BeforeDuring the [[Qin'sEastern wars of unificationZhou]] dynasty ({{circa|771}}{{snd}}256 BC), local variationvarieties inof [[Chinese character]] forms had evolveddeveloped independentlyacross of one another forthe centuriescountry, producing the 'scripts of the six states' ({{lang|zh|六國文字}}),—which allwere oflater which werecollectively referred to later as [[large seal script]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seal Script |url=https://www.cityu.edu.hk/lib/about/event/ch_calligraphy/seal_eng.htm |access-date=2023-09-28}}</ref> UnderThis avariance morewas unifiedconsidered regime,unacceptable by the variancenascent was[[Qin considereddynasty]] unacceptable(221–206 BC), inwho itssaw it as a hindrance ofto timely communicationscommunication, trade, taxation, and transportation, as well as being a potential vectorsvector for fomenting political dissent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Galambos |first=Imre |year=2004 |title=The Myth of the Qin Unification of Writing in Han Sources |jstor=23658631 |journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=181–203 |doi=10.1556/AOrient.57.2004.2.2 |issn=0001-6446}}</ref>Afterwards Around 220 BC, [[Qin Shi Huang]] mandatedordered thea systematic unificationstandardization of the country's weights, measures, currencies,and etc.currency, andas thewell useas of a standardits writing scriptsystem. CharactersCharacter forms which were differentdiffered from those foundused inby Qin scribes were discarded, andwith the Qin'ssmallforms sealbecoming charactersstandard becameacross the standard for all regions within theentire empire. This policy became effective in around 220 BC, the year after Qin's unification of the Chinese states.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Diringer |first=David |title=The book before printing: Ancient, Medieval and Oriental |publisher=Dover |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-486-24243-9 |___location=New York}}</ref>
