Chineseisaveryoldlanguage.AhostofdocumentalrecordsshowsthatChinesecharactersoriginatedinYaoshaoCulturePeriodoftheNeolithicAge,anditsearliestcharactersdatebacktonearly4,000yearsago.Duringtheirlonghistoryofdevelopment,Chinesecharactershaveevolvedintomanydifferentscriptforms,suchassealscript,officialscript,regularscriptandcursivehandwriting.ChinesecalligraphersusuallyrendertheirChinesecharactersinawaythatisexaggeratedinformtoyieldartisticbeauty,suchasthoseinstoneinscriptionsseenatsometouristresorts.