): The earliest known form of Chinese characters is Oracle Bone Inscriptions, which developed from the ancient characters of Shang Dynasty. Oracle Bone Inscriptions is used to record production and sacrificial activities, mainly carved on tortoise shells and animal bones.

Jinwen Period (1 1 century-3rd century BC): After Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China entered the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, that is, the Jinwen Period. Bronze inscriptions are words appearing on metal utensils, which are more concise, more structured and more aesthetic than Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

Seal script period (2265438 BC+0-220 AD): After Qin unified China, the characters were unified, which made the characters in different regions unified in form and specification. At this time, there are still many tokens and patterns that are often pre-printed on various items, so the basis for printing nails and making seals appears.

Official script period (2265438 BC+0-220 AD): Official script is an important stage in the evolution of Chinese characters. In the Han Dynasty, official script gradually became the official script.

Regular script period (Song Dynasty): Official script was widely circulated, but the strokes were complex, so folk writing often used running script and cursive script as writing methods, and then gradually evolved into regular script, which became the most formal and standardized writing form of Chinese characters.

In a word, the development and evolution of Chinese characters is long, and after several evolutions, the standardized Chinese characters used today have been formed. With its unique charm and profound cultural connotation, Chinese characters have become one of the oldest and most active characters in the world.