1Learn toWrite ChineseCharacter.docx

1Learn toWrite ChineseCharacter.docx

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1LearntoWriteChineseCharacter

ThemodelcharacterswerewrittenbyYanRuimin,keenpedagogueandex-pertonfountainpencalligraphy.IamgratefulforallthelatenightsonwhichhesharedhisexpertisewiththisSwedishnovice,aswellasforhispatiencewithmyincessantchangesinthemanuscriptandtheresultingnewcalligraphicwork.

CeciliaLindqvistspotteduncountableerrorsindraftsofthemanuscriptandcontributedmanyideasontheteachingofcharacters.Withouthergeneroushelpthisbookwouldnotexistinitspresentform.

IwouldalsoliketothankQingYangforprovidingthedrawingsforfigures18and19,JonasArnqvistforhisaidwiththewordprocessingandreviewofthetext,JussiKarlgrenforhisusualenthusiasmandcommentsonstyle,andJohan“It-is-totally-unnecessary—to-practice-characters”Nilssonforinnumerableopportunitiestohonethepro-calligraphyarguments（andforhisthoroughlanguageeditingandhelpwiththeoriginallayout）,aswellasMaartendeChateau,MagnusFiskesjii,KjellFornander,GiiranLeijonhufvud,andLiCongjiaforreadingandcommentingonthematerial.DavidPankenierprovidedmanyvaluablesuggestions,especiallyontheEnglishtechnicalterms.

MywarmthankstoTerryWolkerstorferforhisthoroughreviewofmyEnglish.Finally,IwouldliketothanktheprofessionalsatYaleUniversityPress,especiallymyeditor,MaryPasti,whosepainstakingandenthusiasticworkhasmadethiswonderfulEnglisheditionpossible.

EventhoughcharactersareoneofthemostfascinatingaspectsoftheChineselanguage,mostofuswhostudyChinesearen’tverygoodatwritingthem.

Translatorsandscholarswhoknowthelanguagewellsometimeshaveembarrassinglysloppyhandwriting.Itisapitythattheartofwritinghasbeensolittlestressedintheteachingofthelanguage.Notonlyiswritingbeautifulcharactersfun,butgoodhandwritingisofmuchgreaterimportanceinlearningChinesethaninlearningaWesternlanguage.Thereareseveralreasons

forthis.

Thecharactersmayseemchaotictothenovice,buttheirstructureisnotatallhaphazard.Overthemillenniatheyhavedevelopedfromeasilyrecognizablepicturesofobjectstohighlystylizedsymbolsofscript.Inthecourseofthisdevelopmenttheyhavealsobeenstandardizedtofacilitatespeedandcomfortinwriting.Notonlymustthestrokesthatmakeupeachcharacterbewritteninacertainrigidlyspecifiedorder;theymustalsobewritteninaspecialway,whichwewilldealwithinthisbook.Thetechniqueofwritingisthuscloselylinkedtothestructureofthecharacters.Byfocusingongoodhandwriting,learnersmorequicklyacquireafeelingforthelogicoftheChinesecharacters,makingthemeasiertoremember.SchoolteachersinChinapaygreatattentiontothesubjectofwriting.

Mosthandwrittencharacters（inlettersandonmenusandshop

signs,forexample）arewrittenincursivescript,wherethesepa—ratestrokesarelinkedforquickwriting.Suchcharactersaremuchhardertoreadthantheprintedformsthatbeginnerslearn.Becausetheyareshorthandversionsderivedfromthesamerootsasthestandardforms,thewaytheyarewritteniscloselylinkedtothewaystandardcharactersarewritten.Indevelopingcorrecthandwriting,youwillgainanaturalfeelforthecharactersthatmakesthemeasiertodecipher,evenwhentheyareinthecursivestyle.Actually,itisalmostimpossibleforsomeonewholacksanadequatefoundationintheartofwritingtointerpretcursivecharacters.

Foranyonewhowantstolearnhowtowritecursivescript,reasonableproficiencyinstandardcharactersisabsolutelyessential.

Calligraphy,theartofwriting,isconsideredinChinathenoblestofthefinearts.Ataveryearlystageinhistoryitbecameanabstractandexpressionistartform,wheremeaningisofsecondaryimportanceandaestheticexpressiontheprimeconcern.ManyChineseholdthatcalligraphyprolongsthewriters’lives,sharpenstheirsenses,andenhancestheirgeneralwell-being.BypracticingcalligraphyyoucanachieveaglimpseintoChineseaestheticsandphilosophyandlearntoappreciateanabstract

artform.

Therearetwoprincipalwaystolearncalligraphy.Youcanbegininthetraditionalway,withabrush.Thiscallsforlongpractice,infinitepatience,and

agoodteacher.Bypracticingwithabrushyouemphasizetheartisticratherthanthepractical,forfewmodernChineseusethebrushineverydaylife.GoodteachersoftraditionalcalligraphyareararebreedoutsideChinesecommunities.

Yourotheroptionistopracticewithafountainpen.Thishasmanyadvantages.Thefountainpenisthewritingtoolusedinpresent-dayChina,soyouhaveapracticaluseforwhatyoulearn.Thefountainpeniseasiertousethanthesoft,pliablebrush,soyoucanavoidspendingtimeontechniqueandconcentrateonwritingneatcharacters.Theprinciplesforwritingwithafountainpenholdequallywellforpencilandballpointpen,thoughitiseasiertoformpleasingstrokeswithafountainpen.Lastly,youcanmakedowithoutateacher.Fountainpensarereadilyavailable,andordinarypapercanbeused.Forbrushcalligraphy,specialChinesewritingpaperispreferable.

ManyteachersofChineseholdthemisconceptionthatinlearningcalligraphyitisnecessarytostartpracticingwithabrush.Asaresult,manyschoolsgivemakeshiftcoursesinbrushcalligraphyor,morecommonly,offerhardlyanyinstructioninthesubjectatall.Infact,fountainpencalligraphyisbecomingmoreandmorepopularinthewholeChinese-speakingworld;therearemanybooksofferingmodelcharactersandaestheticguidance,aswellasregularexhibitionsandcompetitions.Practicingwithapenisasgoodawaytolearn

thecharactersaspracticingwithabrush.

WhatIaddressinthisbook,then,isfountainpencalligraphy,or“calligraphyofthehardpen.”Tounderstandandappreciatecharactersrequiressomehistoricalbackgroundandasimpleanalysisofthestructureandaestheticsofthescript.Muchhasbeenwrittenonthesesubjects,andattheendofthebookIlistafewtitlesoffurtherinterest.Ontheotherhand,thereis,asfarasIknow,nointroductiontowritingcharacterswithapenthatisdesignedforanon-Chinese-speakingaudience.Ihopethisbookwillfillthegap.Themate-rialshouldbewellsuitedforalllearnersofChinese,fromhighschool

studentsandfirst-yearundergraduatestooldhandswhowouldliketoimprovetheirwritingtechnique.BecausethebookpresupposesnopreviousknowledgeofChinese,itshouldalsoattractanyonewithaninterestinthelanguageandcultureofChina.

IhopethatbyfollowingthesuggestionsmadeinthisbookyouwillbeabletolearnChinesecharactersmoreeasily,deepenyourappreciationoftheir

beauty,andhaveasmuchfunpracticingthemasIhavehad.

Chinesecharactersconstituteoneoftheoldestformsofwritingintheworld.Archaeologistsmakingexcavationssincethe1970shavediscoveredthatcharacterswerealreadyinuseintheStoneAge,eventhoughthesymbolscanprobablynotbeconsideredscriptinthetruesenseoftheword.Whenscholarsconsidertheearlyhistoryofthecharacters,theyoftenfocusontheShangdynasty（sixteenth—eleventhcenturiesB.C.）becauseoftherichhistoricalmaterialfromtheperiod.

SincethesixthcenturyA.D.,Oldpiecesofbone,calleddragonbones,reputedlypossessedofbeneficialmedicalpowers,havebeensoldinpharmaciesinnorthernChina.In1899aBeijingscientistnoticedthattheboneshadinscriptions;andwhenthesymbolswereinvestigated,somecouldbeinterpretedasancientformsofmodernChinesecharacters.Anexampleofthewritingcanbeseeninfigure1.Theirplaceoforiginturnedouttobethere-mainsofaShang-dynastycapital,anditsexcavationsomethirtyyearsafterthediscoveryyieldedtensofthousandsoftheinscribeddragonbones.

ThebonesaretheremainsofShangsoothsayers’archives.TheShrugpeoplecollectedturtleshellsorshoulderbladesfromoxen,drilledshallowholesatcertainpoints,andstuckred-hotbronzerodsintotheindentations.Theresultingcracksintheshellsandboneswereinterpretedbythecourtsooth-sayers.Theprophecieswerecarvedbesidethecracks,andtheboneswerefiledinvastarchivesinthecapital.Thecharactersonthebonesarecalledoraclebonecharacters.Theiruniformityandthewidevocabularyemployed

suggestthateventhreethousandyearsagotheymayalreadyhavehadalonghistory.Aboutone-thirdoftheoraclebonecharactersinthearchiveshavebeendeciphered.

ThestructureoftheoraclebonecharactersshowsthattheyareforerunnersofmodernChinesescript.Thecharactersoriginatedinanumberofways.

Fromtheillustrationsinfigure2,weseethatsomecharacterswereoriginallypictures.Ontheleftaretheoraclebonecharactersandontherighttheirmodernequivalents.The“primitive”charactersontheleftwereonestageinalongprocessduringwhichtheoriginalpictographsbecamesymbolsofscript.

charactersdepictingabstractconcepts.Theinterpretationofshang,xia,andbinginfigure3isstraightforward.Hao,good,isapictureofawomanholdingachild.

Characters.Whentheneedaroseforacharacterwhosemeaningwasdifficulttoillustratewithsimplepictures,thecharacterwasoftencreatedbyborrowinganexistingcharacterwiththesamepronunciation.

Tothis“pronunciationpart”wasaddeda“meaningmarker”inordertodistinguishthenewcharacterfromtheoldone.Take,forexample,thecharactercao,grazes.Itconsistsoftwoparts:

aphonetic,zao,whichmeans

earlybutwasmerelyborrowedtohintatthepronunciationofthecharacter,andaradicalthatmeansplant.Thecharacterforriver,he,ismadefromthewaterradicalandaphoneticpronouncedké.IfweusedcharactersinEnglish,wemightimaginethecharacterfor“toread”beingmadeupofareedsymbolandtheeyeradicaltoindicatewhichhomophonewasintended.Theborrowingtookplacelongago,andsometimesthephoneticisnolongerpronouncedinexactlythesamewayasthecharacterthatitispartof.Herewehavetoacceptthatthepronunciationswereoncethesame.Over95percentofallChinesecharac