Editing Qin dynasty (section)

=== Writing reform ===
[[File:Qin (Chinese characters).svg|thumb|upright=0.6|"Qin" in [[seal&nbsp;script]]&nbsp;(top) and [[regular&nbsp;script]]&nbsp;(bottom) Chinese characters]]
The Zhou inherited the [[writing system]] of [[Chinese characters]] used by the preceding [[Shang dynasty]] ({{circa|1600|1056&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}) and first attested in [[oracle bone inscriptions]] {{circa|1250&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}. Writing was adopted throughout the Zhou cultural sphere during the first half of the 1st millennium&nbsp;BC, with the shapes and forms of characters in the script gradually evolving over time. With the Warring States period, distinct regional writing styles began to diverge from one another;{{sfn|Qiu|1988|pp=70–71}} compared to that of other Zhou states, the script used in Qin generally changed the least during this time.{{sfn|Qiu|1988|p=78}} The standard writing style in the state of Qin was consolidated under Qin Shi Huang into what is known as ''[[small seal script]]''.{{sfn|Qiu|1988|p=100}} While the ''[[Book of Han]]'' (111&nbsp;AD) states that Li Si distributed detailed instructions for writing in small seal script to scribes in 221&nbsp;BC, these instructions have been lost. However, many contemporary inscriptions on monuments meant to demonstrate small seal character forms have survived.{{sfn|Bökset|2006|pp=17, 19}} While the regional divergences across China were reduced considerably, the use of [[variant characters]] remained frequent among Qin scribes; the traditional idea of a strict standardisation of small seal script appears to be a later notion introduced by the Han.{{sfnm|Galambos|2004|1pp=181–182|Bökset|2006|2pp=18–19}}