In Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jin Wenzhong, there is a person facing left on the left and a person looking up on the right. The two people embrace each other, indicating that they are interdependent, interconnected and in love with each other. This meaning is the original meaning of the word benevolence, and it is also the embodiment of the thought of loving benevolence advocated by Confucianism.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the rise and development of Confucianism, the word benevolence was gradually given more meanings. One of the most important meanings is love. During this period, the word benevolence was widely used to express love and respect for others. In addition, benevolence is also interpreted as justice, morality, truth and other meanings, and has become one of the core concepts of Confucianism.
By the Han Dynasty, the word benevolence was gradually endowed with more political and social significance. Confucianism became the orthodox thought of the society in the Han Dynasty, and benevolent governance became one of the important ideas for rulers to govern society. During this period, the word "benevolence" was also interpreted as the meaning of rule by virtue, harmony and harmony, and became an important ideological basis for social governance and social construction.
In modern Chinese, the meaning of benevolence has gone far beyond its original meaning. It is widely used to express the meaning of morality, emotion, humanity and interpersonal relationship. For example, benevolence is concern and respect for others, kindness is tolerance and charity for others, benevolence is the pursuit and maintenance of justice, and so on.
Evolution of Chinese characters:
The evolution of Chinese characters can be traced back to Oracle Bone Inscriptions in the Shang Dynasty in14th century BC. After many changes, such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, inscriptions on bronze in Zhou Dynasty, characters in Warring States, seal script in Qin Dynasty, official script in Han Dynasty, regular script in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, cursive script, etc., it has developed into a unique art form, bearing rich cultural connotation and aesthetic value.
The original Chinese character was Oracle Bone Inscriptions, which was mainly written on tortoise shells and animal bones. Due to the age, these characters have become very mysterious, and many symbols cannot be interpreted by modern people. With the passage of time, Chinese characters are constantly evolving and developing, from Oracle Bone Inscriptions to bronze inscriptions, to seal script and official script, and gradually become easy to learn and clear.
After Qin Shihuang unified China, he began to popularize Xiao Zhuan, which was more standardized and unified in strokes and structure. During the Han Dynasty, official script became the main writing form, which was famous for its unique artistic style and momentum. With the passage of time, official script gradually evolved into regular script, running script and cursive script.
Today, Chinese characters have become one of the representatives of China culture, which has not only been widely inherited and developed at home, but also been paid more and more attention and studied internationally.