Introduction to Chinese
Symbols - history of Chinese symbols and popularity of Chinese symbols
There are more than eighty thousand Chinese symbols,
also known as characters or signs. Chinese symbols are the way the
Chinese express themselves in writing. However, unlike western alphabet,
where every letter denotes a particular sound, a Chinese symbol has a
specific meaning. For example, there are symbols for love, for hate,
strength, peace, and pretty much every other concept in life. Symbols
are being developed and added every day so that the list of Chinese
symbols keeps on growing. While there were about 3600 symbols at the
time of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), there are around 80000 today.
Every Chinese is required to remember as many of
these symbols as possible by heart! Every Chinese student needs to
remember at least 5000 symbols by the time he or she finishes high
school. Of course, not all of the symbols are used in everyday life. In
fact, nearly 40% of the symbols are variants of other characters (known
as yiti). On average, only about 500 characters are used 80% of the
time, and about 5200 characters are sufficient to write in modern
Chinese.
Even so, Chinese writing is very complicated even for
the Chinese! The complexities of the writing system were seen to be the
main obstacle in the achievement of a high literacy rate. The Chinese
communist government attempted to simplify things through a large-scale
reform in 1955. They reduced the number of strokes per character as well
as the number of characters in common use. Around a thousand variant
characters were eliminated. Yet, this Simplified Scheme gave rise to
some practical difficulties. While simplification made it easier to read
and write, they made the symbols harder to recognize. Characters became
less differentiated from each other because of their simplified shape.
Moreover, pronunciation of these simplified characters became more
difficult. These difficulties have encouraged people to go back to the
traditional system of writing.
The Chinese are quite proud of their writing. They enjoy
calligraphy which gives every Chinese symbol an artistic appearance. In
recent times, Chinese symbols have begun to gain international
recognition, not specifically for their linguistic attributes, but for
their inherent beauty and style. Chinese calligraphy became the basis
for tattoos which youngsters of the entire world harbor. Seen as a
deviation from western culture, Chinese symbols were a means to
differentiate oneself from the throng. Moreover, as tattoos are a means
of expression, the Chinese characters, rich in symbolism, seemed the
right choice for young adults. Youngsters can find that they can write
anything in Chinese. Any feeling or thought or concept can be translated
into a Chinese character. This can then be beautifully etched onto the
arm or body, giving a distinct oriental look that many people long for.
Curiously enough, the practice of tattooing characters onto the body is
looked down upon in China. It is largely a western practice. This is
because traditionally, in China, it is the convicted criminals that are
thus marked. Whatever the case, tattooing Chinese characters is now a
worldwide phenomenon. |
