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seal script > great seal script > bird and insect script

Preferred term

bird and insect script  

Definition

  • This is a highly decorative variant of seal script. Dating back to the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BCE) and Warring States (475-221 BCE) periods, it was mainly cast or engraved on weapons. (zdic.net). It is characterized by intricate, intertwined strokes, that form characters with bird, fish, worm and insect-like elements added to the semantic element. It has two sub-styles: Bird Seal Script (niaozhuan 鸟篆), which incorporates bird-like heads and tails, and Worm Seal Script (chongzhuan 虫篆), characterized by winding, worm-like strokes. During the Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties, an ornamental writing style, also called niaochongshu 鸟虫书 or huaniaoshu (花鸟书), was used for writing on banners and credentials. This style features swift strokes adorned with birds, fish or other animals incorporated into the semantic elements of the characters.

Broader concept

Alternative Terms

niaochongshu
Chinese
鸟虫文
niaochongzhuan
鸟虫篆
鸟虫书
niaochongwen
bird-and-worm script
English
bird-worm seal script

Source

  • Daniels, Benjamin. 2022. 'Bird Script' is not Bird Script. Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient 108: 325-370
  • Ulrich, Theobald (2011) Writing styles of Chinese characters. ChinaKnowledge.de - An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art. http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Script/hanzi-writingstyles.html

Belongs to group

In other languages

  • 鸟虫书

    Chinese

  • 鸟虫文
  • 鸟虫篆

URI

http://w3id.org/write/thesaurus/bird_insect_script

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