PURPOSE: To realize a stable gradation display being free from a crosstalk, by dividing one line write of a scanning signal impressed to a scan electrode which has been selected, into four phases, and changing a display state to a multivalue by a voltage of its each divided phase.

CONSTITUTION: A ferroelectric liquid crystal cell 41 of a matrix picture element structure in which a bistability ferroelectric liquid crystal has been inserted and held is placed in a scan electrode group 42 and a signal electrode group 43 of a system. A picture element A, a picture element B and other picture element C, of this electrode structure are allowed to correspond to black, a half tone level and white, respectively. In this state, at the time of driving the electrode structure, a relation of a voltage waveform impressed to each scan electrode S1, S5... and each signal electrode I1, I5..., and a voltage impressed to the picture element cell 41 is set to an image erasing step and a write step at every 1 line. This relation is shown as curves 51, 52, changed by a display state of each picture element AWC, the voltage and the voltage waveform of the respective erasing and write steps are made equal to each other, and a crosstalk is prevented.