China's Chinese characters are undoubtedly one of the greatest characters in the world. They are not only practical, but also beautiful. In the history of thousands of years, countless famous calligraphers have promoted Chinese characters to art. While praising Chinese characters, we should also thank a person-Qin Shihuang, the emperor who is both a tyrant and a saint.
Qin Shihuang unified the writing.
In the previous article, Guo (general theory of national history) once said that Chinese characters have undergone many major changes in history. Especially during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wars continued, and vassals became independent. At that time, the vassal States were relatively independent and developed their own culture. At that time, only the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the State of Qin were using the "standard character"-Da Zhuan, and several other vassal States had already simplified, simplified or deformed Da Zhuan. Qin Shihuang was born at the right time when the great cultural division was intensifying. It can be said that Qin Shihuang's greatest contribution to China was not to unify the six countries, nor to resist the Huns, but to unify the writing.
The country's imperial seal inscription described in ancient books
At that time, the characters of the six countries were more or less different, and even the fonts commonly used in each country were different. Among them, there is a special country that retains the original bird totem worship and uses a special seal word-bird seal. Bird seal was very popular in Chu, Wu, Yue, Cai and other countries at that time, but it was not an ordinary writing, but an artistic writing. At the same time, there are insect seals, collectively known as bird seals.
Sword of the King of Yue and Its Inscription
The shadow of bird and insect prints can be seen on many newly discovered bronzes during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, the sword of Gou Jian, the king of Yue mentioned by Guo yesterday, is engraved with a bird-printed eight-character inscription. There is also Prince Chu Wuding, who uses both bird prints and insect prints. In addition, Xue Shanggong, an engraver in the Song Dynasty, also wrote the eight-character inscription "I was ordered by Heaven to live forever", which is said to be described from the national seal.
Inscription by King Chu Wuding
According to the textual research of modern scholar Mr. Guo Moruo, bird and insect seal script should be the earliest artistic Chinese characters. He said: "The decoration applied under the aesthetic consciousness is similar to the ornamentation. China used words as works of art, and that's when it started. " However, this kind of artistic words often pay too much attention to artistic expression and ignore the readability of the words, just like the word "Gou Jian" in Betty Wong Gou Jian Zi Jian, which is difficult to identify. Mr. Guo Moruo thought these two words were "Shao Jian", but in the end, the academic circles recognized the word "dove shallow" explained by Mr. Tang Lan, that is, the general name of "Gou Jian".
Another font-vertical land printing.
Bird and Insect Seal was once one of the "Eight Styles of Qin Shu", but its usage rate gradually declined. For most modern people, it can only be appreciated as a work of art, and it is difficult to identify what words it is written.