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

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

and @ or wa‘plough’. To plough the land is symbolical of agriculture. In the second character there is in addition the sign « representing the human foot.

Fu (4s) means woman, lady, matron. Originally it was Ve or (5,. It is based upon the characters 為 and B, symbols

for a girl, and * and [e the simple forms for a broom. A

girl holds a broom to do housework, which is the duty of a married woman. Fa ({&) means to invade, attack. Originally it was written

Te 六 FA and the ot TR, The shapes of

a lance or spear (held by a man) can be discerned in 和 條 I + 1 . The forms of the char-

acters are different, but in each the inference to be drawn from a soldier about to fight is expressed. ;

The principle of combining characters is not confined to the uniting of two simple figures: it is possible to combine two compound characters. The method by which this is accomplished is explained in the diagram on the opposite page (Fig. 4).

I could give examples of very many characters constructed in this way, but to do so would be to overburden this book with examples and lead us away from our general purpose.

It might be supposed that provision had now been made for every type of character which could be needed ; but, as we know, the Chinese language is monosyllabic, with fewer sounds

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