Bronze Inscription Calligraphy 金文书法

If one associates the oracle-bone inscriptions with the Shang dynasty, then the Bronze inscriptions are certainly the characters and calligraphy of the Zhou dynasty, especially the Western Zhou dynasty.

Bronze inscriptions differ from oracle-bone inscription in many ways.

Firstly, oracle-bone inscriptions are more graphic whose complicated strokes make them more like pictures, whereas bronze inscriptions are simpler and more regular.

Secondly, the way that the characters are written are not standardised for the oracle-bone inscriptions, that means the same word can be written in a number of ways.

Thirdly, the oracle-bone inscriptions were carved on bones with knife, so the strokes are normally very thin. Bronze inscriptions, on the other hand, were produced with mould, so the strokes are wide in germination and without sharp points.

In terms of type set, the characters of bronze inscriptions are always arranged from top to bottom and lines from right to left, which reveals the aesthetic culture in pursuit of order and regularity in Zhou dynasty. This is quite different from oracle-bone inscriptions which are less orderly arranged.

In terms of calligraphy, the one-thousand year history of bronze inscriptions can be divided into two periods: the ‘wave-style’ inscriptions were favoured before the mid-Western Zhou whereas the ‘jade-chopstick style’ inscriptions after the mid-Western Zhou.

The ‘wave-style’ was vigorous and rough, with the first and last stroke in shape of wave. The characters are almost in lines, but not in rows.

The ‘jade-chopstick style’ was round and flexible and the left and right parts of a character normally are of same height.

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如果我们把甲骨文与商朝联系，那么金文肯定就是周朝，尤其是西周的文字与书法。

金文与甲骨文有不少不相同之处。

首先，甲骨文更加形象，复杂的线条使它们更像图画，而金文就较简化育规则化。

其次，甲骨文的书写还没有完全标准化，就是说一个字可能有几种写法。

再次，甲骨文是以刀来刻的，所以线条比较细。另一方面，金文多数是铸造的，所以笔划间较阔，较少尖点。

以字的排列来说，金文一般字由上到下，线由右到左，表现了周朝追求次序与纪律的美的文化。这与甲骨文稍为不同，文字的安排比较没有那么有秩序。

从书法来看，千年历史的金文可以分为两个时期：西周中期前的‘波磔体’与西周中期后的‘玉箸体’。

‘波磔体’刚劲，起笔与收笔出锋显出波磔。书写大多成行，不顾横排。

‘玉箸体’圆柔，文字两端齐平。