Chinese Characters E-Book

James Trapp

• Herausgeber: Amber Books Ltd
• Serie: Chinese Bound
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 42

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

The elegant pen-strokes and visual harmony of Chinese writing, known as hànzì, have long been admired in the west. Classical Chinese calligraphy is a popular and valuable art form, and with the increasing economic and cultural power of China, its writing is becoming more widely appreciated and understood. In particular, the deep layers of history and symbolism which exist behind even the most everyday character have a strong appeal to those seeking understanding from an alternative philosophy.   Chinese Characters: The Art of Hànzì  features the most interesting of the three to four thousand characters are needed to write modern Chinese. Characters expressing concepts such as love, peace, respect and happiness are reproduced in a large format, enabling the reader to trace, scan or photocopy them for transfer to any other medium. Alongside the character is an accessible and inspiring explanation of how the character developed, what the particular strokes symbolize, and its various different meanings.

Leseprobe

This digital edition first published in 2011

Published by Amber Books Ltd United House North Road London N7 9DP United Kingdom

Website: www.amberbooks.co.uk Instagram: amberbooksltd Facebook: amberbooks Twitter: @amberbooks

Copyright © 2011 Amber Books Ltd

ISBN: 978 190 827 373 4

Text: James TrappProject Editor: James BennettDesign: Rajdip Sanghera

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for thepurpose of review no part of this publication may be reproducedwithout prior written permission from the publisher. The informationin this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the partof the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurredin connection with the use of this data or specific details.

www.amberbooks.co.uk

Ài

ài (pronounced aye) meaning love

This is the universal character for love in all its aspects,physical, emotional, and idealistic. In various combinationsit means to make love, lover or spouse, fan or enthusiast,or even patriot (someone who loves their country).Appropriately, in the very middle is the character forthe heart. However, its radical, which is found at the top, isthe claw or talon, suggesting, perhaps, a person in the fiercegrip of emotion.

8

Bàng

bàng (pronounced bung) meaning brilliant,great, excellent

This character illustrates the range of meanings a singlecharacter can carry. Its original meaning is a stick or club,and in more modern times a bat, such as a baseball or cricketbat. It also means a cob of corn or an ear of maize.However, in speech, its most common usage is as an all-purpose expression of approval or admiration, meaninggreat or excellent.

9

Biàn

biàn (pronounced bee-en) meaning change

This is the basic character for change of any kind andis found in compound words with meanings as varied asrebellion, chameleon, and transsexual. It is an old characterand the idea of change embodied by 變 is an important ideain Confucius’ concept of what embodies a proper man. Inthe Analects he writes: ‘They must often change who wouldbe constant in happiness or wisdom,’ and ‘Only the wisestand stupidest of men do not change.’

10

bīng (pronounced bing) meaning ice

This is a very good example of a character that combines themeanings of its different parts to create a new word. Here,the two dots on the left-hand side, which are the ‘freezing’radical, are combined with the character for water, resultingin a primary meaning of ice. In Chinese, ice carries the sameconnotations of purity as in English but not the suggestion ofbeing emotionally uptight. So, in China it is a compliment todescribe a woman as having ‘flesh of ice and bones of jade.’

11

Bīng

Bīng

bīng (pronounced bing) meaning soldier

As a language, Chinese works in concepts, so words gettheir exact meaning from the way in which they are usedin a sentence. Here, although the translation of soldier hasbeen given, the character actually represents many differentaspects of warfare and the military. While this characterparticularly refers to a private as opposed to an officer, it canalso mean army, weapons, military affairs, and even a pawnon a chessboard.

12

Chán

chán (pronounced charn) meaning Zen

Although Zen is commonly believed to be a Japanesereligion, it is originally Chinese. Zen is a form of Buddhismbased on meditation, taught by the Indian monkBodhidharma at the Shaolin Temple in northern China inthe sixth century CE. There the shadow of Bodhidharma issaid to be permanently imprinted on a wall because he satso long in meditation. A 禪杖chán zhàng is a stick used forwaking someone up who has fallen asleep while meditating.

13

Chāng

chāng (pronounced chaang) meaning glorious,prosperous

This character is not usually seen except in traditionalNew Year greetings, though it was used regularly in theyears of Chairman Mao’s leadership (1943–75) in sloganspraising the glory and prosperity of China under the ‘GreatHelmsman.’ It is, however, a very lucky character as well as apleasingly symmetrical one. Its meaning of glorious is clearonce you know that it is composed of two sun characters.

14

Chéng

chéng (pronounced ch-ng) meaning change, become

This is a very positive character, which complements 變biàn in the compound word 變成 because it carries themeaning of bringing change to a successful completion. Itimplies permanence, or the accomplishment of somethingright and proper. It may also be more neutral but seldomcarries negative connotations. 成年chéng nián translates as‘complete years’, which means to come of age, and an adultis a 成人chéng rén, a finished person.

15

Dà

dà (pronounced dah) meaning great