The origins of Chinese Characters(ISBN 7-80052-243-1)

This book is intended as a guide to the origins and histories of Chinese characters. Although it could be used as a Chinese etymological dictionary, the book is an attempt to find a new way to teach the practical ideography of Chinese to those whose native scripts are alphabet-based. Writing is a system of conveying ideas by means of conventional symbols that from visible marks. These symbols are traced, incised, drawn, or written on the surface of materials such as tortoise shells, bones, stone, metal, bamboo, papyrus, parchment, or paper. Writing gives permanence to human knowledge and enables communication over great distances.