This style is characterized by the squat character shapes, and its "wavy" appearance due to the thick, pronounced and slightly downward tails that are up-tilted at the ends.

[5] There are also historical traditions dating back to the Han dynasty which attributed the creation of clerical script specifically to a Qin-dynasty prison officer, Cheng Miao (程邈), who was said to have invented it at the behest of Qin Shi Huang.

[7] It has also been argued that, rather than being established by government scribes, clerical script was already in popular use, and its use by clerks in the Qin dynasty merely reflects this trend.

The clerical script was associated with low social status, and, although allowed as a sort of auxiliary writing style for clerks, was generally not used in formal occasions.

[12] Over the course of the Han dynasty, the clerical scripts continued to mature and stabilize, finally arriving at a visually unique style.

[14] The most mature form of the bafen script can be found in the late Eastern Han dynasty, with "carefully and neatly executed"[15] inscriptions on stelae.

In the Tang dynasty, calligraphers including Han Zemu (韓擇木), Shi Weize (史惟則), Li Chao (李潮) and Cai Youlin (蔡有鄰) were renowned for their clerical calligraphy.

[19] The Qing dynasty saw a revival in clerical-style calligraphy, with notable calligraphers such as Jin Nong, Deng Shiru, Yi Bingshou (伊秉綬) and Zheng Fu (鄭簠).

[20] Due to its high legibility to modern readers, the clerical-style calligraphy is still used for artistic flavor in a variety of functional applications such as headlines, logos, signboards, and advertisements.