33 Chinese characters learn Chinese culture

Chinese characters and Chinese culture

Chinese history is not only the record of the succession of its dynasties, but it is also a story made up of the many events and incidents that happened in the lives of the Chinese people themselves.

One of the unique things about Chinese Characters is that many of them contain graphic elements that bring to life the stories that make up the country’s history and culture, along with the wisdom and philosophy of its people.

Now from the 33 Chinese Characters to learn Chinese culture:

5 Chinese Characters of A Unique Understanding of the World

1/33  昔

2/33  天

3/33  地

4/33  人

5/33  神

1 Chinese Characters of Pious Totem Worship

6/33  龙

1 Chinese Characters Characters of Eternal Ancestor Worship

7/33  祖

7 Chinese Characters of The Evolution of China's Ancient Civilization

8/33  渔

9/33  逐

10/33  釆

11/33  农

12/33  耤

13/33  艺

14/33  年

5 Chinese Characters of Marriage and Family

15/33  女

16/33  安

17/33  婚

18/33  家

19/33  孝

4 Chinese Characters of The Cruelty of War

22/33  戈

21/33  伐

22/33  弓

23/33  盾

4 Chinese Characters of Daily Life

24/33  衣

25/33  食

26/33  住

27/33  行

3 Chinese Characters of Cultural Life

28/33  乐

29/33  舞

30/33  册

3 Chinese Characters of The Pursuit of Happiness and luck

31/33  福

32/33  寿

33/33  和

China in Ancient Times

Just as fossils make us aware of some previously hidden aspects of the primeval world, so Chinese Characters can also disclose many secrets from the past. The earliest forms of the Chinese Characters were based on the thoughts of the Chinese people’s ancient ancestors as they reflected on the world around them. The design of the characters was also based on the day-to-day social life at that time. Therefore, the form of many ancient Chinese Characters can be viewed as historical and cultural pictures that reveal some truth about China’s past. In fact, they may be a more reliable source of historical truth than many historians. As “living fossils,” Chinese Characters can tell us many things.

1.1) A Unique Understanding of the World

The Neolithic Age is the name given to the period that began roughly 10,000 years ago and ended approximately 4,000 years ago. It is what historians refer to as the time of “remote antiquity.” During this period the human race developed with extraordinary rapidity and laid the foundations for future civilizations. However, our early ancestors were powerless against the forces of nature. They, therefore, evoked magic to understand and deal with the world around them.

The Chinese Characters created during this time provide a unique indication of how the earliest Chinese ancestors thought about the world around them.

1/33昔

The Jiaguwen “昔 xi” is an associative-compound character composed of “水 shui (water)” and “日 ri (sun).” It was used to indicate that time flowed like a river (水) and meant “the past” or “former days.” It appeared in phrases such as “昔日 xiri (in former days)” and “往昔 wangxi (in former times).” Although the original use of this word may seem quite straightforward to understand, if we think back to the time in which the character was created, a more complex picture emerges. The ancient Chinese had many myths and legends, and one of the most important and influential was known as “大禹治水 Da Yu zhi shui (Yu the Great tamed the flood).” The tale was similar to the Western biblical story about Noah’s Ark and described the whole world being inundated by a catastrophic flood. In light of this, we can view the character ‘‘昔” as a pictographic character. It vividly tells us: there was a great flood during the times of antiquity.

2/33天

The Jiaguwen character “天 tian (heaven)” looks like a standing person facing the viewer. The head of the person has a particular prominence, so the original meaning of ‘‘天” was “top of the head.” The character was also used to indicate the sky above (which in ancient times it was called “苍天 cangtian (boundless sky).” “天” also generally refers to the cycle of nature, and the names of many natural things. These include: “天文 tianwen (astronomy),” “天象 tianxiang (astronomical phenomena),” “天气 tianqi (weather),” “天然 tianran (natural),” “春天 chuntian (spring),” “秋天 qiutian (autumn),” “今天 jintian (today),” and “明天 mingtian (tomorrow).” The sky is high above us and is where we see the sun, moon, and stars. It is also the source of wind, rain, and thunderstorms. People in ancient times could not understand these natural phenomena and thought that the sky was the magic, omnipotent and supreme god. They, therefore, called it “天神 tianshen (sky god),” “天帝 tiandi (sky god)” and “上天 shangtian (heaven).” In ancient China, there was a saying that “the sky is round and the earth is square.” The Temple of Heaven in Beijing was the place where the emperors of the Ming (1368—1644) and Qing (1616-1911) Dynasties offered sacrifices to heaven. The buildings of this temple were all rounded in shape and had blue roofs that symbolized the sky. To enhance their prestige, the emperors used “天” to refer to themselves. They, therefore, assumed the name ‘‘天子 tianzi (son of the heavens).”

Although they worshipped the sky, the ancient Chinese also thought that it had its troubles. The fact is shown in a famous fairy tale known as Nv Wa Bu Tian (Nv Wa Mended the Sky). It is said that in remote antiquity there was a big hole in the sky, so the world was caught up in disorder, inundated by floods, damaged by fire and terrorized by ferocious animals, which made life impossible for the people of the time. Eventually, a grand goddess named Nv Wa, who had a woman’s head and the body of a snake, used five-color stones to mend the hole in the sky, so restoring peace to the world. This story shows just how much people in ancient times feared the sky; it also highlights the strong desire they had to alter and conquer the natural world. People should give some thought to the fact that today the global climate is becoming warmer and warmer and the primary cause of our abnormal climate is a big hole in the ozone layer above the South Pole. This scientific fact is very similar to the ancient Chinese people’s understanding of nature.

3/33地

The character “地 di (earth)” illustrates the special relationship that people in ancient times had with the earth. People are anchored to the earth by gravity, and it provides many of the things that we eat and use. The character ‘‘地” indicates these relationships as it resembles a “mother giving birth to everything.” “地” is an associative-compound character.

The left component is “土 tu (dust),” and the right component is “也 ye (also).” “也” represents the female. Indeed, according to the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen, “也’’ refers to the private parts of a woman. Its use to form the character “地” indicates that the earth was seen as both a mother and as the dust from which everything originates. The concept of “大地母亲 dadimuqin (mother earth)” underlines this meaning. For the ancient Chinese, the earth and the sky came into being at the same time—the earth above and the sky below—with one in opposition to the other. The creation of the earth and sky is described in a popular fairy tale called Pan Gu Kai Tian Pi Di (The Creation of the Sky and the Earth by Pan Gu). This tale tells how, long ago, the universe in which we live was in chaos. One day, a man named Pan Gu raised his huge axe to cleave it. With a tremendous crash, the chaos was broken. Those things that were light and bright rose up to form the sky, while those things that were heavy and dirty descended to form the earth. The sky then rose up every day, and the earth deepened every day. Pan Gu, who was standing between the two, became taller and taller with every sunrise. He was afraid that the sky and the earth would join together again, so he used both of his hands to support the sky and planted his feet on the earth. He did this for 18,000 years. After this time had passed, the sky was very high, and the earth was quite thick, and Pan Gu, having exhausted all his energy, fell to the ground and expired. Thus the sky and the earth came into being.

Chinese people have long venerated the sky and the earth. The emperors of ancient times held sacrificial ceremonies to the sky and the earth on the Taishan Mountain. The emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616- 1911) Dynasties held sacrificial ceremonies to the sky and earth in the Temple of Heaven and Temple of Earth in Beijing. Even today, a couple will undertake “拜天地 baitiandi” (do obeisance to the heaven and the earth) on their wedding day. “拜天地 baitiandi” has, therefore, become another word for a wedding in China.

4/33人

“人” is a pictographic character. In Jiaguwen and Jinwen it represents the profile of a standing person with outstretched arms. The simple strokes show the observational ability of the ancient Chinese. The character also shows that the ancient Chinese had a good understanding of the things that make humans special. It is because that the ancient form of the character “人” omitted all the details of the human body and focused on the upright standing stance and outstretched arms that distinguish us from other animals. In other words, it demonstrates that we can walk upright and use our hands to make and hold tools. Also, the character is distinct from the Jiaguwen characters that were used to indicate animals. Many of these have downward turning tails and legs bending to the left. These include: “虎 hu (tiger),” “马 ma (horse),” “龙 long (dragon),” “犬 quan (dog),” “象 xiang (elephant),” “鼠 shu (mouse),” and “龟 gui (tortoise).” It seems quite clear that people in ancient times differentiated themselves from animals and understood the important position held by a man in the scheme of nature (which is summed up in the common Chinese saying, “man is the soul of all things”).

People in ancient times also thought of themselves as being an integral part of the natural world. It was expressed in the idea of “the combination of heaven and man.” This concept can be seen in the character “天”—it is obvious that “人” is a part of “天.” The ancient Chinese believed that “heaven is above, the earth is below, and that man is situated between the two.” Indeed, in ancient times, heaven, earth and man were referred to as the “three talents.”

5/33神

In primitive Chinese society, the power of nature was a constant threat, and so people invested natural things with supernatural power. Many Chinese Characters were created to represent these natural and supernatural forces. These include the characters “神 shen (god)” and “鬼 gui (ghost).” The formation of the character “神” is the most illustrative.

In the minds of China’s ancient ancestors, the gods were omnipotent supernatural spirits who managed the sky and the earth. In Jiaguwen, the character for “god” was an “s”-shaped curve connecting the two. It looks like two large and mysterious hands, one reaching up to the sky, one reaching down to the earth. The said character is ‘‘申 shen,” which was the original form of the character “神.” The character’s “S”-shaped curve looks very much like lightning. To the ancient Chinese, lightning was a mysterious and awesome thing, and there is probably a link between people’s fear of this natural wonder and the development of the character “神.” Many philologists say that “申” is the original character of “电.”

In Chinese fairy tales and religious texts, gods are the creators and masters of everything in the world. They have limitless supernatural power and are awesome. In ancient China, people believed in many gods, such as the God of Heaven, the God of Earth, the Grain God, Pan Gu, Nv Wa, the God of the Sun, Yuhuang Dadi (Jade Emperor), Wang Mu Niang Niang (Queen Mother of the West), the God of the Kitchen and the Square God. These were all important gods in ancient times. Many people believed that their souls would continue to exist after their death, and these invisible souls were also regarded as gods.

1.2) Pious Totem Worship

Totem worship has been a widespread phenomenon throughout human history. Totem means “kindred,” as well as “blood,” “race” and “group.” People in primitive societies tended to believe that some kinds of animals, plants, and natural objects had a kinship with their clans. They, therefore, linked their clans with these things and made them their totems. People relied on their totems, worshipped them, and made sacrifices to them to seek for protection. This phenomenon is what we now call “totem worship.”

When Chinese Characters were first being developed, some were merely direct copies of clan totems. Because of this, some Chinese Characters provide us with reliable proof of primitive totem worship.

6/33龙

The Long Dragon is the most magical totem in China (it is known as the “No.l Totem in China”). Its Chinese Character is “龙,” which is pictographic. There were many forms of the character “龙,” in Jiaguwen and Jinwen. They usually featured a thin body, had horns on their head, and a wide-open mouth. In Kaishu, the complex form of “龙 (龍)” seems to have become symbolic. However, the character retains some pictographic elements: the left part is the dragon’s head, “立,” is the dragon’s horns, “月” is the dragon’s mouth and the character’s right part is the dragon’s body.

The Chinese dragon did not exist in the natural world and was the product of people’s imaginations. It possesses the body of a snake, the head of a pig, the horns of a deer, the ears of an ox, the beard of a goat, the scales of a fish and the claws of an eagle. Archaeologists believe that this shows that the dragon developed as a “totemic integration,” which had the snake as its principal inspiration.

The image of the Chinese dragon embodies a vital part of Chinese history. In remote antiquity, the Huaxia Clan in the Yellow River Valley had the snake as its totem. Under the leadership of the Yellow Emperor, this clan conquered and formed alliances with other clans and formed a large united tribe. The Huaxia Clan’s principle totem—the snake—then became combined with the totems of other clans (the pig, deer, ox, sheep, fish, and eagle) to form a composite totem: the dragon totem. The clan alliance of the Huaxia Clan later developed into the Chinese nation.

Archaeologists have unearthed a dragon made of shells from an ancient tomb in Henan Province, which is the earliest dragon yet found in China. It is some 6,000 years old. It is known as the “No.l Dragon in China.” Many beautiful jade dragons have also been discovered among the ruins of the Hongshan Culture, which flourished 5,000 years ago. These finds all indicate that dragon worship was prevalent in remote antiquity.

Unlike the Western dragon of fable, which breathed fire, the Chinese dragon of myth spat water from its mouth. It was also thought to be able to cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall.

China is an agricultural country, and its people have always wished for favorable weather and good harvests. In ancient times there were, therefore, temples dedicated to the dragon king almost everywhere in China. People would go to these temples in times of drought and pray to the dragon to bring rain. In many ways, the dragon symbol was, therefore, a product of China’s agricultural civilization.

As said, the Dragon was the most important totem in ancient China. After the end of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—24 AD), it became the exclusive possession and symbol of China’s emperors for 2,000 years. During this time, each emperor declared himself as a “True Dragon and Son of Heaven” to raise its prestige by linking them to the dragon's divinity. 

The Imperial Palace of Beijing (or the Forbidden City) was the home to all of the emperors who reigned in the 500 years before 1911. Inside this palace carved dragons and dragon drawings can be seen everywhere. Indeed, 12,654 dragons can be found in just one hall, which is named the “Hall of Supreme Harmony.” It is a “dragon world!”

Today, the dragon has been one of the favorite mascots of the modem Chinese. It has evolved from being an ancient totem and symbol of imperial power to become a symbol of the Chinese people's soaring spirit and the symbol of the Chinese nation, which is now home to more than 1.3 billion people.

1.3) Eternal Ancestor Worship

Chinese ancestor worship began in the days of China’s ancient patriarchal clan communities. People in ancient times understood that their ancestors gave them life and they also believed that the souls of their ancestors could protect them and their children. They, therefore, worshipped their ancestors and made sacrifices to them. Ancestor worship has prevailed for thousands of years in China, right up to the present day. Indeed, it surpasses the worship of divinities regarding its importance.

7/33祖

Chinese Characters can tell us much about ancestor worship. For example, understanding the origins of the character “祖 zu (ancestor)” gives one an insight into the essence of ancestor worship—the fact that without ancestors there would be no clans and no individuals.

In Jiaguwen the character was written as “且,” and in Jinwen a component “礻” was added. Today, “祖” means ancestor, in other words, the elder generations of a clan or a family, especially those from the remote past. For example, it would be used in the sentence: “The Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor are the ancestors of the Chinese nation.” According to the Shuowen Jiezi, in “ 祖,始庙也,” ‘‘祖” is the temple where sacrificial ceremonies for ancestors are held, which shows that it referred to ancestors. In the character “祖,” “礻” indicates worship and sacrifice, but what does “且’’ indicate? “且” represents the memorial tablet that is used as the symbol of ancestors in China. This symbol was derived from the pictographic character “土 tu (clay),” which is regarded as the thing from which everything is initially created. This symbol can also be seen as a representation of genitalia—the means by which children are conceived. In remote antiquity, the phallic worship of “祖” was prevalent and many examples of “祖” survive on pottery, stone and wood artifacts. The concept of ancestor worship is also expressed in the character “宗 zong (ancestral temple).” The formation of the character “祖” therefore not only expressed the respect that the ancient Chinese had for their ancestors and encapsulated the way in which ancestors were worshipped, but it also reflected the fact that they practiced nature worship and the worship of genitalia. In short, it expressed the essence of Chinese ancestor worship, which is summed up in the old saying “ancestors are the root of the continuation of clans and their members.”

Today, Chinese people still much respect, and even worship, their ancestors. They will follow the names of fathers, call their father’s father “祖 父 zufu (grandfather),” and their mother’s father “外祖父 waizufu (maternal grandfather).” These are all customs left over from China’s primitive patriarchal clan society.

Some Chinese people spend their whole lives undertaking difficult tasks to add lustre to their ancestors’ reputation, which is known as “光宗耀祖 guangzongyaozu (bringing honor to one’s ancestors).”

China's Ancient Civilization Shown Through Chinese Characters

The evolution of China’s ancient civilization is recorded in the design and form of many Chinese Characters. These characters are like photographs or pictures and provide us with an incredibly vivid, realistic, lively and exciting way of getting to know the country’s history and culture. In particular, the drawing-like forms of some Chinese Characters reveal a significant amount of information about the emergence and development of China’s early cultures.

2.1) The Evolution of China's Ancient Civilization

In remote antiquity, Chinese society underwent a number of critical stages of development. Through these, it progressed from a society based on hunting and fishing to one based on animal husbandry and agriculture. Some ancient Chinese Characters provide us with vivid records of these various stages of development.

Indeed, it can be argued that, although the ancient rock paintings that have been found in China and Europe provide us with a lot of information about the early man, Chinese Characters tell us even more.

8/33渔

The Banpo Ruins in Xi’an are the remains of typical ancient Chinese matriarchal villages. These were inhabited some 6,000 years ago. Many interesting items of earthenware have been discovered at the site. Some of these are decorated with beautiful fish. Also, many fishing nets and hooks and other fishing tools have also been found in amongst the ruins. Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province, is a place where many Jiaguwen have been unearthed. Many fish bones have also been excavated in this location, including those of cyprinoid, grass carp, and mackerel. These were all fish that were commonly eaten by the ancient Chinese. Both of these archaeological sites show that fishing was an important activity for the ancient Chinese. Jiaguwen contains some characters related to fishing, such as, “(渔) yu (fish),” and “(网) wang (net).” These give us some indication of how fishing developed in the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). Among these characters, “渔” is the most interesting. It is a verb that means fishing and, in its modem form is a pictophonetic character made up of the components “水 shui (water),” and the noun “鱼 yu (fish).” But in its original Jiaguwen form it was an associative-compound character that had many forms. In the illustration of these different character forms, it is clear that the Jiaguwen characters of ‘‘渔” reflect at least three different kinds of fishing: catching fish by hand, with a hook and line, and with a net. The fourth form illustrated is “渔” which is the character still in use today, which shows how an appreciation of the Jiaguwen characters of “渔” provides us with valuable historical information about the types of fishing that took place in ancient times. It also shows us that even before the Shang Dynasty (1600—1046 BC) fishing had become one of the most important sources of daily food for many Chinese people and that fishing itself had become a comparatively common activity.

9/33逐

In Jiaguwen, the character “逐 zhu” was an associative-compound character which originally meant “chase.” The upper part of the character represented a pig (豕 shi), and the lower part represented the feet of a person (止). The form of the character vividly illustrates the idea of a wild boar running and a hunter chasing closely behind it on foot.

Another related Jiaguwen character is “射 she (shoot).” The form of this character shows a hand drawing a bow. The arrow of ancient Chinese hunters would, most probably, have been aimed a wild animal and, in Jiaguwen, many characters are linked to the hunting of animals. For example, “网 (卜) wang (net)” indicates fishing and hunting; “敢 gan (bold)” shows a hand holding a three-pronged spear (which later evolved into a picture of a trap) to capture a wild boar; “坠 zhui (墜红)(fall)” shows a person chasing after and trapping a wild boar; “罗 (羅) luo (catching birds with a net)” depicts the use of a net to catch birds, and “获 (獲) huo (capture)” shows the capture of a bird by hand. The animals hunted by people in early times can also be found in Jiaguwen characters. These include “鹿 lu (deer),” “野牛 yeniu (wild ox),” “野猪 yezhu (wild boar),” ‘‘兔 tu (rabbit),” “马 ma (horse),” “虎 hu (tiger),” “熊 xiong (bear),” “鱼 yu (fish)” and “鸟 niao (bird).” The fact that many Jiaguwen characters depicted animals, indicates the close relationship between ancient people and the animals that they hunted, caught and ate.

10/33釆

The gathering was the first stage in the evolution of agriculture, and before the emergence of settled agriculture gathered wild plants were one of the most important sources of food. An ancient Chinese legend called Shen Shen Nong Tasted Hundreds of Herbs, tells of a god who, when he was tasting herbs, discovered 72 poisonous varieties in one day. This little anecdote gives a vivid insight into the gathering of wild plants in antiquity. It is not the only such story: in the Shi Jing (Classics of Poetry), which was the first anthology of poems in Chinese history, there are many other vivid descriptions of people gathering food. The Chinese Character that provides the most direct description of early food gathering is “采.” It is an associative-compound character. In Jiaguwen, the upper part of the character was a hand, and the lower part was a fruit-bearing tree. The two components combined to form the meaning “picking.” In Jinwen the fruit on the tree was omitted.

11/33农

Agriculture developed early on in China’s history. “Founding the country by agriculture” has always been the national policy of China, and the Chinese people have always understood the simple truth that “people’s lives depend on food’,. Therefore, ancient Chinese culture was, to a high degree, agricultural. Even now, farmers still account for the majority of the population and China remains a major agricultural producer, with a long and proud tradition of intensive cultivation.

Shen Nong Tasted Hundreds of Grasses and Herbs:

Shen Nong, namely the Yan Emperor, was the sun-god of ancient Chinese mythology. According to the legend, he had an ox-head and a snake-body. He taught people to make farm tools, drill water wells and plant the five kinds of cereals (rice, two types of millet, wheat, and beans). The story that relates how Shen Nong tasted hundreds of grasses and herbs is very well known across China. According to the story, in ancient times people still ate weeds, berries, and small insects. They also drank un-boiled water. Because of this, people often became sick or were poisoned. Shen Nong, therefore, risked his life by personally tasting all the grasses and herbs and by drinking from all the springs, so that people would know what was safe to eat and drink. During this process, he discovered some new crop varieties, including tea and various herbs. Tragically, Shen Nong was said to have been poisoned by 72 kinds of plants in one day. He also tasted the toxic Gelsemium elegant and, as a consequence died from rotten intestines. Through his actions, Shen Nong earned the respect of the whole Chinese nation.

Many aspects of China’s agricultural history are represented in ancient Chinese Characters. These include “田 tian (field),” which looks like a field, “耒 lei (plow)” and “耜 si (plowshares),” which look like farming implements that are used to turn up the soil, “利 li (sharp),” which indicates the shearing of grain, “梨 li (plow),” which gives us the impression of a plow being drawn by an ox, “耤 ji or jie (plough),” which represents furrowing the soil with a hand-plow, “协 xie (joint),” which shows three people together plowing a field and “留 liu (stay),” which represents drawing up water to irrigate fields.

For many ancient Chinese, a field of ripe crops was one of the most beautiful scenes. This sentiment is reflected in the name of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), which means “good harvest of grains.” The characters “秀 xiu (beautiful),” “香 xiang (fragrant)” and “秦 qin (name of a dynasty of China)” all contain the character “禾 he (ripened grain).” This fact shows the value that the ancient Chinese placed on their crops.

Given the importance of fanning, what does the character for farming “农” mean? It originally meant “hoeing up weeds” or “harvesting.”

In Jiaguwen, the character’s upper part was made up of “草 cao (grass)” and “木 mu (tree)” which indicated grains, and the lower part comprised the character “辰 chen.” “辰” is a pictograph showing someone holding a stone harrow in both hands.

In Jinwen “田 tian (field)” was added between the “草” and “木,” so that the meaning of the character became clearer than before: it now showed that people were hoeing up weeds or harvesting in the fields using stone harrows.

After the change of Lishu, the upper part was combined into “曲,” and the character was written as “農” (this is the complex form of the character “农”).

12/33耤

The character “耤 ji or jie (plough)” in Jiaguwen provides a vivid depiction of a man holding a ‘‘耒 lěi (an ancient plough)” in two hands. He is shown ploughing the land by pushing the plough with his feet. A bigfoot was portrayed under the figure of a human to demonstrate that this type of ploughing needed strong feet. The “耒 lei” is an ancient tool used to turn the soil. It has a long handle and double-toothed gears. The character “耤 ji or jie (plough)” provides proof that tools like the “耒 lěi” were used for farming in the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). In Jinwen (inscriptions on ancient bronze ware) a string of pictographic symbols was added under this character to express rows of ploughed fields, and this made its meaning more explicit. In Xiaozhuan (the lesser seal style Chinese characters of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the “耒lěi” was placed to the left of the character (to depict someone holding it with two hands) and the string of pictographic symbols was placed to the right and changed into “昔 xi.” Now, the character “耤 ji or jie (plough)” has been replaced with the character “耕 geng (plough).” In fact, “耕 geng (plough)” evolved from “耤 ji or jie (plough).” The left part of the previous symbol was kept, but the right part was simplified into “井 jing (well).”

13/33艺

“艺 yi” was originally an associative-compound character formed by “人 ren (human)” and “木 mu (wood)” (in both Jiaguwen and Jinwen). It vividly portrays a man planting seedlings with his two hands and kneeling on the ground. The soil is also depicted in some patterns. The Xiaozhuan form of this character remained the same as the Jinwen form, with only a slight change being made to the shape of seedlings. In the later Kaishu form, the character was augmented by the component “艹” on the top, and by the component “云 yun (cloud)” on the bottom. It was written as “藝.” The original meaning of “艺 yi” was “planting.” The old saying “树艺五谷 shu yi wu gu” means planting the five kinds of cereals. The ancients believed that planting trees required skill and experience, and they, therefore, extended the meaning of this character to “skill.” Examples include “园艺 yuan yi (gardening),” “工艺 gong yi (craft),” and other words. It is also used in words such as “艺术 yi shu (art)” and “六艺 liu yi (six arts).” The word “six arts” refers to the skills of the ancient nobles which included rites, music, archery, chariot steering, calligraphy, and arithmetic. The word-formation of “Art” shows that the ancient Chinese considered “planting” to be an important ability. Today, the simplified character “艺 yi” has become a pictophonetic character with the form-component of “艹” and the sound-component of “乙yi.”

14/33年

The character “年 nian” means “year.” It was, however, not just a noun that indicated the time. It also had a direct relationship with the country’s agriculture, and this is shown in the way it developed.

In Jiaguwen and Jinwen, the character’s upper part was “禾 he (ripened grain)” and its lower part was “人 ren (person).” The whole form of the character, therefore, looked like a person carrying a sheaf of grain on his back, which indicated the harvest. In the Shuowen Jiezi, “年” is explained as “grain becomes ripe.” In other words, the original meaning of “年” was a harvest. During the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou (1046-256 BC) Dynasties, people called the yearly grain harvest ‘‘受 年 shounian”. At that time grain only ripened once a year, so the meaning of the word was extended to “岁 sui (year).” One “年” is, therefore, one “岁.”

The character ‘‘年” also appears in the name of the largest building in the Temple of Heaven (the place where emperors of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) worshipped gods). This building is the “Qinian (祈年) Palace.” Here “祈年” means “praying for favorable weather, and praying to the gods to grant the people a good harvest.”

The character “年 nian (year)” is also related to the Spring Festival, which is the most important of the traditional festivals celebrated by the Chinese people. The Spring Festival is also called ‘‘过年 guo nian (celebrating the Spring Festival).” It derives its origin from the “December sacrifice” that was carried out during the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago.

2.2) Marriage and Family

Marriage and family are two of the most important components of human society. Not surprisingly, the forms of Chinese Characters provide us with a lot of information about these two aspects of ancient China.

15/33女

We first look at the character “女 nv (female),” which is a pictographic character. In Jiaguwen the character ‘‘女 nv (female)” depicts a woman kneeling on the floor with her hands crossed. This character depicts the physical characteristics of women using only a few short lines: its upper crossed lines depict plump breasts, and its lower curved lines depict rounded hips. It is a superb example of “abstraction.” The whole image looks calm and gentle and exhibits the exceptional artistic ability of the ancient Chinese who created it about 3,000 years ago.

In the early course of Chinese history, women led the way, and many of the early Chinese clans were matriarchal societies. These clans relied on the childbearing abilities of their womenfolk. They also relied on the food that came from the plant's women collected and from the livestock they fed. Men fished and hunted, but these activities could not guarantee a regular supply of food, which meant that the status of women was very high. However, with the advent of the agrarian age, men, thanks to their superior physical strength, became the primary producers and women, more commonly, stayed at home. As a result, China began to develop a patrilineal clan society. It was at this time that the character “女 nv (female)” was created.

The character ‘‘女 nv (female)” is an important component of many other characters. Some of these have favorable meanings and express respect for women. These include “好 hao (good),” “娇 jiao (delicate),” “妙 miao (wonderful),” and “娟 Juan (graceful).” Some have unfavorable meanings and express contempt for women. These include: “奴 nu (slaves),” “婪 lan (greed),” “奸 jian (evil),” and “妖 yao (demon).”

16/33安

“安 an” means safety. It provides us with an intriguing picture of marriage within China’s maternal clan societies and therefore has a huge cultural and historical value.

It is an associative-compound character. In the Jiaguwen form of the character, its outer part has the form of a house, and its inner part is a kneeling woman. This woman is quietly kneeling down inside the house, which gives an impression of stability and placidity, which was the original meaning of the character ‘‘安.”

The fact that the woman is in a house implies that she is married, has formed a family and can thus lead a stable life. But, from a cultural point of view, it also reflects the reality of China’s ancient maternal clan society. It featured marriages in which “only the mother was known” and was a society in which the ability of a woman to bring up her family in her own home was highly prized. In the later period of this type of society, marriage was no longer kept inside a clan but began to be extended beyond it. An adult woman could then receive a man from outside her clan, but, in this case, she would have to leave her birthplace, which made her clan unstable. Conversely, an adult woman in possession of a house for her own “family” would feel contentment and would make her whole clan more stable.

17/33婚

The character “婚 hun (marriage)” is written as the character ‘‘昏 hun (dusk)” in Jiaguwen. The character “昏 hun (dusk)” is an associative-compound character that is composed of “人 ren (human)” and ‘‘日 ri (sun).” It illustrates the idea of the sun falling behind a person’s arm and darkness descending.

This character was used for marriage because, in ancient times, marriages were carried out after dusk, and were known as “marriages by capture.” Marriages took this form because, during the transition from matriarchal to patriarchal clans, men began to require women to live with them in their villages (and not vice-versa as had been the case before). The men did this so that they could be sure that the children the women gave birth to were their offspring (who therefore deserved to inherit their property). As the women involved in these marriages lost the power and status they enjoyed in their matriarchal clans, they rebelled against these marriages. Men, therefore, had to capture women and marry them by force. To do this successfully, they had to act in the dark, so such actions were called “ 昏 hun (dusk).”

For people to better understand the meaning of the word, the “女 nv (female)” form-component was later added beside the “昏 hun (dusk)” sound-component, which was how the pictophonetic character “婚 hun (marriage)” was made. Happily, the current character “婚 hun (marriage)” has lost its original meaning and marriage is now an entirely joyful affair.

18/33家

The form of the character “家 jia (house)” is very unusual, but it provides a fascinating record of how houses came into being and of how they were constructed in ancient times.

“家” is an old character. Concerning its form, it is an associative-compound character. Under the “宀,” there is a “豕 (猪) (pig).” It, therefore, shows a “pig in a house.” What does this mean? In ancient days, back when people had only just started to establish settled homes and families, fishing and agriculture became more sophisticated, which resulted in an abundance of game and grain, and people began to raise animals. They raised pigs, cattle, sheep, dogs, chickens, and horses. These animals were referred to as the “six livestock.” Pigs were both the most productive and the most important of these animals. They were both a major source of food and a symbol of wealth and social position. In Chinese museums, you can see that pig bones were often included in the graves of ancient clan heads. Indeed, those occupying very high positions might have had dozens of pigs buried alongside them. Archaeologists have discovered many houses from ancient times in which the upper part was for people, and the lower part was for raising pigs. The importance of pigs to the ancient Chinese and the way in which they were housed gives a strong indication for why “家” became the symbol for “house.”

19/33孝

Filial piety was one of the most fundamental moral codes in ancient feudalist society. It involves respecting and serving one’s parents well. The character “孝 xiao (filial piety)” is an interesting associative-compound character. In its Jiaguwen form, the lower part of this character was “子 zi (baby),” and the upper part resembled grass. The meaning of this Jiaguwen character is not exactly clear. It might have been a depiction of children wearing flowers and grass on their heads and playing games to amuse their elders. However, in its Jinwen form, the meaning of the character “孝” is very clear. The upper part of this character was an old man with a crookback, and very little hair and the lower part was a child. It, therefore, represented a child supporting or carrying an old man on its back. It was an act of respect that a young Chinese person could pay to his elders and was, therefore, a demonstration of filial piety. Confucius advocated “孝” and regarded it as the finest thing that could happen within a family. He said “弟子入则孝,” which means “children must show filial piety to elders in their family.” However, although they thought filial piety was important, the ancient Chinese focused more on “顺 shun (obedience)” than on “孝.” Children had to obey their parents and elders, even if what they said was wrong. If they didn’t, they would be condemned as “impious.” Today, the meaning of ‘‘孝” doesn’t highlight absolute obedience. However, showing filial piety to one’s parents and elders is still considered a virtue in China, and is also considered to be a significant social, moral standard. People who do not show filial piety are not respected in China.

2.3) The Cruelty of War 

“战争 zhanzheng (war)” is a terrible thing and, tragically, in the long history of the human race, it has occurred all too frequently. The ancient history of China featured countless wars. Therefore, many elements of warfare are recorded in the form of many Chinese Characters, some of which even describe war’s cruelty.

22/33戈

“戈 “ was a common weapon used during the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou (1046 -256 BC) Dynasties, some 3,000 years ago. Its character “戈” is pictographic. In its Jiaguwen form, it provides an accurate depiction of such a weapon: it shows a long pole with a blade attached (illustrated using an extended cross line). In its Jinwen form, the character became even more specific. The blade surmounting the shaft now seems more like a dagger, and at the base of the pole, there is a fork that could be inserted into the ground. The character “戈” appeared very early, and archaeologists have discovered many stones inscribed with “戈” in the ruins of the later stage of the Neolithic Age. These stones might well have been used as axes to fell trees. During the Shang (1600-1046 BC), Zhou (1046 -256 BC), Spring and Autumn Period (770-475 BC), and the Warring States Period (475-221BC), the head of a “戈” was mostly made of bronze. At this time there were two kinds of “戈”—a short-pole and long-pole “戈.” The short-pole “戈” was used by infantrymen in hand-to-hand fighting. The long-pole “戈” (which could be up to three meters in length) was used by charioteers. In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 25 AD), due to the increasing use of iron weaponry, the “戈” gradually disappeared from the battlefields. Its place was taken by another weapon, called the “矛 máo (spear).”

As the character “戈” appeared very early, all the subsequent characters relating to weapons and war incorporated it into their design. These included: “戊 wu,” “戊 (yue),” “戌 (xu),” “戎 (rong)’’, “戒 (jie),” “戍 (shu),” “成 cheng” and “我 wo.” In Jiaguwen, “戊,” “戊,” and “戌” were all images of a battle-axe. “戒” meant taking a defensive position holding a battle-axe in both hands, and ‘‘戍” meant taking guard under a battle-axe. “我” was originally a serrated weapon, and its character was later “loaned” to indicate the meaning “oneself.” Many other characters related to weaponry and warfare exist that include “戈.” For example, “战 zhan (fight),” “武 wu (military),” “戚 qi (a kind of axe)” and “國 (国) guo (country).” ‘‘戈” has become a radical that indicates a weapon or war.

21/33伐  

In Jiaguwen, the character of ‘‘伐 fa (kill)” was an associative-compound character with a clear meaning. The right part was “戈,” and the left part was “人,” and it showed the blade of a battle-axe cutting off a man’s head. It is a terrible picture! The original meaning of the character was actually “chop and kill.” Its meaning was extended to “攻打 gongda (attack),” “讨伐 taofa (crusade against),” and “征伐 zhengfa (go on a punitive expedition).”

Countless soldiers died in major and minor punitive expeditions “征伐” throughout Chinese history. For example, during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) the Qin State went on a punitive expedition against the Zhao State and engaged its forces at Changping, Shanxi. Both sides experienced terrible losses. The army of the Zhao State was annihilated, and the soldiers of Qin also took heavy casualties. The battlefield was described as, “尸横遍里予 shi heng bian ye (a field littered with corpses)” and it was said that there was “血流漂杵 xue liu piao chu (so much blood being shed as to float the pestles).” This battle was the most tragic and disastrous one in the history of China. It is known as “长平之战 the battle of Changping.” It was estimated that at least 600,000 soldiers died on the battlefield—this was “伐” on a terrible scale!

As a verb, “伐” often refers to matters such as felling trees. For example, “伐木 famu (fell trees),” “采伐林木 caifa linmu (deforest)” and “砍伐树木 kanfa shumu (cut down trees).” However, despite these more peaceful uses, the picture the character ‘‘伐” conjures up reminds us of its relationship to war.

The Art of War

The Art of War is a famous ancient Chinese book, which was the world’s first book on military strategy. It was attributed to Sun Wu (c. 535 B. C. -?) of the State of Qi during the late Spring and Autumn period. It describes in some detail the principles of strategy and tactics, it stresses the need to know yourself as well your enemy, it highlights the importance of concentrating troops against an enemy, it emphasizes the importance of wars but warns against making war at random. It marks the maturity of ancient Chinese military thinking.

22/33弓

In Jiaguwen, the character “弓 gong (bow)” was pictographic and comprised an actual drawing of a bow, which was made up of a curved line on the left (the bow itself) and a straight line on the right (the bowstring). The character featured an additional line, which represented the place where archers in ancient times would attach a thread to their bows. They would attach the other end of this thread to an arrow. Then, when the arrow was fired, it could be easily retrieved. This kind of bow was called “戈 (yi)” and was used for fishing and hunting. In Jiaguwen, there was another character for bow “弓,” which showed only the bow without the bowstring. Bows of this type were made of flexible bamboo or wood. Their arrows were also mostly made of bamboo, so the character “箭 jian (arrow)” contained the form component “竹 (bamboo).” In ancient times people called an arrow “矢 (shi),” which was also a pictographic character. In Jiaguwen it was written as "The front end of this character represented the arrowhead, and the two crossed lines at its base represented the feathers at the end of its shaft."

The Chinese Character “射 she (shoot)” was derived from “弓” and “箭.” In Jinwen, the character “射” depicted a person drawing his bow to shoot an arrow. The original meaning of “射” was, therefore, “shooting arrows.” However, the character’s “bow” element became “身 shen (body)” and it’s “hand” element became “寸 cun (1/3 decimeter).”

The people in ancient China paid a great deal of attention to archery. In the time of Confucius, the ability to accurately shoot arrows was viewed as one of the “six skills” that any person serving the state should possess. Bows and arrows played a significant role in many historic battles, and there were many instances where their use proved decisive. Nowadays, of course, we don’t see bows and arrows on the battlefield. But archery is still a popular pastime and is a sport in the Olympic Games.

23/33盾

In ancient times the most flexible item in a warrior’s armory was his “盾 dun (shield).” In combat, a soldier would hold a battle-axe (or spear, or sword) in one hand and his shield in the other, which meant that he could both attack and defend, and his battle effectiveness was consequently strengthened. The earliest shields were made of wood covered with animal hide. Later they were made of metal. Today we can see many ancient metal shields that have been excavated by archaeologists.

In Jiaguwen, “盾 dun (shield)” was a pictographic character which represented a shield. In Jinwen, the character became an associative-compound character, the upper part of which was a person and the lower part of which was a shield. It, therefore, represented a person holding a shield to defend himself.

In ancient China, there was a famous story that concerned a spear and a shield. It told how, in the Chu State, a man was selling weapons. He held up a shield and cried out, “this shield is the hardest, and no spear can pierce it.” Then he held up a spear and cried out, “my spear is very sharp, and it can pierce any shield.” Then a bystander asked him, “if I used your spear to pierce your shield, what would be the result?” The man selling the weapons had no answer. Later, people began to use the phrase “矛盾” to indicate a mutual contradiction.

2.4) Daily Life

The formation of many Chinese Characters originated from the daily life of the ancient Chinese. Clothing, food, shelter, and means of travel are the necessities of ordinary life, and many Chinese Characters represent these things.

24/33衣

“衣 yi (clothing)” is a pictographic character. In Jiaguwen, Jinwen, and Xiaozhuan, the character was a vivid drawing of an ancient Chinese outer garment. The upper part of the character represented its collar, its lower part was the garment itself, while the empty spaces on either side of the character were the garment’s sleeves. Today, Chinese people refer to clothing as “衣 裳 yishang,” but in ancient times they used two words. “衣” referred to the upper outer garment, and “裳” (the ancient form was “常”) referred to the lower skirt. In olden days there was a saying that the upper is “衣” and the lower is “裳.” At that time, both men and women wore long garments with wide sleeves and skirts. There was also another kind of clothing, called “深衣 shenyi,” that combined the upper garment and skirt. The trousers did not appear until later. They were first introduced to the Han people by northern nomadic tribes. These nomadic people lived on the plains and rode on horseback, so trousers were a more practical form of clothing for them than bulky and awkward robes. The emergence of pants was a revolution in the cultural history of Chinese costume.

From the time of Jiaguwen in the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), the Chinese people wore many types of colorful dress, but these clothes all primarily took the form depicted by the character “衣.” It is possible to say that the form of the character “衣” determined the development of Chinese clothes design for some 3,000 years. When used as a form component, the character “衣” is written as “衤” when it is positioned on the left or below. When it is positioned on the right, it is still written as “衣.” With careful observation, it is possible to see that the left-falling and right-falling strokes on the right of the character “衣” are the sources of the two dots on the right of “衤.” The characters that have “衣” as their form component are mostly related to dress. These include: “衬 chen (underwear),” “衫 shan (sleeveless jacket),” “祅 ao (fur garment),” “袍 pao (gown),” “裙 qun (skirt),” “裘 qiu (fiir coat),” and “装 zhuang (outfit).”

25/33食

The Chinese people have a deep affection for food and pay it a lot of attention. China is therefore famous all over the world for its food culture.

“食 shi (food)” is an associative-compound character. In Jiaguwen, the lower part of the character represented a cooking vessel full of food. Above this were two dots that indicated that the food in the vessel was about to boil over. At the top of the character was a triangle, which represented the lid of the cooking pot. Such a vessel was used in ancient times to contain rice, Chinese sorghum, and millet.

When used as a noun, “食 shi” indicates food. It is used in words such as “主食 zhushi (staple food)” and “冷食 lengshi (cold drinks and snacks).” As a verb, it indicates the action of eating, and is used in phrases such as “食肉动物 shirou dongwu (meat-eating animals)” and “废寝忘食 feiqin wangshi (forget food and sleep).” “食” is a radical character, and all the characters that have it as their components are mostly related to “food” or “eating.” Such characters include: “饭 fan (rice),” “饼 bing (cake),” “饮 yin (drink),” “饿 e (hungry),” and “饱 bao (full).”

By the time Jiaguwen had been developed, the Chinese culture of food and drink had become more sophisticated, and a wide variety of bronze ware was used to cook and store it. A ‘‘鼎 ding” was a vessel for boiling meat; a “甑 (zeng)” was a vessel for steaming food; a “簋(gui)” was a container for staple foodstuffs; a “尊 zun” was a container for wine, and a ‘‘爵(jue)” was a cup for drinking wine. Characters for all of these types of vessels can be found in Jiaguwen. Both Jiaguwen and Jinwen contained the character “酉 you (wine).” This character represented the earthenware jug in which wine was contained, as well as the wine itself. In the Shuowen Jiezi, 67 characters have “酉” as a component, which shows that China’s wine culture has a long history.

In Jiaguwen many characters have the following components: “食 shi (food),” “火 huo (fire),” “禾 he (ripened grain),” “米 mi (rice),” “肉 (月) rou (flesh),” “羊 yang (sheep),” “酉 you (wine),” and “皿 min (vessel)”. These constitute an abundant and colourful series of characters related to food and drink. These characters not only indicate that Chinese food culture has a long history, but they also reveal a key truth about China, that “民以食为天 (food is the first necessity of the people).”

26/33住

Chinese architecture has a long history of some 7,000 years and a range of distinctive styles. It holds an essential position in the history of world architecture. The earliest examples of Chinese architecture can be seen in the footed houses found in the southern Hemudu Cultural Ruins and the shallow cave-houses of the northern Banpo Ruins. Ancient Chinese architecture reached a zenith in the Imperial Palace buildings of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) Dynasties.

Generally speaking, ancient Chinese architecture was characterized by its wooden structures, its large roofs, and its “planar complex” layouts. The world-famous Imperial Palace in Beijing demonstrates all of these characteristics, which, in turn, were recorded by Chinese Characters. These characters have the following form components: “宀,” “穴 xue (cave),” “土 tu (earth),” “木 mu (wood),” “广 guang (wide house),” and “户 hu (house).” Almost all of these are related to buildings. For example, “宀” represents the outer form of a house with wooden pillars on its two sides and a sharply pointed roof on its top. “宀” usually appears as a form component in characters that relate to dwellings. These include: “家 jia (home),” “宅 zhai (house),” “安 an (safety),” “宫 gong (palace),” “室 shi (room),” “宿 su (residence),” ‘‘寓 yu (residence),” and “宇 yu (eaves).” “广” is a component that indicates a spacious house with a roof or a corridor without a wall. It is used in words such as “庙 miao (temple),” “府 fU (mansion),” “庭 ting (court),” ‘‘库 ku (warehouse),” “廊 lang (corridor),” and “店 dian (store).” Characters that contain “宀’’ and “ 广 “ mostly refer to buildings with sharp or wide roofs. Characters that have “木 mu (wood)” as their form component is usually related to wood-structure buildings or the use of wood components. These characters include “楼 lou (building),” “柱 zhu (pillar),” and “梁 liang (girder).” The characters that have ‘‘土 tu (earth)” as their form component are generally related to earth and stone structures. These include: “墙 qiang (wall),” ‘‘城 cheng (city wall),” and ‘‘塔 ta (pagoda).”

Among the numerous Chinese Characters that are linked to buildings, the character ‘‘宫 gong (palace)” is worthy of appreciation. It not only indicates a wide roof but it also shows the features of a planar layout. If we look at it straight on we can see that the upper “宀” looks like a wide roof and the two “口” below look like windows; but turn it ninety degrees, and it looks like a building plan, with the two ‘‘口” indicating that there are many houses. This one character “宫” therefore shows both the wide roof and planar layout of ancient Chinese architecture.

27/33行

“行 xing” is a pictographic character that means “travel.” In Jiaguwen and Jinwen, this character looked like a common “cross” roads, so it originally meant “big way” or “big road.” Roads allow people to walk easily, so “行” was also related to the concept of walking. China is a big country with many mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, and deserts, and people in ancient times would often sigh and say “行路难 xing lu nan (it is difficult to walk).”

In ancient China, short distances were accessible on foot, but major journeys required boats or carriages. The horse and carriage were the earliest means of transport that was used to travel long distances. For instance, during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-475 BC) Confucius journeyed to many princely states to spread his political opinions. He traveled by cattle carts or by horse-drawn carriages. After uniting China, Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) visited many parts of his empire using horse-drawn chariots. Two similar chariots, made of bronze, were unearthed from the mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang in Xi’an, and it is said that the Emperor also used these conveyances to travel through his kingdom. “舟 zhou” means boat and is a pictographic character. Indeed, in its Jiaguwen form, the character quite clearly represented a small wooden boat. Boat transport developed significantly in the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). So, when Jian Zhen (688-763), a famous monk of the Tang Kaishu Dynasty (618-907), crossed the eastern sea to preach Buddhism in Japan, he traveled in a huge ocean-going ship, which was the same mode of transport, used by Zheng He (1371-1433), a Ming Dynasty Eunuch when he visited South Asia, West Asia, and Africa. 

Although chariots and boats were the primary forms of transport used for long distances in ancient times, some people walked. The most famous of these was Xuan Zang (602-664), a monk of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He set off from Xi’an to fetch the Buddhist classics from ancient India. His journey covered tens of thousands of miles, but it was accomplished on foot. The folktale called “The Pilgrim to the West” was based on his experiences.

2.5) Cultural Life

Cultural life in ancient China was full of colorful festivals, ceremonies, and artistic performances. As a result, many Chinese Characters record various aspects of the cultural life of the country’s ancient past. Some of the most important and commonly used of these Chinese Characters are introduced below.

28/33乐

“乐 yue (music)” is an associative-compound character. In Jiaguwen, the lower part of the character ‘‘乐” resembled a piece of wood and the upper part resembled a string. The whole character looked like an ancient wooden stringed musical instrument. In Jinwen, a component that looked like the character “白” was added to the middle of the “string,” which made it look as if a thumb it was plucking the string. In fact, the original meaning of “乐” was a stringed musical instrument. Later it became used as the general name for all musical instruments and was also used to refer to music in general. China is a country in which music is often performed and in which music is very much appreciated. The ancient Shi Jing (Classics of Poetry) recorded more than 70 kinds of musical instruments. These included the drum, fou (which is a uniquely Chinese traditional instrument), chime stone, bell, and various stringed instruments. The book also recorded many ancient pieces of music. In ancient times music was closely linked with dance and poetry. Indeed, almost every musical composition was accompanied by dancing and poems were accompanied by singing. In fact, the poems in the Shi Jing were all written to be sung, which explains the existence of the Chinese noun “诗歌 shige (poem and song).” Many ancient paintings have survived that show people singing and dancing; these make it possible for us to share, in a small way, their enjoyment of music. Music can entertain people, so the meaning of “乐” was extended to cover joy and happiness. It is used in this way in words such as “快乐 kuaile (enjoyment),” “欢乐 huanle (happy)” and “乐园 leyuan (land of pleasure).” In these instances, the character ‘‘乐” is not pronounced as “yue” but as “le.”

29/33舞

“舞 wu” was originally a pictographic character that meant “dance.” In Jiaguwen, the character “舞” looked like a person dancing. This person had a tree branch or ox tail in her hand. In Jinwen, two legs were added under the character, and the image of the dancer became clearer. At this time, the character “舞” also evolved to become an associative-compound character. Interestingly, when people dance they cry out “呜 呜(wuwu)!” It is, therefore, possible that the pronunciation of the character “舞’’ (i.e. “wu”) might well have originated from this cry. The ancient Chinese often danced to communicate with their ancestors and gods, in the hope of receiving a blessing. Dancing was almost always part of ancient sacrificial or magical activities, and people would dance when worshipping dragons or praying for rain and favourable weather. Such dancing can be seen on a famous piece of pottery which was discovered in Qinghai Province and which dates back some 5,000 years. This archaeological treasure is known as the “Pottery Basin Painted With Dancing Patterns.” It has drawings of 15 dancing people on its inner surface. In this picture, five dancers comprise a group. They look as though they are dancing hand in hand joyfully to a musical beat. It is thought that these primitive clan people may be celebrating a hunting success or participating in some form of wizardry. Another picture of the dancing that took place in ancient times can be seen on a rock face in the Huashan Mountain. It is known as the Huashan Cliff Painting, and it shows a grand occasion at which 1,900 people danced together. It is a record of several sacrificial activities that were carried out for mountain and river gods. The red dancers in this picture take us right back to an ancient and mysterious world when dancing was not amused, but an obligation.

30/33册

“册 ce” is a pictographic character that means “ancient book.” Before the invention and use of paper, people had to carve characters onto tortoise shells or animal bones or bronze ware. These characters are what we now know as Jiaguwen or Jinwen. People also wrote characters on strips of bamboo and bark. These strips were comparatively thin and could usually only contain one line of characters. To write many characters, people, therefore, had to use many strips, and these were usually bound together using hemp or thread woven from cattle hide. Such a collection of strips made up a “册.” It was also called a “简册 jiance” (i.e., a book made of slivers of wood or bamboo). The ancient character “册” actually resembles such a book—its vertical strokes are the strips of bark, and its rounded horizontal strokes are the thread binding them together. Even today, in Kaishu, the character “册” still looks like a book made in this way, even though the character has been simplified so that it only looks like two slips of bamboo and one thread. As early as the Jin Dynasty (265-420) many bamboo-slip books had been unearthed from the tombs of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The most famous of these is the Zhushu Jinian (Chronological Record on Bamboo Book). The book’s name tells us that it is a historical work written on bamboo slips. In later years, astonishing quantities of bamboo and wood pages from the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-220 AD) Dynasties were unearthed by archaeologists. It is amazing to think how heavy these ancient books must have been. Indeed, it is said that Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) read documents that weighed 60 kg! His documents, which were made from bamboo and bark, were so heavy that they had to be carried to his imperial palace by strongmen. In China, there is an idiom, “学富五车 xuefu wuche,” which originated in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). It is used to indicate a person who is knowledgeable and has read many books. This idiom perfectly describes a man from this period called Hui Shi. It is said that every time Hui Shi went out, he would be accompanied by five vehicles carrying his books, which shows just how bulky and heavy books made out of strips of wood and bamboo must have been.

2.6) The Pursuit of Happiness and luck

The Chinese nation pursues happiness and luck, and its people are always full of hope that they will have a better life in the future. The forms and structures of some Chinese Characters reflect this kind of optimistic thinking. Such Chinese Characters have become auspicious symbols that are very much loved by the Chinese people.

31/33福

“福 fu (blessing)” is an associative-compound character. In Jiaguwen, “福 fu (blessing)” is composed of “礻 shi (sacrificial altar)” on its left and “酉 you (wine jar)” on its right. One horizontal stroke in the “酉 you (wine jar)” character indicates that the jar is full of wine. The two components combine to mean a sacrifice of wine. Such a sacrifice would have been made to ancestors or gods to pray for their blessings. In the Xiaozhuan form of the character the component “酉 you (wine jar)” changes into “畐 fu,” so the shape of a wine jar cannot be seen anymore. Later, the meaning of “酉 you (wine jar)” was extended from “full of wine” to “fullness” and “perfect satisfaction,” which is something that is pursued by Chinese people throughout their lives.

So, what exactly is a “福 fu (blessing)”? There is an ancient Chinese phrase— “wufu (five blessings)”—that means long life, richness, health, good morality and peaceful life. It is not easy to enjoy all of these five blessings. However, the word “福 fu (blessing)” by itself means “happiness” or “good fortune.” It is used in such common Chinese statements as “peace is good fortune” and “no disaster and disease is good fortune.” In China, you will often hear people say and see people write “福 fu (blessing).” For example, during the Spring Festival, people write the character “福 fu (blessing)” on red paper and paste this onto their doors, windows or walls. People believe that this will bring good fortune and luck to their whole family. It is interesting that such “fu” characters are always pasted upside down, which is because “倒 dao (upside down),” and “到 dao (arrive)” have the same pronunciation, so “福倒了(“fu” is upside down)” sounds like “福到了 (“fu” has arrived).”

32/33寿

“寿 shou (life)” means a long life, which is something that is desired by everyone. The complex form of ‘‘寿” is “壽.” The original meaning of this complex character was “prolonged life” (i.e. “long life”). There are many ways of writing “寿.” In Jiaguwen, it is an “s”-shaped symbol with two “口 kou (mouth)” components. It is pronounced as “chóu.” In its more ancient form, its upper part is “老 lao (old),” which represents an old man who has bent down and has little hair; its lower part is a pronounced symbol chóu. Therefore, “寿” is a pictophonetic character, pronounced chóu. In fact, the “s” symbol in character does mean a “curved and long road.” Therefore, it is better to treat “寿” as an associative-compounds character, which represents the tortuous and long path of an old man’s life. The “shou” character in Jinwen is more like an associative-compound character. One “hand” and one “口 kou (mouth)” can be found as additions to the lower part of this form of the character. The whole character shows someone raising a glass of wine to congratulate an older adult on his birthday. The hand component (寸 cun) can still be found in simplified characters today.

There was a Chinese saying that ran: “A superb lifetime of 100 years and a medium lifetime of 80 years.” In China, relatively grand birthday celebrations are held on a person’s 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th birthdays. These days are called the “寿日 shouri (birthday of an elderly person),” or “寿辰 shouchen (birthday of an elderly person).” Chinese people often eat “长寿面 chang shou mian (longevity noodles)” on their birthdays. The name of these noodles means “life is a long as the noodles.” They also often say “健康长寿 Jian kang chang shou (good health and long life)” and “寿比南山 shou bi nan shan (may you live as long as the Southern Mountain)’’ to congratulate an elderly person on his birthday. Many folk drawings feature an old man with a big forehead and a long moustache. He walks with a walking stick, holds a peach in his hand, and has a smile on his faces all the time. This figure is the “寿星 shou xing (the god of longevity),” or “老人星 lao ren xing (the god of longevity),” or “寿星老儿 shou xing lao er (the god of longevity).” Since ancient times, “寿 星” has been a significant symbol of longevity and everyone likes the character.

33/33和

“和 he (harmony)” is an essential feature of traditional Chinese culture. The core of Confucianism is “仁 ren (benevolence),” which is the spirit of “和.” During the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, a huge “和” was created in the center of the main stadium to represent the Chinese people’s advocacy and the pursuit of “和.” “和 he” is a pictophonetic character. Even in its Jiaguwen form, it is a pictophonetic, which shows that not all of the inscriptions the ancient Chinese made on bones or tortoise shells were pictographic and that some had phonographic components. The left part of “和 he” in Jiaguwen is the part that indicates its meaning. It represents the shape of “笙 sheng (a kind of ancient Chinese wind instrument, made of several bamboo pipes).” The right part of the character indicates its sound. This component is “禾 (he).” “和 (he)” in Jinwen is nearly the same shape as “和 he” in Jiaguwen. “和 (he)” in Xiaozhuan is almost the same as “和 he” in Jiaguwen and Jin-wen but is more ordered. In the simplified Xiaozhuan character, the left part is “口 kou (mouth),” while the right part is “禾 he.” The Kaishu form of the character originated from the right part of the Xiaozhuan character.

The original meaning of “和 he” is the “consonance and harmony of musical sounds.” This meaning was later extended to include the concepts of “gentleness,” “softness,” and “peace.”