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漢字也叫“中國字”，是世界上最古老的文字之一。漢字數(shù)量極其龐大，有8 萬多個。其中，常用字3,500 個，這些常用字的社會信息覆蓋率達99%。Chinese characters constitute one of mankind's oldest systems of scripts in the world. Large in number, Chinese characters total more than 80,000, among which basic ones amount up to 3,500 and convey 99% of social information.漢字起源于原始社會的圖畫和象形符號，這些圖畫和象形符號是先民在長期的勞動實踐中逐漸創(chuàng)造并不斷總結(jié)出來的，后來經(jīng)過演變，最晚在距今3,000 年的殷商時代出現(xiàn)了成熟的漢字——甲骨文。Chinese characters originate from pictures and pictographic signs in primitive society, which were created and summarized step by step over a long period of labor and practice by the ancestors. Through evolvement, mature jiaguwen (oracle scripts, or Chinese scripts carved on tortoise shells or animalbones) appeared in the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago at the latest. 
A diagram of evolution of Chinese scripts “甲骨文”是殷商時代刻寫在龜甲或獸骨上的文字。這些文字多是用來占卜的。甲骨文筆畫勻稱、字形美觀，這說明它已是相當成熟的文字。此前應(yīng)有更早期的文字雛形存在。Jiaguwen are Chinese scripts carved on tortoise shells or animal bones, mainly during the Shang Dynasty (17th-11thBC). Jiaguwen have regular strokes and beautiful form, which is evidence that they had undergone a long development process, and that there should be certain rudiments preexisting jiaguwen .從甲骨文到現(xiàn)代的簡化字，漢字經(jīng)歷了一個從形象到抽象、從復雜到簡單的演變過程，出現(xiàn)了甲骨文、金文、篆書、隸書、楷書以及草書、行書等字體。From jiaguwen to the current simplified Chinese characters, Chinese characters have experienced a course of evolution from hieroglyph to abstraction, and from complexity to simplicity, evolving from jiaguwen to jinwen (ancient Chinese script used in inscriptions on ancient bronze objects), zhuanshu (seal characters), lishu (official script), and kaishu (regular script) as well as caoshu(cursive script) and xingshu (semi-cursive script).“金文”又叫鐘鼎文，是古代鑄或刻在銅器上的文字。外形比甲骨文豐滿、方正、勻稱，存在于商、周、秦、漢時期。Jinwen , also known as 'zhongdingwen,' are script forged or carved on bronze ware in ancient times, and their forms are fuller, rounder, more upright, more squared and better balanced in structure compared with jiaguwen . Jinwen existed in the Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties.
甲骨文 Jiaguwen “篆（zhuàn）書”分大篆、小篆。大篆又名“籀（zhòu）文”，一般指春秋戰(zhàn)國時代的秦國文字，以“石鼓文”為代表；小篆是秦始皇統(tǒng)一六國后采用的標準字體，是在大篆基礎(chǔ)上整理、簡化而成的，比大篆字形更勻稱整齊，筆畫更簡化圓轉(zhuǎn)。Zhuanshu can be divided into dazhuan (large seal script) and xiaozhuan (small seal script). Dazhuan, also called zhouwen , usually refers to the script of the State of Qin during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the most typical dazhuan was shiguwen ; xiaozhuan was a result of simplified dazhuan , but was better balanced in structure, and more regular, with simplified, rounder and smoother strokes.
石鼓文拓片 shiguwen rubbings “隸書”分秦隸、漢隸。秦隸運用于秦代。漢隸又叫“今隸”，從秦隸的基礎(chǔ)上演變而來，通行于漢代，與秦隸相比，篆書的痕跡更少了。Lishu can be divided into Qin li and Han li . Qin li was used in the Qin Dynasty. Han li , also known as 'present li ,' was derived from Qin li , and was commonly used in the Han Dynasty. Compared with Qin li , Han li had fewer traces of zhuanshu.“楷書”從隸書發(fā)展而來，興于漢末，盛于魏晉。由于字形規(guī)矩方正、書寫簡便，一直沿用到今天，是通用時間最長的標準字體。Kaishu was developed on the basis of lishu, first appearing in the late Han Dynastyand most popular in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Being regular and square informs and simple in writing, it is still in use today. It is a standard script that has been used for the longest duration.甲骨文、金文、篆書、隸書、楷書都是在一定歷史階段正式運用的字體，而草書和行書一直是輔助性字體。草書的總體特點是筆畫的相連或省略多。行書產(chǎn)生于東漢末，是一種介于楷書和草書之間的字體，雖然也連筆，但好寫好認，非常實用。Jiaguwen , jinwen, zhuanshu, lishu and kaishu were or are scripts formally used in certain periods of history, and caoshu and xingshu have been auxiliary ones all the time. Caoshu features in general continuous or omittedstrokes. Xingshu originated in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and is a kind of script between kaishu and caoshu . Despite its continuous strokes, it is easy to write and read, and thus very practical.
王獻之《中秋帖》 Wang Xianzhi's calli
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