The Origin And The Development Of The Chinese Writing System

Author : William G. Boltz
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : UVA:X002672639

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The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System by William G. Boltz Pdf

Originally published in 1994 (hardcover now out of print), this volume has been reprinted in a new paperback format that will make it more attractive and affordable for use in the classroom. The work sketches with extraordinary precision the history of the Chinese writing system from the late Shang (ca. 1200 B.C.) when Chinese characters are first in evidence down to the script's standardization and codification a millennium later in the Ch'in and Han (221 B.C.-A.D. 220). Prof. Boltz takes in part a comparative approach to the origin and early structure and development of Chinese writing, suggesting that in its general principles the process was matched pari passu by the way writing first arose in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and among the Mayas (for example, that the Chinese script records the sounds of words, not ideas). The author also examines the question of why the Chinese script never became alphabetic, in spite of hints of such tendencies in the third and second centuries B.C. Kidder Smith, of Bowdoin College, said of the original publication: "... this book will be highly valued by anyone concerned with the relationships of language to writing, and should become the point of reference for all discussions of these questions as they pertain to ancient Chinese" (Religious Studies Review Vol. 21, No. 4, October 1995).

Author : William G. Boltz
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 205 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : Chinese characters
ISBN : 0940490188

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The Origin and the Development of the Chinese Writing System by William G. Boltz Pdf

Author : Kihoon Lee
Publisher : Algora Publishing
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2018-07-01
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781628943238

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The Origin of Chinese Characters by Kihoon Lee Pdf

Author : L‚on Wieger
Publisher : Courier Corporation
Page : 834 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 1965-01-01
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9780486213217

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Chinese Characters by L‚on Wieger Pdf

The heart of this book is a series of etymological lessons, in which approximately 2300 Chinese characters are classidied according to 224 'primitives' upon which they are based. For each character Father Wieger gives the modern form, its archaic form, literary pronunciation (Wade system), explanations of origin, semantic content of component parts, related characters, variants forms, quotations of classical usage, and similar material. To make his book more useful Father Wieger has also incorporated a tremendous number of reading aids for the student - listings of the primitives; an index of the characters analyzed, arranged by number of strokes; a listing of 858 phonetic elements, arranged by number of strokes; a listing of about 10,000 characters by phonetic element; a lexicon by transliteration, comprising about 7,000 characters; and a lexicon of about 10,000 characters according to the customary modern system of 214 radicals devised by K'ang-hsi.

Author : Thomas S. Mullaney
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 501 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2018-10-09
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9780262536103

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The Chinese Typewriter by Thomas S. Mullaney Pdf

How Chinese characters triumphed over the QWERTY keyboard and laid the foundation for China's information technology successes today. Chinese writing is character based, the one major world script that is neither alphabetic nor syllabic. Through the years, the Chinese written language encountered presumed alphabetic universalism in the form of Morse Code, Braille, stenography, Linotype, punch cards, word processing, and other systems developed with the Latin alphabet in mind. This book is about those encounters—in particular thousands of Chinese characters versus the typewriter and its QWERTY keyboard. Thomas Mullaney describes a fascinating series of experiments, prototypes, failures, and successes in the century-long quest for a workable Chinese typewriter. The earliest Chinese typewriters, Mullaney tells us, were figments of popular imagination, sensational accounts of twelve-foot keyboards with 5,000 keys. One of the first Chinese typewriters actually constructed was invented by a Christian missionary, who organized characters by common usage (but promoted the less-common characters for “Jesus" to the common usage level). Later came typewriters manufactured for use in Chinese offices, and typewriting schools that turned out trained “typewriter girls” and “typewriter boys.” Still later was the “Double Pigeon” typewriter produced by the Shanghai Calculator and Typewriter Factory, the typewriter of choice under Mao. Clerks and secretaries in this era experimented with alternative ways of organizing characters on their tray beds, inventing an input method that was the first instance of “predictive text.” Today, after more than a century of resistance against the alphabetic, not only have Chinese characters prevailed, they form the linguistic substrate of the vibrant world of Chinese information technology. The Chinese Typewriter, not just an “object history” but grappling with broad questions of technological change and global communication, shows how this happened. A Study of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute Columbia University

Author : Thomas O. Höllmann
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 102 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2017-11-14
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780231543736

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Chinese Script by Thomas O. Höllmann Pdf

In this brisk and accessible history, sinologist Thomas O. Höllmann explains the development of the Chinese writing system and its importance in literature, religion, art, and other aspects of culture. Spanning the earliest epigraphs and oracle bones to writing and texting on computers and mobile phones today, Chinese Script is a wide-ranging and versatile introduction to the complexity and beauty of written text and calligraphy in the Chinese world. Höllmann delves into the origins of Chinese script and its social and political meanings across millennia of history. He recounts the social history of the writing system; written and printed texts; and the use of writing materials such as paper, silk, ink, brush, and printing techniques. The book sheds light on the changing role of literacy and education; the politics of orthographic reform; and the relationship of Chinese writing to non-Han Chinese languages and cultures. Höllmann explains the inherent complexity of Chinese script, demonstrating why written Chinese expresses meaning differently than oral language and the subtleties of the relationship between spoken word and written text. He explores calligraphy as an art, the early letter press, and other ways of visually representing Chinese languages. Chinese Script also provides handy illustrations of the concepts discussed, showing how ideographs function and ways to decipher them visually.

Author : Jing Tsu
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2022-01-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9780735214743

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Kingdom of Characters (Pulitzer Prize Finalist) by Jing Tsu Pdf

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 What does it take to reinvent a language? After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to leave them behind. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu argues that China’s most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: the century-long fight to make the formidable Chinese language accessible to the modern world of global trade and digital technology. Kingdom of Characters follows the bold innovators who reinvented the Chinese language, among them an exiled reformer who risked a death sentence to advocate for Mandarin as a national language, a Chinese-Muslim poet who laid the groundwork for Chairman Mao's phonetic writing system, and a computer engineer who devised input codes for Chinese characters on the lid of a teacup from the floor of a jail cell. Without their advances, China might never have become the dominating force we know today. With larger-than-life characters and an unexpected perspective on the major events of China’s tumultuous twentieth century, Tsu reveals how language is both a technology to be perfected and a subtle, yet potent, power to be exercised and expanded.

Author : John DeFrancis
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
Page : 348 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 1986-03-01
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 0824810686

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The Chinese Language by John DeFrancis Pdf

"DeFrancis's book is first rate. It entertains. It teaches. It demystifies. It counteracts popular ignorance as well as sophisticated (cocktail party) ignorance. Who could ask for anything more? There is no other book like it. ... It is one of a kind, a first, and I would not only buy it but I would recommend it to friends and colleagues, many of whom are visiting China now and are adding 'two-week-expert' ignorance to the two kinds that existed before. This is a book for everyone." --Joshua A. Fishman, research professor of social sciences, Yeshiva University, New York "Professor De Francis has produced a work of great effectiveness that should appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It is at once instructive and entertaining. While being delighted by the flair of his novel approach, the reader will also be led to ponder on some of the most fundamental problems concerning the relations between written languages and spoken languages. Specifically, he will be served a variety of information on the languages of East Asia, not as dry pedantic facts, but as appealing tidbits that whet the intellectual appetite. The expert will find much to reflect on in this book, for Professor DeFrancis takes nothing for granted." --William S.Y. Wang, professor of linguistics, University of California at Berkeley

Author : Hongyuan Dong
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 219 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2014-04-16
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781317743903

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A History of the Chinese Language by Hongyuan Dong Pdf

A History of the Chinese Language provides a comprehensive introduction to the historical development of the Chinese language from its proto Sino-Tibetan roots in prehistoric times to Modern Standard Chinese. Taking a highly accessible and balanced approach, it presents a chronological survey of the various stages of Chinese language development, covering crucial aspects such as phonology, syntax and semantics. Features include: Coverage of the key historical stages in Chinese language development, such as Old Chinese, Middle Chinese, Early Modern Chinese, Classical Chinese and Modern Standard Chinese Treatment of core linguistic aspects of the Chinese language including phonological changes, grammatical development, lexical evolution, vernacular writing, Chinese characters and Modern Chinese dialects Inclusion of many authentic Chinese legends and texts throughout the book, presented through a rigorous framework of linguistic analysis to help students to build up strong critical and evaluative skills and acquire valuable cultural knowledge Integration of materials from different disciplines, such as archaeology, anthropology, history and sociolinguistics, to highlight the cultural and social background of each period of the language Helpful appendices to aid students with no prior knowledge of linguistics or the Chinese language Companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/dong offering a wealth of supplementary resources such as additional exercises, answer keys and audio recordings of the sounds of Middle and Old Chinese. Written by a highly experienced instructor, A History of the Chinese Language will be an essential resource for beginning students of Chinese Language and Linguistics and for anyone interested in the history and culture of China.

Author : Joseph Edkins
Publisher : Kessinger Publishing
Page : 114 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2008-10
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1437043968

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The Evolution of the Chinese Language by Joseph Edkins Pdf

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Author : Michael Loewe,Edward L. Shaughnessy
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 1192 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 1999-03-13
Category : History
ISBN : 0521470307

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The Cambridge History of Ancient China by Michael Loewe,Edward L. Shaughnessy Pdf

The Cambridge History of Ancient China provides a survey of the institutional and cultural history of pre-imperial China.

Author : Steven Roger Fischer
Publisher : Reaktion Books
Page : 429 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-10
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781861895882

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A History of Writing by Steven Roger Fischer Pdf

From the earliest scratches on stone and bone to the languages of computers and the internet, A History of Writing offers an investigation into the origin and development of writing throughout the world. Illustrated with numerous examples, this book offers a global overview in a format that everyone can follow. Steven Roger Fischer also reveals his own discoveries made since the early 1980s, making it a useful reference for students and specialists as well as a delightful read for lovers of the written word everywhere.

Author : Paola Demattè
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 481 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2022-10-18
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9780197635766

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The Origins of Chinese Writing by Paola Demattè Pdf

This study explores the evidence for Chinese writing in the late Neolithic (3500-2000 BCE) and early Bronze Age (2000-1250 BCE) periods. Chinese writing is often said to have begun with little incubation during the late Shang period (c. 1300-1045 BCE) in the middle-lower Yellow River Valley area as a sudden independent invention. This explanation runs counter to evidence from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Mesoamerica that shows that independent developments of writing generally undergo a protracted evolution. It also ignores archaeological data from the Chinese Neolithic and early Bronze Age that reveals the existence of signs comparable to Shang characters. Paola Demattè takes this data into account to address the issue of what writing is, and when, why, and how it develops, by employing a theory of writing that does not privilege language as a prime mover. It focuses instead on visual systems of communication as well as ideological and socio-economic developments as key elements that promote the eventual development of writing. To understand the processes that led to primary developments of writing, The Origins of Chinese Writing draws from the latest research on the early writing systems of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Mesoamerica, and other forms of protowriting. The result is a novel and inclusive theoretical approach to the archaeological evidence, grammatological data, and textual sources, an approach that demonstrates that Chinese writing emerged out of a long process that began in the Late Neolithic and continued during the Early Bronze Age.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2024-06-29
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:949776769

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Oxford Bibliographies by Anonim Pdf

Author : Matthew Battles
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2015-07-27
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780393089516

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Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word by Matthew Battles Pdf

A profound, eloquent meditation on the history of writing, from Mesopotamia to multimedia. Why does writing exist? What does it mean to those who write? Born from the interplay of natural and cultural history, the seemingly magical act of writing has continually expanded our consciousness. Portrayed in mythology as either a gift from heroes or a curse from the gods, it has been used as both an instrument of power and a channel of the divine; a means of social bonding and of individual self-definition. Now, as the revolution once wrought by the printed word gives way to the digital age, many fear that the art of writing, and the nuanced thinking nurtured by writing, are under threat. But writing itself, despite striving for permanence, is always in the midst of growth and transfiguration. Celebrating the impulse to record, invent, and make one's mark, Matthew Battles reenchants the written word for all those susceptible to the power and beauty of writing in all of its forms.