This continued until the period of the Chin Shih Huang or "first emperor of the united China." Under the rule of the formidable emperor (246-214 BC), the warring states were consolidated into one united country and to ensure coherent communication, the emperor established one written style.
秦代的小篆，把以往類似圖畫的甲骨文、鐘鼎文，有系統地變為規律整齊的線條化文字，但小篆過多的圓筆部分書寫不便，漢代隸書於是應運而生。漢隸大幅擺脫秦以前書法的圖案型態，乃是書法由繁複變為簡易、由寫形步向寫意的橋樑。