What is eight-part script?

Answer: The eight-point script is a type of official script, also known as "fenshu" or "fenli". During the late Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, the name "Bafen" appeared in classics. Among them, Jin Weiheng's "Four Body Scripts" says: "Hu's disciple Mao Hong taught in the secretary, and now Bafen is preaching the Dharma." Regarding the Bafen Script, later generations' interpretations are extremely complicated and changeable, and there are different opinions. One theory is that Bafen comes before official script and after seal script. It is a style of calligraphy that transitions from seal script to official script and was pioneered by Wang Cizhong. For example, Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang Dynasty quoted "Xuxian Ji" from "Shujuan" and said: Wang Cizhong changed Cangjie's script to "eight points", which is between seal script and official script. Another belief is that there are only eight points after the official script. For example, Xiao Ziliang of the Southern Qi Dynasty said: "At the time of Emperor Ling (the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty), Wang Cizhong's official script was Bafen." It was an official script that had been deliberately beautified and exaggerated. Some people think that Bafen is a calligraphy style that resembles official script and regular script during the transition from official script to regular script. There are four interpretations of the meaning of the name "Bafen" itself. First, Cai Wenji of the Han Dynasty quoted her father Cai Yong's words: "Cut the Cheng (Miao) official character into eight points to get two points, and remove the Li (Si) seal script from two points to get eight points." This statement has been verified by later generations to be a false trust; secondly, the Northern Dynasties Wang Minyun said: "The character is eight points in size, and the words have a model." The name is based on the size and quantity of the character diameter; thirdly, Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang Dynasty said: "Given its age, it gradually seems like the character 'eight' is scattered, so it is also called eight." "Fen." is named from the backward posture of the strokes of the font, which means that this font is like the postures of the left and right parts of the character "eight", with opposite patterns; fourthly, Guo Zhongshu of the Song Dynasty said: "Shu. There are eight styles, and Cai Yong of the Han Dynasty used Li to make the eight-part style. This method was born after the eight-style style, which is called "eight points". It is named from the number of calligraphy styles. Among the above explanations, Zhang Huaiguan’s explanation is more popular. According to Mr. Qi Gong's research, the so-called "eight-point" calligraphy style at that time refers to the unclear characters of the fonts engraved on the extremely solemn stone scripture tablets. For example, in Volume 17 of "Gu Wen Yuan", Wei Wenren Mou Zhun's "Yinwen on the Stele of Marquis Wei Jing" records: "The ministers went to the imperial court to play the memorial, and received the Zen memorial, and it was in Xu Fanchang. The imperial memorial was played by Zhong Yuanchang Shu; It is also called the Golden Needle Bafen Book. "Volume 10 of "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty" also records: "The fourth volume is Bafen, which is used on the stone scripture tablets." Why is the official character on the stone scripture tablets also called "Bafen"? Because during the Han and Wei dynasties, a new type of official script began to appear among the people. The beginning of the stroke did not make a silkworm head, and the closing stroke did not make a wild goose tail. This kind of "official script" was the prototype of the so-called regular script (ie regular script) in later generations. This was a common font at the time, and there was no such font on the official tablets of the Han and Wei dynasties. That's why the fonts on the tablets are called "eight points" to show the difference. It is actually the same character as Li which people often say, but they have different names. With the development of the times, the contents of official script and Bafen have also changed. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the "official book" (i.e. Wei stele) at that time was called "Li". For example, in Volume 21 of Zhao Mingcheng's "Inscriptions and Stones" of the Song Dynasty, the title of the stele in "The Stele Yin of Dajue Temple in the Eastern Wei Dynasty" is "Yinqing Guanglu Dafu Chen Han Yi's official script, covering today's regular script (note, referring to the Song Dynasty)". "Book of Jin? 6? 1 Biography of Wang Xizhi" says that Wang Xizhi was "good at official script, the best in ancient and modern times". Some people in the Tang Dynasty also called "Zhengshu" "official script". For Bafenshu, later generations also expanded the scope of its title. For example, Tang Weixu's "Compilation of Fifty-Six Kinds of Books" once called Zhong Yao's charter book the eighth book. People in the Tang Dynasty also used "Bafen" to refer to "official script" and "running script". For example, in "Shu Duan", Zhang Huaiguan listed Mao Hong, Zhang Chang, Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, etc., who were only famous for their "Zheng", "Cao", "Xing" and other calligraphy styles, as "eight-point" calligraphy "nengpin" ", author of "Wonderful Products".