A 2,500-year-old Chinese sword discovered in 1965 remains ... The 55.6-centimeter weapon bears eight characters written in Bird-worm seal script, an intricate variant of ancient Chinese writing.

Over the centuries, Chinese calligraphy developed five basic script styles. The seal script was devised under ... Egyptian script is about 5,000 years old. Sanskrit is about 4,000 years old.

Chinese seal carving is a traditional art form developed from carving techniques. The seal script, the characters engraved on the bottom of seals, is seen as the twin sister of Chinese calligraphy.