(Oracle Bone Inscriptions)
(Shi Guwen)
(Zhong Dingwen)
Chinese characters were invented by ancient Han ancestors. After thousands of years of continuous improvement and innovation by the people of China, they have become the only highly developed characters widely used in the world.
Besides standard block letters, there are also running script and cursive script, running script between running script and running script, and running script between running script and cursive script. In calligraphy works, we can often see various font expressions such as true (regular script), line, grass, official script, seal script and Weibei.
In the process of the development and evolution of Chinese characters in China, there are also very wonderful combinations of Chinese characters. As the name implies, combining Chinese characters is to combine more than two Chinese characters into a meaningful word, such as the combined Chinese characters in the picture below.
(The compound word "justice")
The characters in the above picture are running script works composed of two Chinese characters "Zheng" and "Yi". The author skillfully borrows the three strokes in the lower half of the word "Zheng" as the first three strokes of the prefix "One", and the two words together are rigorous in structure and seamless, which is worthy of being a masterpiece.
The combination of Chinese characters is not what we usually call combined words. In order to analyze the structure of Chinese characters, we divide the words used in daily life into single words and combined words. Chinese characters with strokes as the direct unit are single words, which account for a small proportion of Chinese characters. It is a whole, which becomes a single stroke after segmentation and loses the meaning of Chinese characters.
Monographs are evolved from pictographs and pictures that refer to things, and are also the basis of combined characters. Most Chinese characters are composed of two or more independent Chinese characters.
(compound word "harmony between man and nature")
Although the combination of Chinese characters is also a combination word in form, as far as the function and meaning of Chinese characters are concerned, each combination word has a fixed structure and represents the established meaning. It is a writing unit with a specific pronunciation, while the combination of Chinese characters is a combination of words, phrases, idioms, auspicious words or auspicious words. The forms of expression can have different structural combinations according to the preferences of the creators, and a combined word cannot be marked with a pronunciation.
So, who first created synthetic characters?
Because the combination of Chinese characters is not the mainstream Chinese characters we usually use, it is more common among the people, so many people think that this wonderful and interesting non-mainstream cultural phenomenon comes from folk creation. However, this is not the case.
The earliest source of synthetic characters in China can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. When the monarch conveys orders or calls for troops, he usually combines several seal characters, engraves them on bamboo slips or wood chips to make runes, and then divides the bamboo slips or wood chips engraved with runes into two halves. When using them, each side holds half, and they are used together to verify the authenticity. In other words, the compound word was originally a token or voucher with the nature of "password" as a sovereign decree.
Taoist priests in the Han Dynasty used this technique to make symbolic seals, which were called "Wen Fu". Because Taoist symbols use synthetic characters, and symbols have always been considered to have the peculiar power to summon ghosts and gods and pacify them, people have also imitated them, combining auspicious words with auspicious words, and there has also been a method of winning money to pray for evil spirits.
(Ancient folk casting "the way to make money" to make money)
(Ancient folk casting "12,000 gold" won money)
After the Song Dynasty, synthetic characters were painted by Taoist priests and evolved into a form for people to express their good wishes. Until today, it is still deeply loved by people, and many folk calligraphy creators continue to innovate. The content of compound words has developed from Geely dialect to inspirational words, familiar idioms, poems or couplets, and the expressions are becoming more and more diverse.
(The word "Golden Fight Day" was cast in bronze in Qing Dynasty)
(compound word kuixing kicks the bucket)
(The combination word "A piece of ice is in the jade pot")
In ancient times, people mostly carved combined characters on utensils. Up to now, people mostly make couplets or calligraphy works. Flexible and diverse creative forms promote the spread and exchange of combined characters. More folk calligraphy lovers combine their daily life to create more complex, ingenious, beautifully structured, wide-ranging and lively and interesting figures, which are presented to people in the form of calligraphy works.
(compound word "dragon and phoenix are auspicious")
(The compound word "Four Seasons Peace")
(compound word "Chinese dream")
The power of folk innovation is enormous and endless. Look forward to more works that innovate Chinese character culture, place good wishes, reflect the new trend of the times and spread positive energy!
Chinese character (17) combination (2) combination (1)