The Origin and Development of Chinese Character
中国汉字的起源与流变

This course will teach the origin and evolution of Chinese characters from four parts. 1. The definition of character. This part introduces the definition of characters from the world's ancient characters, and explains the close relationship between pictures, symbols and characters. 2. The origin of Chinese characters. From the nine representative theories on the origin of Chinese characters, this part explains four theories in detail: Knot Rope Theory, theory of Cangjie Creating Characters, theory of Oracle Bone inscriptions and theory of Tao Wen. In addition, this part briefly comments the theory of Confucius Creating Characters. 3.Character formation Rules. This part mainly introduces Eastern Han Dynasty scholar Xu Shen’s theory of Six Categories of Chinese Characters, as well as the criticism it received by scholars of the later generations. 4. The evolution of Chinese characters. This part explains in detail the evolution history of Chinese characters and the characteristics of Chinese characters from two periods: ancient writing period from Shang Dynasty to Qin Dynasty, and clerical and regular script since the Han Dynasty. Welcome to the world of Chinese character, and welcome to the world of Chinese culture.
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