Taiwan Today

This cartoon series on the evolution of the Chinese characters is from the China Cartoon Film Company and is to be read from top to bottom, left to right. This first page is devoted to development of the character for the moon.

 

Ch'ang Chieh who lived some 4,000 years ago is the reputed inventor of the character for bird. Although the form used today is a long way from a bird sitting on a bough, the essential form of a flying creature can still be recognized.

 

An archer's bow is easy enough to represent. Then why did calligraphers find it necessary to change the original form? The motivation apparently was similar to that which led painters from realistic depiction to abstractionism.

 

Horns of the ox have evolved into the present character for that domestic animal. But the original curved lines tended to straighten out with the passing of the centuries. 1973 is the Year of the Ox in a 12-animal zodiacal cycle.

 

Both horns and body have been retained in the character for deer but it is not so easy to find them in the word of today. In many cases the original ideographs were simpler and quicker to write than the resulting abstractions.

 

Gracefulness and flow of the horse are retained in the character. Calligraphers have this spirit of the original meaning to work with when they wield their writing brushes to produce works of art which rank with Chinese paintings.

 

In the West, it's common to speak of a "poor fish," but the Chinese have looked upon the fish as a symbol for prosperity and fertility. For coastal and river peoples of China the fish is food. The character has a rich look.

 

Mountains are greatly admired by the Chinese. They are regarded as representing strength, serenity and aspects of the metaphysical. The character is simple, yet shows the qualities of dignity and power found in high places.

 

What better way to represent the rain than the sky with raindrops falling to the earth? It is true that the Chi­nese characters take longer to learn than words expressed alphabetically but the actual writing is frequently faster.

 

Take away the two short strokes at either side and the character for fire becomes that for man. For the ancients fire was the greatest gift from the gods and its control led to civilization. The character seems to express this.

 

Gates of China are ornamental so it is appropriate that the character is not so plain as in the beginning. It has been influenced by the environment. The concept of a door leads to other ideographs involving the idea of an opening.

 

An action is depicted here rather than an object. There are various ways of conveying the act of looking. The Chi­nese did it with a hand an eye, and these are still to be seen in today's character by those who wish to look for them.