structural:scholar_edition
Zhou scripts

As early as the Shang, the oracle bone script existed as a simplified form alongside another that was used in bamboo books, in addition to elaborate pictorial forms often used in clan emblems. These other forms have been preserved in what is called bronze script (金文; jīnwén), where inscriptions were made using a stylus in a clay mould, which was then used to cast ritual bronzes. These differences in technique generally resulted in character forms that were less angular in appearance than their oracle bone script counterparts.

Study of these bronze inscriptions has revealed that the mainstream script underwent slow, gradual evolution during the late Shang, which continued during the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BCE) until assuming the form now known as small seal script (小篆; xiǎozhuàn) within the Zhou state of Qin. Other scripts in use during the late Zhou include the bird-worm seal script (鸟虫书; 鳥蟲書; niǎochóngshū), as well as the regional forms used in non-Qin states. Examples of these styles were preserved as variants in the Shuowen Jiezi. Historically, Zhou forms were collectively referred to as large seal script (大篆; dàzhuàn), a term which has fallen out of favour due to its lack of precision.