Chinese Characters presents the evolution, configuration and artistic aspects of Chinese characters, to better understand the beauty of the Chinese language and appreciate the cultural information it conveys. This book is part of the Chinese Civilisation series which seeks to inform, inspire and ignite curiosity about one of the world's oldest civilisations.
“Like the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and cuneiform characters of Mesopotamia, Chinese characters are independent and important symbols developed in ancient China and have made indelible contributions to the development of early human civilisation. The origin and transformation of the hieroglyphs, cuneiform, and Chinese characters are not synchronised, but they all share a history of thousands of years. Chinese characters have evolved from the earliest oracle bone scripts to the most widely used characters in the world across different fonts that can be traced back to the same origin.”
From the Preface
List of Figures
The Editorial Committee
Series Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1 The Source of Chinese Characters
I. Ancient Views
II. Ancient Symbols
III. Oracle Bone Scripts
Chapter 2 Evolution of Chinese Characters
I. Bronze Inscription
II. Small Seal Script
III. Clerical Script
IV. Regular Script
Chapter 3 Configuration of Chinese Characters
I. Methods of Creating Chinese Characters
II. Human and Human Body
III. Nature
IV. Clothing, Food, Housing and Transportation
V. Various Appliances
Chapter 4 The Art of Chinese Characters
I. Calligraphy
II. Sea
III. Chinese Character Painting
Chapter 5 The Blending of Chinese Characters
I. Dissemination
II. Phonetic Notation
III. Foreign Language Translation
IV. Communication Platform
Appendix: A Brief Chronology of Chinese History
Index
Basic Information
- 978-629-7646-32-9 (Paperback)
