Throughout the evolution of Chinese characters, there has been a dialectical relationship between the formal styleand cursive style. Zhang-cao belonged to the cursive styles of formal clerical script. However, it became more normative andartistic on the basis of "Li-cao" and eventually formed its unique calligraphic form. The period when Zhang-cao was emergedand became prosperous was also the time when calligraphy advanced towards self-consciousness, which reached its peak inthe late Eastern Han Dynasty as a trend. A group of cursive calligraphers in the West State, represented by Zhang Zhi,emerged during this period. The essay Fei Cao Shu (Rejecting the cursive) written by Zhao Yi has circuitously showed theconsciousness of calligraphy during this era. Along with the formal clerical script, Zhang-cao has been no longer daily fontssince Wei and Jin Dynasties. However, it has been passed down and lasted for a long time. Affected by the renaissance of sealcharacter and the thoughts of Stele Study in the Qing Dynasty,especially the bamboo slips and silk manuscripts which were unearthed in modern times, Zhang-cao has produced a great revival.%汉字在演进过程中始终存在着正体、草体的辩证关系,章草属于隶书正体的草体,但又在"隶草"的基础上进一步规范化、美观化,形成了自身独特的书体形态.章草产生、兴盛的时期也是书法艺术逐渐走向自觉的时代,这一趋势在东汉末年达到高潮,涌现出以张芝为代表的西州草书家群体,赵壹的《非草书》将这一时期书法艺术的自觉曲折地表现出来.章草在魏晋之后随其正体隶书一起退出日用书体,但却流传不衰,受到清代篆隶书复兴和碑学思潮的影响,尤其是受到近现代简牍帛书大发现的影响,章草书法重现辉煌.
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