Evolution of Chinese characters

The images below illustrates how a number of Chinese characters have changed over time from their earliest known pictographic forms, to the versions used today.

The Large Seal and Small Seal scripts are still used to write names on personal name chops, and are also occasionally used to write company names on buildings, stationery, namecards, etc.

The Grass script (a.k.a. Cursive script) is used mainly for Chinese calligraphy. Each character is written with one continuous stroke, which enables very rapid writing, though characters written in this way are difficult to read. Legibility is not a primary concern for Chinese calligraphers, instead they aim to produce calligraphy that is aesthetically pleasing.

The Simplified script (a.k.a. Simplified Chinese), was officially adopted in the People's Republic of China in 1949 in an effort to eradicate illiteracy. It is also used in Singapore.

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Further information about the Chinese script

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