Editing Chinese characters (section)

== History ==
{{Further|Chinese script styles|History of the Chinese language}}
[[File:Comparative evolution of Cuneiform, Egyptian and Chinese characters.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Diagram comparing the abstraction of pictographs in cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Chinese characters{{snd}}from an 1870 publication by French Egyptologist [[Gaston Maspero]]{{efn-ua |{{Cite book |last=Maspero |first=Gaston |author-link=Gaston Maspero |url=http://archive.org/details/recueildetravaux27masp/page/244/mode/2up |title=Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie et à l'archéologie égyptiennes et assyriennes |publisher=Librairie Honoré Champion |year=1870 |page=243 |language=fr}}}}]]
The broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical <em>shape</em> ({{zhi|c=字形|p=zìxíng}}), the "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical <em>form</em> ({{zhi|s=字体|t=字體|p=zìtǐ}}), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, ... in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes".{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=44–45}} The traditional notion of an orderly procession of script styles, each suddenly appearing and displacing the one previous, has been disproven by later scholarship and archaeological work. Instead, scripts evolved gradually, with several distinct styles often coexisting within a given area.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=59–60, 66}}

=== Traditional invention narrative ===
Several of the [[Chinese classics]] indicate that [[Chinese knotting#Recordkeeping|knotted cords]] were used to keep records prior to the invention of writing.{{sfn|Demattè|2022|pp=79–80}} Works that reference the practice include chapter 80 of the ''{{lang|zh-Latn-wadegile|[[Tao Te Ching]]}}''{{efn-ua |{{Cite book |author=Laozi |author-link=Laozi |title-link=Tao Te Ching |year=1891 |language=lzh,en |translator-last=Legge |translator-first=James |script-title=zh:道德經 |trans-title=Tao Te Ching |chapter=80 |author-mask=Laozi |translator-link=James Legge |chapter-url=https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing/ens#n11671 |via=the [[Chinese Text Project]] |trans-quote=I would make the people return to the use of knotted cords (instead of the written characters).}} }} and the "{{tlit|zh|[[Xici]]|italics=no}}&nbsp;II" commentary to the ''{{lang|zh-Latn-wadegile|[[I&nbsp;Ching]]}}''.{{efn-ua |{{Cite book |title-link=I Ching |year=1899 |language=lzh,en |translator-last=Legge |translator-first=James |script-title=zh:易經 |trans-title=I Ching |script-chapter=zh:係辭下 |trans-chapter=Xi Ci II |translator-link=James Legge |chapter-url=https://ctext.org/book-of-changes/xi-ci-xia#n46944 |via=the [[Chinese Text Project]] |trans-quote=In the highest antiquity, government was carried on successfully by the use of knotted cords (to preserve the memory of things). In subsequent ages the sages substituted for these written characters and bonds.}} }} According to one tradition, Chinese characters were invented during the 3rd millennium&nbsp;BCE by [[Cangjie]], a scribe of the legendary [[Yellow Emperor]]. Cangjie is said to have invented symbols called {{zhc|c=字|p=zì}} due to his frustration with the limitations of knotting, taking inspiration from his study of the tracks of animals, landscapes, and the stars in the sky. On the day that these first characters were created, grain rained down from the sky; that night, the people heard the wailing of ghosts and demons, lamenting that humans could no longer be cheated.{{sfn|Yang|An|2008|pp=84–86}}{{sfn|Boltz|1994|pp=130–138}}

=== Neolithic precursors ===
{{Main|Neolithic symbols in China}}
Collections of graphs and pictures have been discovered at the sites of several [[Neolithic]] settlements throughout the [[Yellow River]] valley, including {{tlit|zh|[[Jiahu]]|italics=no}} ({{cx|6500&nbsp;BCE}}), {{tlit|zh|[[Dadiwan]]|italics=no}} and {{tlit|zh|[[Damaidi]]|italics=no}} (6th millennium&nbsp;BCE), and {{tlit|zh|[[Banpo]]|italics=no}} (5th millennium&nbsp;BCE). Symbols at each site were inscribed or drawn onto artefacts, appearing one at a time and without indicating any greater context. Qiu concludes, "We simply possess no basis for saying that they were already being used to record language."{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=31}} A historical connection with the symbols used by the late Neolithic [[Dawenkou culture|{{tlit|zh|Dawenkou|italics=no}} culture]] ({{cx|4300|2600&nbsp;BCE}}) in Shandong has been deemed possible by palaeographers, with Qiu concluding that they "cannot be definitively treated as primitive writing, nevertheless they are symbols which resemble most the ancient pictographic script discovered thus far in China...&nbsp;They undoubtedly can be viewed as the forerunners of primitive writing."{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=39}}

=== Oracle bone script ===
{{Main|Oracle bone script}}
{{mim
| header = Oracle bone script
| width = 60
| caption_align = center
| image1   = 天-oracle.svg
| caption1 = {{lang|zh|天}}<br />{{nwr|'Heaven'}}
| image2   = 馬-oracle.svg
| caption2 = {{lang|zh|馬}}<br />{{nwr|'horse'}}
| image3   = 旅-oracle.svg
| caption3 = {{lang|zh|旅}}<br />{{nwr|'travel'}}
| image4   = 正-oracle.svg
| caption4 = {{lang|zh|正}}<br />{{nwr|'straight'}}
| image5   = 韋-oracle.svg
| caption5 = {{lang|zh|韋}}<br />{{nwr|'leather'}}
}}
{{CSS image crop
| Image = Shang dynasty inscribed scapula.jpg
| bSize = 280
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| Description = Ox scapula inscribed with characters recording the result of divinations{{snd}}dated {{circa|1200&nbsp;BCE}}
}}
The oldest attested Chinese writing comprises a body of inscriptions produced during the [[Late Shang]] period ({{cx|1250}}{{snd}}1050&nbsp;BCE), with the very earliest examples from the reign of [[Wu Ding]] dated between 1250 and 1200&nbsp;BCE.{{sfnm|Boltz|1999|1pp=74, 107–108|Liu et al.|2017|2pp=155–175}} Many of these inscriptions were made on [[oracle bone]]s—usually either ox [[scapula]]e or turtle plastrons—and recorded official [[divination]]s carried out by the Shang royal house. Contemporaneous inscriptions in a related but distinct style were also made on ritual bronze vessels. This [[oracle bone script]] ({{zhi|c=甲骨文|p=jiǎgǔwén<!-- A considered exception to [[MOS:ZH]] -->}}) was first documented in 1899, after specimens were discovered being sold as "dragon bones" for medicinal purposes, with the symbols carved into them identified as early character forms. By 1928, the source of the bones had been traced to a village near [[Anyang]] in [[Henan]]—discovered to be the site of [[Yinxu|Yin]], the final Shang capital—which was excavated by a team led by [[Li Ji (archaeologist)|Li Ji]] from the [[Academia Sinica]] between 1928 and 1937.{{sfn|Liu|Chen|2012|p=6}} To date, over {{val|150000}} oracle bone fragments have been found.{{sfnm|Kern|2010|1p=1|Wilkinson|2012|2pp=681–682}}

Oracle bone inscriptions recorded divinations undertaken to communicate with the spirits of royal ancestors. The inscriptions range from a few characters in length at their shortest, to several dozen at their longest. The Shang king would communicate with his ancestors by means of [[scapulimancy]], inquiring about subjects such as the royal family, military success, and the weather. Inscriptions were made in the divination material itself before and after it had been cracked by exposure to heat; they generally include a record of the questions posed, as well as the answers as interpreted in the cracks.{{sfn|Keightley|1978|pp=28–42}}{{sfn|Kern|2010|p=1}} A minority of bones feature characters that were inked with a brush before their strokes were incised; the evidence of this also shows that the conventional [[stroke order]]s used by later calligraphers had already been established for many characters by this point.{{sfn|Keightley|1978|pp=46–47}}

Oracle bone script is the direct ancestor of later forms of written Chinese. The oldest known inscriptions already represent a well-developed writing system, which suggests an initial emergence predating the late 2nd millennium&nbsp;BCE. Although written Chinese is first attested in official divinations, it is widely believed that writing was also used for other purposes during the Shang, but that the media used in other contexts—likely [[bamboo and wooden slips]]—were less durable than bronzes or oracle bones, and have not been preserved.{{sfnm|Boltz|1986|1p=424|Kern|2010|2p=2}}

=== Zhou scripts ===
{{See also|Chinese bronze inscriptions|Bamboo and wooden slips|Seal script}}
{{mim
| header = Bronze script
| width = 60
| image1 = 天-bronze.svg
| image2 = 馬-bronze.svg
| image3 = 旅-bronze.svg
| image4 = 正-bronze.svg
| image5 = 韋-bronze.svg
| alt1 = 天
| alt2 = 馬
| alt3 = 旅
| alt4 = 正
| alt5 = 韋
}}
{{CSS image crop
| Image = Shi Qiang pan.jpg
| bSize = 300
| cWidth = 285
| cHeight = 160
| oTop = 30
| oLeft = 6
| Description = The [[Shi Qiang pan|Shi Qiang {{tlit|zh|pan}}]], a bronze ritual basin bearing inscriptions describing the deeds and virtues of the first seven Zhou kings{{snd}}dated {{cx|900&nbsp;BCE}}{{sfn|Shaughnessy|1991|pp=1–4}}
}}
As early as the Shang, the oracle bone script existed as a simplified form alongside another that was used in bamboo books, in addition to elaborate pictorial forms often used in clan emblems. These other forms have been preserved in [[bronze script]] ({{zhi|c=金文|p=jīnwén}}), where inscriptions were made using a stylus in a clay mould, which was then used to cast [[Chinese ritual bronzes|ritual bronzes]].{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=63–66}} These differences in technique generally resulted in character forms that were less angular in appearance than their oracle bone script counterparts.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=88–89}}

Study of these bronze inscriptions has revealed that the mainstream script underwent slow, gradual evolution during the late Shang, which continued during the [[Zhou dynasty]] ({{cx|1046}}{{snd}}256&nbsp;BCE) until assuming the form now known as ''[[small seal script]]'' ({{zhi|c=小篆|p=xiǎozhuàn<!-- A considered exception to [[MOS:ZH]] -->}}) within the Zhou [[state of Qin]].{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=76–78}}{{sfn|Chen|2003}} Other scripts in use during the late Zhou include the [[bird-worm seal script]] ({{zhi|t=鳥蟲書|s=鸟虫书|p=niǎochóngshū}}), as well as the regional forms used in non-Qin states. Examples of these styles were preserved as variants in the ''{{tlit|zh|Shuowen Jiezi}}''.{{sfn|Louis|2003}} Historically, Zhou forms were collectively known as ''[[large seal script]]'' ({{zhi|c=大篆|p=dàzhuàn}}), though Qiu refrains from using this term due to its lack of precision.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=77}}

=== Qin unification and small seal script ===
{{Main|Small seal script}}
{{mim
| header = Small seal script
| width = 60
| image1 = 天-seal.svg
| image2 = 馬-seal.svg
| image3 = 旅-seal.svg
| image4 = 正-seal.svg
| image5 = 韋-seal.svg
| alt1 = 天
| alt2 = 馬
| alt3 = 旅
| alt4 = 正
| alt5 = 韋
}}
Following [[Qin's wars of unification|Qin's conquest]] of the other Chinese states that culminated in the founding of the imperial [[Qin dynasty]] in 221&nbsp;BCE, the Qin small seal script was standardized for use throughout the entire country under the direction of Chancellor [[Li Si]].{{sfn|Boltz|1994|p=156}} It was traditionally believed that Qin scribes only used small seal script, and the later clerical script was a sudden invention during the early Han. However, more than one script was used by Qin scribes—a rectilinear vulgar style had also been in use in Qin for centuries prior to the wars of unification. The popularity of this form grew as writing became more widespread.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=104–107}}

=== Clerical script ===
{{Main|Clerical script}}
{{mim
| header = Clerical script
| width = 60
| image1 = 天-clerical-han.svg
| image2 = 馬-clerical-han.svg
| image3 = 旅-clerical-han.svg
| image4 = 正-clerical-han.svg
| image5 = 韋-clerical-han.svg
| alt1 = 天
| alt2 = 馬
| alt3 = 旅
| alt4 = 正
| alt5 = 韋
}}
By the [[Warring States period]] ({{cx|475}}{{snd}}221&nbsp;BCE), an immature form of [[clerical script]] ({{zhi|t=隸書|s=隶书|p=lìshū<!-- A considered exception to [[MOS:ZH]] -->}}) had emerged based on the vulgar form developed within Qin, often called "early clerical" or "proto-clerical".{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=59, 119}} The proto-clerical script evolved gradually; by the [[Han dynasty]] (202&nbsp;BCE{{snd}}220&nbsp;CE), it had arrived at a mature form, also called {{zhc|c=八分|p=bāfēn}}. Bamboo slips discovered during the late 20th century point to this maturation being completed during the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han]] ({{reign|141|87&nbsp;BCE}}). This process, called {{tlit|zh|[[libian]]}} ({{zhi|t=隸變|s=隶变}}), involved character forms being mutated and simplified, with many components being consolidated, substituted, or omitted. In turn, the components themselves were regularized to use fewer, straighter, and more well-defined strokes. As a result, clerical script largely lacks the pictorial qualities still evident in seal script.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=119–124}}

Around the midpoint of the [[Eastern Han]] (25–220&nbsp;CE), a simplified and easier form of clerical script appeared, which Qiu terms {{zhl|s=新隶体|t=新隸體|p=xīnlìtǐ|l=neo-clerical}}.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=113, 139, 466}} By the end of the Han, this had become the dominant script used by scribes, though clerical script remained in use for formal works, such as engraved [[stelae]]. Qiu describes neo-clerical as a transitional form between clerical and [[regular script]] which remained in use through the [[Three Kingdoms]] period (220–280&nbsp;CE) and beyond.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=138–139}}

=== Cursive and semi-cursive ===
{{mim
| header = Cursive script
| width = 60
| image1 = 天-caoshu.svg
| image2 = 馬-caoshu.svg
| image3 = 旅-caoshu.svg
| image4 = 正-caoshu.svg
| image5 = 韋-caoshu.svg
| alt1 = 天
| alt2 = 馬
| alt3 = 旅
| alt4 = 正
| alt5 = 韋
}}
[[Cursive script (East Asia)|Cursive script]] ({{zhi|t=草書|s=草书|p=cǎoshū<!-- A considered exception to [[MOS:ZH]] -->}}) was in use as early as 24&nbsp;BCE, synthesizing elements of the vulgar writing that had originated in Qin with flowing cursive brushwork. By the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]] (266–420), the Han cursive style became known as {{zhc|c=章草|p=zhāngcǎo|l=orderly cursive}}, sometimes known in English as 'clerical cursive', 'ancient cursive', or 'draft cursive'. Some attribute this name to the fact that the style was considered more orderly than a later form referred to as {{zhc|c=今草|p=jīncǎo|l=modern cursive}}, which had first emerged during the Jin and was influenced by semi-cursive and regular script. This later form was exemplified by the work of figures like [[Wang Xizhi]] ({{fl.|4th&nbsp;century}}), who is often regarded as the most important calligrapher in Chinese history.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=130–148}}{{sfn|Knechtges|Chang|2014|pp=1257–1259}}

{{mim
| header = Semi-cursive script
| width = 60
| image1 = 天-xingshu.svg
| image2 = 馬-xingshu.svg
| image3 = 旅-xingshu.svg
| image4 = 正-xingshu.svg
| image5 = 韋-xingshu.svg
| alt1 = 天
| alt2 = 馬
| alt3 = 旅
| alt4 = 正
| alt5 = 韋
}}
An early form of [[semi-cursive script]] ({{zhi|t=行書|s=行书|p=xíngshū|l=running script}}) can be identified during the late Han, with its development stemming from a cursive form of neo-clerical script. Liu Desheng ({{zhi|t=劉德升|s=刘德升}}; {{fl.|2nd century&nbsp;CE|lk=no}}) is traditionally recognized as the inventor of the semi-cursive style, though accreditations of this kind often indicate a given style's early masters, rather than its earliest practitioners. Later analysis has suggested popular origins for semi-cursive, as opposed to it being an invention of Liu.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=113, 139–142}} It can be characterized partly as the result of clerical forms being written more quickly, without formal rules of technique or composition—what would be discrete strokes in clerical script frequently flow together instead. The semi-cursive style is commonly adopted in contemporary handwriting.{{sfnm|Li|2020|1p=51|Qiu|2000|2p=149|Norman|1988|3p=70}}

=== Regular script ===
{{Main|Regular script}}
{{mim
| header = Regular script
| width = 60
| image1 = 天-kaishu.svg
| image2 = 馬-kaishu.svg
| image3 = 旅-kaishu.svg
| image4 = 正-kaishu.svg
| image5 = 韋-kaishu.svg
| alt1 = 天
| alt2 = 馬
| alt3 = 旅
| alt4 = 正
| alt5 = 韋
}}
[[File:姓解 Digidepo 1287529 00000014(2) (cropped).jpg|thumb|A page from a Song-era publication printed using a regular script style{{efn-ua |{{Cite book |last=Shao |first=Si |url=https://dl.ndl.go.jp/en/pid/1287529/1/2 |title=Explaining Surnames |year=1035 |volume=1 |page=1 |language=lzh |script-title=zh:姓解 |doi=10.11501/1287529 |author-mask=Shao Si (邵思) |access-date=30 May 2024 |via=the [[National Diet Library]]}} }}]]
[[Regular script]] ({{zhi|t=楷書|s=楷书|p=kǎishū}}), based on clerical and semi-cursive forms, is the predominant form in which characters are written and printed.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=113, 149}} Its innovations have traditionally been credited to the calligrapher [[Zhong Yao]], who lived in the state of [[Cao Wei]] (extant 220–266); he is often called the "father of regular script".{{sfn|Chan|2020|p=125}} The earliest surviving writing in regular script comprises copies of Zhong Yao's work, including at least one copy by Wang Xizhi. Characteristics of regular script include the {{zhl|t=頓|p=dùn|l=pause}} technique used to end horizontal strokes, as well as heavy tails on diagonal strokes made going down and to the right. It developed further during the [[Eastern Jin]] (317–420) in the hands of Wang Xizhi and his son [[Wang Xianzhi (calligrapher)|Wang Xianzhi]].{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=143}} However, most Jin-era writers continued to use neo-clerical and semi-cursive styles in their daily writing. It was not until the [[Northern and Southern period]] (420–589) that regular script became the predominant form.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=144-145}} The system of [[imperial examination]]s for the civil service established during the [[Sui dynasty]] (581–618) required test takers to write in [[Literary Chinese]] using regular script, which contributed to the prevalence of both throughout later Chinese history.{{sfn|Li|2020|p=41}}