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ART & LEISURE: Evolution of Chinese Characters
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BT 201806 Art 10      汉字是世界上唯一没有消亡的从象形到形声ã€ä¼šæ„交èžç›¸åˆå’Œä¸æ–­å‘展完善的最å¤è€çš„文字。汉字从产生到现在,虽没有跳出表æ„文字的圈å­ï¼Œä½†æ–‡å­—的形体一直按从ç¹åˆ°ç®€çš„规律å‘展演å˜ç€ã€‚历å²ä¸Šä¸»è¦å‡ºçŽ°äº†å…«ç§å­—体:甲骨文ã€é‡‘æ–‡ã€å¤§ç¯†ã€å°ç¯†ã€éš¶ä¹¦ã€è‰ä¹¦ã€è¡Œä¹¦ï¼Œå†åˆ°çŽ°åœ¨çš„简体字。
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      除了将大篆改为å°ç¯†å¤–,秦始皇时期还使用了较å°ç¯†æ½¦è‰äº›çš„隶书。ç»è¿‡å¤šå¹´æ¼”å˜ï¼Œéš¶ä¹¦åˆ°æ±‰ä»£æ‰è‡»äºŽæˆç†Ÿï¼Œæˆä¸ºæ±‰ä»£çš„主è¦é€šè¡Œä¹¦ä½“。隶书的出现是汉字形体å‘展上的一次大改é©ï¼Œå®ƒç»“æŸäº†å¤æ–‡å­—时代,开创今文字新的时期,有划时代的æ„义。


      楷书是由隶书演å˜è€Œæ¥çš„,兴于汉末,盛于é­æ™‹å—北æœã€‚直到现在,ä»æ˜¯æ±‰å­—的标准字体,已有近2000年的历å²äº†ã€‚在楷书å‘展的过程中,åˆæ¼”å˜å‡ºäº†è¡Œä¹¦ä¸Žè‰ä¹¦ã€‚行书是介于楷书与è‰ä¹¦ä¹‹é—´çš„è¿ç¬”自由的一ç§å­—体。 è‰ä¹¦ç”±ç¯†ä¹¦ã€å…«åˆ†ã€ç« è‰ï¼Œæ²¿è¢­å¤šç§å¤æ–‡å­—å˜åŒ–而æˆã€‚å°åˆ·æœ¯å‘明åŽï¼Œä¸ºé€‚应å°åˆ·ï¼Œå°¤å…¶æ˜¯ä¹¦åˆŠå°åˆ·çš„需è¦ï¼Œæ–‡å­—é€æ¸å‘适于å°åˆ·çš„æ–¹å‘å‘展,由于宋体字适于å°åˆ·åˆ»ç‰ˆï¼Œåˆé€‚åˆäººä»¬åœ¨é˜…读时的视觉è¦æ±‚,是出版å°åˆ·ä½¿ç”¨çš„主è¦å­—体。


      汉字文化åšå¤§ç²¾æ·±ï¼Œæºè¿œæµé•¿ï¼Œæ˜¯æ¯ä¸ªä¸­å›½äººéƒ½åº”了解的文化知识。


Chinese language is very different from other languages, and since it is one of the oldest languages in the world, you might be interested in its history.


Unlike written English or other languages that use the phonetic transcription system, Chinese characters are pictorial, meaning they are based on images. Some concrete evidence of Chinese characters dating back to the era from 1500 to 950 BC has been unearthed.

BT 201806 Art 01Figure 1: The Oracle found on a turtle shell


Historians and archaeologists believe that the earliest form of pictographs was employed to serve the purpose of divination because people in ancient China were always overwhelmed with doubts and worries about illness, dreams, hunt and weather. They inscribed their agonies and distresses on carriers, namely turtle shells or other animal bones. Then they burnt or baked these carriers until cracks or fissures appeared for the prophets to interpret and accordingly provide long-lasting suggestions or solutions.


Characters found in this period were collectively classified as the Oracle. This was no longer interchangeable with individual symbols, and interpretation varied as per the individual historian or archaeologist.


Then in the era spanning 1100 – 256 BC, bronze was discovered and was widely used in China, and newer forms of Chinese characters gradually developed. However, at that time China was not as geographically spread-out as it is today owing to having amalgamated many smaller nations around its boundaries. As a result, each Chinese character had multiple variants. All of these were included in the Bronze script, also known as the Large Seal script. In fact, the Large Seal script was often used as a standard script of Chinese characters before the Clerical script came into being. The following illustration is indicative of the square shape that defined Chinese characters in that era.

BT 201806 Art 02Figure 2: A work of the Bronze script

BT 201806 Art 03Figure 3: A work of the Large Seal script


Over the next stage of evolution of Chinese characters, the Small Seals script appeared. Courtesy of the unification of China in 221-207 BC, under the rule of the Qin Dynasty, several changes occurred, and language was no exception. In order to strengthen the country, the monarch standardized the written Chinese script as one of the political measures. Hence, the Small Seal script was forcefully implemented on a nationwide scale. At this point, Chinese characters had assumed an identity that was distinct from the Oracle. They featured a simpler and squarer design, thus being easier to write and were widely diffused. In the meantime, the number of characters kept on increasing as the population expanded in tandem with the political and economic development of the country.

BT 201806 Art 04Figure 4: A poem written in Small Seal script

BT 201806 Art 05Figure 5: A comparison of the Large and Small Seal scripts with Mandarin


As is evident in the above illustration, the Seals’ brushstrokes were well-rounded and artistic, but they were not practical owing to slowing down reading and not being conducive to fast writing which was a necessity in real life. Therefore, the Clerical script was invented during the rule of the Qin Dynasty and it was then widely popularized by the rulers of the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) due to its simplified design.


Invention and acceptance of the Clerical script was a remarkable change in the history of Chinese characters and calligraphy. It is commonly believed that the Clerical script marks a watershed between ancient and modern Chinese characters because it closely resembles modern Chinese characters in terms of strokes and structure. In fact, Chinese fonts and variations have been found as being based on the Clerical script.

BT 201806 Art 06Figure 6: A poem written with the Clerical script

BT 201806 Art 07Figure 7: A comparison of the Small Seal and Clerical script with Mandarin


A few hundred years later, the Standard script, derived from the Clerical script, became the mainstream trend.

BT 201806 Art 08Figure 8: A poem written with the Standard script


But Chinese characters retained their complicated nature even in the Standard Script. Hence the need to write fast prompted the invention and development of the Running script and eventually the Draft script (or Grass script). The Draft script could be written quickly because it modified the characters, like omitting certain parts, merging strokes, twisting portions or changing the stroke style.

BT 201806 Art 09Figure 9: A comparison of the basic Chinese scripts


An interesting opinion on the Draft script is that this particular font reached the end of its development during the rule of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), as it became indecipherable to others, although it was often present as part of Chinese calligraphy.


Subsequent to the formation of P.R.C., the Simplified script was introduced. Simplified Chinese has significantly reduced the strokes and simplified the structures of traditional symbols that were used in the Clerical script. And this movement is believed to have significantly reduced illiteracy in China.


History and evolution of Chinese characters is in reality the reflection of different eras. And it was very simple in the beginning, as it originated from symbols. Then it became complicated for daily use. Therefore, with the development of human society, the characters needed to be simplified across several stages to cope up with the requirements of changing times.

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