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Why was small-seal script replaced by official script?

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Chinese sculpture during the Han dynasty examined — Chinese art A discussion of Chinese art, from the documentary *China: West Meets East at the Metropolitan Museum of Art*.

The small-seal script (xiaozhuan) was replaced by the official script (lishu) primarily because the small-seal style was not suitable for rapid writing.12

While the small-seal script was a standardized and balanced form of writing developed during the Qin dynasty to meet the growing demand for documented records, its reliance on even line thickness and numerous curves made it too slow for efficient use.12

The official script, or lishu, was specifically devised for the use of clerks—the term li refers to a "petty official" or "clerk"—to facilitate the speed required for administrative tasks. By eliminating circles and minimizing curved lines in favor of squares and straight horizontal and vertical lines, the official script allowed for much faster execution. This transition marked a significant evolution in Chinese calligraphy, as the new style freed writers from the constraints of the earlier, more rigid seal scripts.2