| Bird-worm seal script Niao Chong script | |
|---|---|
| Script type | |
| Created | c. 771–476 BC |
Time period | Spring and Autumn period,Zhou dynasty,Warring States period |
| Languages | Old Chinese |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Oracle bone script
|
Child systems | Bird seal script,Worm seal script |
Sister systems | Seal script |
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
| Bird-worm seal script | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 鳥蟲篆 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 鸟虫篆 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | bird wormseal | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Thebird-worm seal script (Chinese:鳥蟲篆) is a type of ancientseal script originating inChina.
TheChinese character鳥 (niǎo) means "bird" and the character蟲 (chóng) means "insect", but can also mean any creature that looks like a "worm", including invertebrate worms and reptiles such as snakes and lizards (and even theChinese dragon). The character篆 (zhuàn) means "seal (script)".
Other names for this kind of seal script:
There are two subcategories (sub-styles):
Seal script evolved fromoracle bone script,[citation needed] and diverged into different forms in theSpring and Autumn period, after the power of theZhou dynasty waned and China began to divide into different states.
This kind of seal script first appeared in the middle era of the Spring and Autumn period. It then became popular during the late Spring and Autumn period, and was most popular during theWarring States period. It was often seen in kingdoms such as theWu (roughly today'sJiangsu Province),Yue (roughly today'sZhejiang Province),Chu (roughly today'sHunan andHubei provinces),Cai,Xu, and theSong. Each state in China during the Warring States period had its own variety of script.
These kinds of seal script declined after theQin dynasty, most likely due to the unification of writing scripts byQin Shi Huang (unified into thesmall seal script), after his unification of China, although they were used during theHan dynasty.[2]
The bird seal script is often seen onbronze andironantiques of the Yue Kingdom (roughly today's Zhejiang Province). The script was used on bronze and ironweapons, likeswords, to indicate ownership or date of completion. The characters engraved on the famousSword of Goujian provide a fine example. A few examples of the bird seal script can be seen in or oncontainers andjades of that period. The bird seal script was also used occasionally in the Han dynastyseals (mainly the jade seals), as well as a few eaves tiles and bricks.[3]
The worm seal script is more common in, and probably originated from the Wu Kingdom (now roughly Jiangsu Province) or Chu Kingdom (now roughly Hunan Province and Hubei Province). Examples can be seen on antique bronze weapons, containers, jades, and seals (mainly the bronze seals of Han dynasty),[4] and constructional or decorative parts liketiles, etc. The characters on the famousSpear of Fuchai are a good example of this category of seal script.