Characters of theWarring States Period
Zhanguo Wenzi(characters of the Warring States Period) is a collective name of Chinese characters used in different states during the Warring States Period.
FromJiaguwenin the Shang Dynasty (17th -11th century BC) andJinwen(inscriptions on bronze) in theWestern Zhou Dynasty(11th century-771BC) and theSpring and Autumn Period(770-476BC) to Zhanguo Wenzi, Chinese characters witnessed big changes. In the Warring States Period (476-221BC), different states had different written languages and these languages had many differences in structure and writing styles of characters. With economic and cultural development, use of characters was prevalent and writing materials extended to porcelain, bamboo, silk, currency andsealbesides bronzeware. As a result, Chinese characters in different areas featured differently.
From a broader sense,Zhanguo Wenzifell into two systems -- characters of the six states and characters of Qin state. Characters of the six states refer to those characters used in the six states of Han, Zhao, Wei, Qi, Zhu and Yan and some other small kingdoms such as Zhongshan, Yue and Teng. Compared withJinwen, characters of the six states featured simplified and unbending strokes and rough-and-tumble structures. Characters of Qin state were similar toJinwenof the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period and they featured relatively uniform structures. Characters of Qin state were calledZhouwenorDazhuan(greater seal script) by later generations.
Due to different practices in writing languages in different states and different areas, graphemes of Zhanguo Wenzi were in a mess and the same characters sometimes could be written in quite different ways.
EmperorQinshihuang Unified Chinese Characters
Qin Emperor Shihuang (259-210BC) was the state-founding emperor of theQin Dynasty(221-206BC). He was enthroned at the age of 13 and became an emperor at 39. From 230 to 221BC, he destroyed six states -- Han, Wei, Chu, Yan, Zhao and Qi -- in succession, unified China and established the feudal centralized system.
In order to consolidate his position, Qin Emperor Shihuang launched a series of reforms on politics, the economy, culture and ideology. He asked his Prime Minister, Li Si, to unify the eight calligraphic styles that were thriving in other states and absorb some simplified characters and vulgar style scripts to create the standardized Qinzhuan (Qin-Dynasty seal) script.
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