Chinese characters have evolved from their primitive forms to their modern styles through many phases. The major styles include oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions during the Western and Eastern Zhou, scripts popular during the Warring States Period, and the seal script characteristic of the Qin Dynasty. These are the archaic forms and styles. Modern styles include theofficial script, regular script. Bronze inscriptions were those marked on bronze objects. Large and small seal scripts are characteristic of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period. After the Qin Dynasty had unified China, and designated the small seal scripts as the standard written script. History has called this the "unification of characters". Regular script appeared later and came to be the popular and standard style of the Chinese written language, and is the one still in use today.As for the running and cursive scripts, both were created for efficiency in writing and as a form of art; they are supplemental to the regular script.
