Chinese calligraphy : an introduction to its aesthetic and technique : with 6 plates and 155 text illustratons

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

things which he could not express by this means, and he devised a clever expedient. He set beside the simple figure indicating the main attribute of his meaning a second element having the sound of what he wished to express. This extension of the written language considerably enlarged its field of expression.

So now we have not one character only for such a thing as water, of which there are many forms—rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, &c.—but several, each describing a different form of water, down to distinctions between great and small rivers, calm and rough seas. The characters for river are examples of

such Phonetic Compounds. There is 從, Ho, of which the

left-hand element, 的 Shui, signifies simply water, and the righthand element, Oy , Ké, the sound of water flowing. That would

be a very wide river. Chiang, {3 of which the left side also

stands for water and the right, 3 , Kung, for the sound of water flowing, would designate a rather narrower river. For Kung is a higher pitched sound, as of water flowing from a height, than Ho, which is the sound of a broad mass of water flowing more slowly.!_ These are by no means the only characters for river.

Here are some further examples of Phonetic Compounds.

Hu, {8D 5 lake: the left side, Ms means water and the right, ép , Hu, conveys the sound. . Ya, AR crow : the left side, As

gives the sound (we imitate the crow’s harsh call by * Ya-Ya’

1 To appreciate the onomatopoeic quality of Ho and Kung it is necessary to speak the first in a whisper and to sing softly the second. [28 ]