When writing developed into the Warring States Period, people no longer only paid attention to the use of writing, but also became aware of the value of written writing. The production process of words is extremely complicated, and it should be said that the driving force behind its production is purely utilitarian. However, in the process of formation, it is difficult to say that there is no certain subconscious aesthetic choice. For example, the written notes in the savage era not only mark or imply something, but also have to do so from the perspective of formal language today. It's said to be quite charming. It can be imagined that after the primitive people completed the utilitarian design of symbols to record events, they would consciously or unconsciously have a decorative beauty mentality when writing. Just like when primitive people used leaves to cover themselves, they would not just hang them randomly on their bodies but arrange them in an array. It's quite beautiful and orderly. This may be the instinctive requirement of human beings as children of nature. When it comes to the inscription of oracle bone inscriptions, this requirement becomes even stronger and more obvious. However, there is still a qualitative difference between passive creation and self-awareness. It was not until the Warring States Period that people had the awareness to actively regard writing as an art, and produced the first batch of famous people for writing who have historical records. The character-calligrapher, got rid of the past state of copying by craftsmen. Of course, during this historical period, Chinese characters had not yet been finalized and were still undergoing improvement and change. The names of calligraphers were more or less related to the innovation and evolution of characters.
The earliest calligraphers recorded in history are Li Si, Zhao Gao, Hu Mujing and Cheng Miao in small seal script of the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty was in a specific historical period. In addition to Xiaozhuan, which was the most popular among official officials at that time, there were also a variety of calligraphy styles that coexisted, the so-called eight styles of Qin calligraphy. "Hanshu. Yiwenzhi" said: "Eight styles, one is called large seal script, the second is called small seal script, the third is called engraved symbols, the fourth is called insect script, the fifth is called copy seal, the sixth is called signature script, the seventh is called Shu script, and the eighth is called official script." However, among these eight styles, there are actually only two basic calligraphy styles, seal script and official script. The rest of the seal scripts, such as engraving characters, insect scripts, imitations, signature scripts, and seal scripts, are all used for different purposes. The engraved talisman is the text specially engraved on the talisman letter. In ancient times, talisman was a tool of evidence and trust, such as tiger talisman. Chongshu, also known as bird-insect script, is a type of writing used on flags and other objects. Its structure is seal script, but the strokes are composed of various bird and insect shapes. Copy seal, that is, Miao seal, is specially used for seals. The signature is the inscription on the door plaque, also known as the list. Shushu is a type of writing specially engraved on various weapons. There are two types of seal script: large seal script and small seal script. Small seal script is the most commonly used. The large seal script is a legacy of Zhenwen. It is equivalent to the traditional writing style at that time and was the style used in large volumes of old books at that time. Opposite to the seal script, which represents the official script, is the official script, which is simpler than the small seal script and is used by civilians or lower-level officials to facilitate busy affairs such as prisons.
