Chinese characters are the carrier of Chinese language，and also the Mother of calligraphy．

Calligraphy，as the art of writing，has evolved from the stage of mere practical use to an art．

Along with the evolution of writing styles，variation of strokes and structures，simplification and standardization of the writing system，changes of rhythm and force in writing as well as the use of ink，blank canvas，and other artistic elements，calligraphy gradually turned into a spectacular form of art．

Oracle-bone inscription is the earliest mature writing system found in China．Many philosophers'aesthetic ideas can be traced to these characters，although they cannot be regarded as art in a strict sense．Through an aesthetic sense of beautiful worldly things，such philosophers tried to use strokes to describe and portray them，thus creating the Chinese characters representing the vitality of life．

Through the use of oracle bones，bronze wares and stone drums，they polished their writing of each character with their unexplainable aesthetic perception to make it balanced and harmonious；with writing brushes and knives，they pondered over the unique rhythm of each character．As in bronze inscriptions，they used different types of strokes to record the vigorous circular shape of the sun，the feminine crescent shape of the moon，towering mountain peaks，ripples and tides of running rivers，the vigorous movement of warriors，and the elegant figures of women．In terms of typeset，characters in oracle-bone inscriptions were placed with Qian Li Lu（a special line in the middle of the oracle bone）as the axis，while bronze inscriptions always arranged characters from top to bottom and right to left，to be more artful and profound．

In bronze inscriptions，many armorial inscriptions were like detailed pictures and Bird-and-Insect scripts during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period integrated the decorative features of Chinese characters into its practical use．Such aesthetic beauty，as embodied in these characters，cannot be ignored，as Guo Moruo remarked when analyzing writings in the Shang Dynasty，“Since the Shang Dynasty，Chinese characters started to carry with an aesthetic flavor／feature．Many oracle-bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions in that period were extraordinarily beautiful，the creators of which were undoubtedly calligraphers，even though they remained unknown in history．Starting from the later years of the Spring and Autumn Period，these calligraphers deliberately regarded the writing of characters as a work of art，or in other words，they developed writing into an art and decoration．It marked the development of characters into a conscious stage of calligraphy．Chinese characters，as a kind of calligraphic art and an application tool，followed their respective rules．”

Therefore，in these early stages，some basic elements of Chinese calligraphy took shape．At this glorious starting point，Chinese calligraphy commenced its long and brilliant history of development．

During the Qin and Han dynasties，different types of writing began to emerge and calligraphy gradually developed into an art．In the Qin Dynasty，the first unified dynasty in Chinese history，Qin Shihuang（the First Emperor ofQin）carried out the first official orthographic campaign in Chinese history to introduce“using the same script to write books”，establishing the small seal script as the official writing system．

Compared with ancient scripts，the strokes，structures and forms of the small seal script are more standardized and simplified．With slender font and neat lines，small seal script makes one feel peaceful yet dignified，conforming to the magnificent atmosphere of the grand unification of the Qin Dynasty．

In the Han Dynasty，the clerical script gradually replaced the small seal script as the most important writing style．Compared with the small seal script，drastic changes were made in the clerical script and characters became more simplified and convenient to use．In the meantime，a new aesthetic awareness was cultivated．The combination of wave-shaped strokes and rising endings，as in the silkworm head and swallow tail style，demonstrated a rhythm of twists and turns，arousing an elegance，vigor and an emotional freedom of life．

In the Han Dynasty，the development of this new writing style greatly enriched calligraphy．Countless calligraphic works are from the Western and Eastern Han dynasties including Han clerical script，Han seal，Han bamboo slips，and Han stele inscription（i．e．rectangular stone tablets）．Simple and vigorous，elegant and refined，they were models to emulate and valuable artistic treasures for later generations．

The Wei and Jin dynasties were the era of“Man's self-consciousness”，where remarkable，brilliant，cultural and artistic achievements were made，and a unique“romantic trend in Wei and Jin dynasties”took shape．Calligraphy in this period enjoyed great prosperity：cursive script，running script，and regular script inherited the legacies of the Western and Eastern Han dynasties and it was further developed into a mature level by a large number of greatly talented calligraphers such as Suo Jing，Wei Heng，Huang Xiang，Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi．

Scholars in the Wei and Jin dynasties regarded calligraphy as an expression of free will，almost without any utilitarian purposes．They were acutely aware of the external beauty of nature and further discovered the intrinsic beauty of the spirit，integrating artistic conception into every dot and stroke．

The regular script turned the rhythmic twists and turns of the clerical script into a style with clear strokes，forming a dignified and refined beauty；the quick and easy style involved in writing the running script brings elegance and gracefulness，thus becoming the unremitting pursuit of calligraphers for generations to come；the continuous and free style as well as varied ways of writing cursive script invites wild imagination，winning favor from numerous calligraphers of all ages．

The Tang and Song dynasties witnessed great material and cultural prosperity in Chinese history and the art of calligraphy grew tremendously during this period．In the Tang Dynasty，regular script was in its prime and gradually got rid of the influence of the clerical script of the Wei and Jin dynasties．The regular script，with its rigid structure，refined order and its character shapes changing from flat-square to square，was a model for later generations．

Ouyang Xun，Yu Shinan，Chu Suiliang，Xue Ji，Yan Zhenqing，Liu Gongquan，Xu Hao，and Yang Ningshi were all great masters．During this period of innovation and new development，the seal script，running script，and cursive script all flourished and thrived．

Calligraphers in the Song Dynasty abandoned the rule-advocating tendency of the Tang people and strived to pursue the pure，innocent and free spirit，forming a distinctive expressiveness-pursuing style．The Northern and Southern Song dynasties nurtured many famous calligraphers such as Su Shi，Huang Tingjian，Mi Fu，Zhao Ji，Su Shunqin，Lu You，Fan Chengda，Zhu Xi，Zhao Gou，and Zhang Jizhi，etc．They made outstanding achievements in various aspects including scholarly attainments，calligraphic art，creative work or theoretical knowledge．Later generations of the Yuan，Ming and Qing dynasties absorbed the essence of their art and strived to open up a new era of calligraphy．

By the late Southern Song Dynasty，the entire circle of calligraphy was at a low ebb，and in the early Yuan Dynasty it went from bad to worse．It was Zhao Mengfu，with his courage and insight，who swam against the tide by advocating the ideal of“restoring ancient ways”to revive the extraordinary achievements made in the Jin and Tang dynasties．The Ming Dynasty also left a considerable wealth for later generations with its outstanding calligraphic achievements．Facing the grand achievements of their predecessors，Qing people re-examined the essence of calligraphic art，and finally opened up a new frontier of stele inscriptions．

In the Qing Dynasty，with the rejuvenation of philology and epigraphy，the trend of searching，recording and interpreting ancient steles became quite popular and stele inscription came into being．For calligraphers，inscriptions on bronze utensils and precipices were helpful references，and the seal script，clerical script and regular script were new fields for their exploration．

With further simplification and standardization of Chinese characters，contemporary calligraphy inherits the finer traditions on one hand，and on the other hand it strives to explore a different style that belongs to the new era．

Modern calligraphy is the aesthetic reflection of the spiritual world of Chinese calligraphers，and from it，we can see the changes in modern society and the multi-dimensional features of modern styles．Yu Youren，Li Shutong，Shen Yinmo，Deng Sanmu，and Lin Sanzhi are great representatives，whose works embody distinctive beauty．Plain，unrestrained，graceful，refined，elegant，or primitive，these works provide different aesthetic enjoyment for people．

There are also calligraphers like Ma Yifu，Ma Xulun，Lu Weizhao，Pan Boying，Gao Ershi，Sha Menghai，Wang Pengchang，Bai Jiao，Qi Gong and Xiao Xian．These calligraphers，from a long list，have made great efforts to learn from others and break new ground，promoting the development of modern calligraphy． LGJ81GGQCsXAVMhQIcvT0uRibwt3RIp0VYpt8fsTyrGgKcOtjWoyHLMnBGjPouru