The Origin of Chinese Characters : An Illustrated History and Word Guide

Used in East Asia for over 2000 years, the Hanzi (set of Chinese characters) is beautiful in typography and from an artistic perspective. Today's Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese character sets all originated here. However, due to historical and cultural changes, few people remember and recognize the original meanings of the characters. Therefore, it essentially required the skills of a talented code-breaker to discern the etymology and history behind them. Relating details of Chinese history, anthropology and culture, the author shows how characters evolved from simple illustrations into more calligraphic symbols. Copious illustrations of archaeological artifacts and scenes from ancient life give the cultural context. For the more ambitious readers, vocabulary (with a pronunciation guide) is introduced in a friendly format and the author also provides step-by-step diagrams showing how to produce 600 words in proper Chinese calligraphy. In China, an educated person has to know 8,000 characters or more - a daunting task by any measure. Meanwhile, Western students struggle to learn a few hundred of them. How much easier it is to learn, when you have a clue as to the origins and hidden meanings of the symbols! An enthusiastic educator and a highly esteemed scholar in Chinese calligraphy explores ancient life in China and shows how the characters derived from early pictograms. He presents groups of words together with glimpses of early life, opening our eyes to Asian traditions and concepts as well as the words to describe them.