Five Thousand Years of Chinese Characters

PART ONE A Unique Blossom in Civilization PART TWO High as Heaven, Long as the River PART THREE Radiance from All Directions PART FOUR Heart and Spirit of the Chinese People PART FIVE Expressions of Brush and Ink PART SIX The Most Precious Treasure under Heaven PART SEVEN Rejuvenation through Fire and Blood PART EIGHT Everlasting Beauty The tribe that had migrated from the Central Plains eventually evolved into the Chu nobility. They knew the language of the Central Plains, and were emulated by others. Speaking elegantly became the fashion in Chu, and everyone gradually began to speak the standard language. However, this was still limited to the official class of Chu. Other kingdoms and peoples still used their own tongues for everyday speech. Without an integrating vehicle that transcends oral pronunciation, communication and exchange would still be difficult. That integrating vehicle was the Chinese characters. Liu Lening, professor of Columbia University, United States An ideographic writing system transcends dialect since it does not represent any specific pronunciation, but instead expresses meaning directly. In this way, a character may be pronounced differently, but everyone can read and understand it. This was very important for linking different regions and creating a sense of cohesion. Quite possibly, our ancestors became aware of this bond, this cohesive effect, and that is why they retained this writing system through the ages. "The fishhawks sing gwan gwan on sandbars of the stream. Gentle maiden, pure and fair, fit pair for a prince." This is an ancient folksong that is well-known to all. From the connotations of the words, it is clear that the ideographic writing system limited the proliferation of dialect and the disintegration of common cultural meanings. Book of Songs, collated by Confucius, is a collection of folksongs from 15 principalities....