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

ORIGIN AND CONSTRUCTION OF CHARACTERS instead of ‘ Caw-caw’ as in the West) and the right side, a, is

the sign for bird. Wen, ff, to ask: PA, Men, door, is the phonetic, and », K‘ou, means mouth—a mouth in a doorway suggests asking. Wen, Fel , to hear (when spoken, a different ‘tone’ distinguishes this character from the previous one) : an ear, § , érh, to a crack in the door.

(4) FOURTH CATEGORY : Hut-I, Logical Combinations. The meaning of each part of these characters, as with the characters in the Third Category, contributes to the meaning of the whole, but here the signification of the whole is a synthesis, not a joining, of the meanings of the components. Hzz-I characters were created, like Hsing-Sheng, to meet the needs of a social life growing more complex, and they constitute a very subtle development. They are something more than two simple figures placed side by side, the one qualifying the other: their meaning is ‘metaphorical’; it is a new thing, not logically contained in the parts. Here are some:

Ch‘ung (#%)5 hy or \\, means ‘all’, ‘ multitude’, ‘ many ’,

or ‘majority’. Originally it was a symbol composed of three men, because in number at least one more than two is considered many.

Chou ((), 7 or $2, means ‘to be similar ’, ‘ enemy ’, or “to answer’. Originally it was & or 4%, two birds, sometimes fighting, sometimes answering each other.

Lung (J), R , means farm, agriculture. Originally it was written 2. You can see @ representing ‘field’ or ‘land’,

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