The secret behind how Chinese characters work - Gina Marie Elia

Summary

This script narrates the legendary origins of Chinese writing, attributed to Cangjie in the 27th century BCE. It traces the evolution from pictograms on Shang Dynasty oracle bones to modern logograms, composed of radicals for meaning and phonetic components for sound. The script also touches on the standardization of simplified characters in the 1950s and 60s, and the influence of Chinese characters on neighboring languages, particularly Japanese kanji, highlighting the enduring impact of this ancient writing system.

Takeaways

• 📜 The legend of Cangjie, the Yellow Emperor's historian, is credited with the creation of the first Chinese characters, inspired by the imagery around him.
• 🌌 The earliest known Chinese characters, dating back to the Shang Dynasty (1250-1050 BCE), were mainly pictograms, resembling what they represent.
• 🔍 Pictographic characters like rén (person) and mù (wood/tree) are still foundational in modern Chinese writing.
• 📐 Ideograms represent abstract concepts, such as the numbers yī (one), èr (two), and sān (three).
• 🌿 Compound ideograms combine multiple pictograms or ideograms to convey a meaning, like xiū (rest) which combines person and tree.
• 🔠 Most modern Chinese characters are logograms, consisting of a radical for meaning and a sound component for pronunciation.
• 📚 There are 214 radicals, each with its own definition, and they can appear in various positions within a character.
• 🌐 Radicals like rì (sun) can stand alone or be part of other characters, while others like cǎo (grass) only appear within compound characters.
• 🔊 The sound components of characters can indicate pronunciation, and similar sounding words often share the same sound component.
• 🗣 Chinese pronunciation varies by dialect, but the written language remains consistent across regions.
• 📝 Unlike Romance languages, Chinese lacks gendered nouns and verb conjugations, with markers like le (了) indicating tense.
• 📈 The Chinese writing system has evolved significantly from bone etching to paper calligraphy, with simplified characters introduced in the mid-20th century.
• 🌐 The Chinese character system has had a profound influence on neighboring languages and writing systems, such as Japanese kanji.

Q & A

What is the legend about the creation of the first Chinese characters?

According to the legend, in the 27th century BCE, the Yellow Emperor of China tasked his historian, Cangjie, with developing a system of writing. Cangjie, inspired by the imagery around him while sitting by a riverbank, created the first Chinese characters.

What significant event is said to have occurred the night the first Chinese characters were created?

It is said that on the night the first Chinese characters were created, the sky rained millet and ghosts cried, fearing their actions might now be condemned by the written word.

What is the earliest known period of Chinese characters found on artifacts?

The earliest artifacts containing Chinese characters date back to the Shang Dynasty, around 1250 to 1050 BCE.

What were the Shang kings' writings on ox bones and turtle shells mainly about?

The writings on ox bones and turtle shells were mainly about the Shang kings' communications with their ancestors, discussing topics ranging from agriculture to the origins of a toothache.

What are the two types of symbols that ancient Chinese characters were mainly based on?

Ancient Chinese characters were mainly based on pictograms, which resemble what they represent, and ideograms, which represent abstract concepts.

Can you give examples of pictographic Chinese characters?

Examples of pictographic Chinese characters include rén (人), which means 'person', and mù (木), which means 'wood' or 'tree'.

What is a compound ideogram and can you provide an example?

A compound ideogram is a character that combines two or more pictograms or ideograms. An example is xiū (休), which places the character for 'person' next to the character for 'tree' and means 'to rest'.

What are the two main components of modern-day Chinese characters known as logograms?

The two main components of logograms are a radical component, which suggests the meaning of the character, and a sound component, which hints at its pronunciation.

How many basic types of strokes are there in Chinese characters, and what are radicals?

There are eight basic types of strokes in Chinese characters. Radicals are the basic building blocks of characters, with 214 of them each having its own definition, and they can appear in different positions within a character.

What is the role of radicals in Chinese characters, and can you give an example?

Radicals in Chinese characters provide a clue to the meaning of the character. For example, the radical rì (日) means 'sun' and is used in characters with sun-related definitions, such as xiǎo (晓) meaning 'dawn'.

How do sound components in Chinese characters help with understanding the meaning of words?

Sound components in Chinese characters, which are often shared by words with similar pronunciation, provide a clue to the pronunciation and, combined with radicals, help shed light on the meanings of words. For example, fēng (峰) with the radical shān (山) for 'mountain' means 'summit', while fēng (蜂) with the radical chóng (虫) for 'insect' means 'bee'.

How has the Chinese writing system evolved over the years?

The Chinese writing system has evolved from being etched in bone, to cast in bronze, to brushed on paper. The script has also undergone changes, including the introduction of simplified characters in the 1950s and 60s by the Chinese Communist Party.

What is the difference between simplified and traditional Chinese characters?

Simplified Chinese characters, introduced in the 1950s and 60s, are a standard in mainland China, featuring fewer strokes and simpler forms. Traditional characters, still in use in Hong Kong and Taiwan, have more complex forms and are considered the original script form.

How has the Chinese character system influenced other languages and writing systems?

The Chinese character system has greatly influenced the spoken languages and writing systems of neighboring countries. For example, about 60% of Japanese dictionary entries are kanji, which are characters that originated in Chinese or were created from its elements.

How does the Chinese language handle verb conjugations and noun genders?

Unlike Romance languages, Chinese has no gendered nouns or verb conjugations. A character's form remains the same regardless of the subject, and to indicate the past, a marker like le (了) is added to the sentence.