汉字的起源与形体演变 The Origin and Evolution of Chinese Cha...

汉字也叫“中国字”，是世界上最古老的文字之一。汉字数量极其庞大，有8 万多个。其中，常用字3,500 个，这些常用字的社会信息覆盖率达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.

汉字起源于原始社会的图画和象形符号，这些图画和象形符号是先民在长期的劳动实践中逐渐创造并不断总结出来的，后来经过演变，最晚在距今3,000 年的殷商时代出现了成熟的汉字——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.

汉字字体演变图

A diagram of evolution of Chinese scripts

“甲骨文”是殷商时代刻写在龟甲或兽骨上的文字。这些文字多是用来占卜的。甲骨文笔画匀称、字形美观，这说明它已是相当成熟的文字。此前应有更早期的文字雏形存在。

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 .

从甲骨文到现代的简化字，汉字经历了一个从形象到抽象、从复杂到简单的演变过程，出现了甲骨文、金文、篆书、隶书、楷书以及草书、行书等字体。

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”又叫钟鼎文，是古代铸或刻在铜器上的文字。外形比甲骨文丰满、方正、匀称，存在于商、周、秦、汉时期。

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）书”分大篆、小篆。大篆又名“籀（zhòu）文”，一般指春秋战国时代的秦国文字，以“石鼓文”为代表；小篆是秦始皇统一六国后采用的标准字体，是在大篆基础上整理、简化而成的，比大篆字形更匀称整齐，笔画更简化圆转。

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

“隶书”分秦隶、汉隶。秦隶运用于秦代。汉隶又叫“今隶”，从秦隶的基础上演变而来，通行于汉代，与秦隶相比，篆书的痕迹更少了。

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.

“楷书”从隶书发展而来，兴于汉末，盛于魏晋。由于字形规矩方正、书写简便，一直沿用到今天，是通用时间最长的标准字体。

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、篆书、隶书、楷书都是在一定历史阶段正式运用的字体，而草书和行书一直是辅助性字体。草书的总体特点是笔画的相连或省略多。行书产生于东汉末，是一种介于楷书和草书之间的字体，虽然也连笔，但好写好认，非常实用。

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.

王献之《中秋帖》

Wang Xianzhi's calli