Iconicity and Chinese Characters: The Ideographic Nature of Pictograph-Based Characters Keywords: iconicity, ideograph, ideographic, Chinese characters,

etymology, Lawrence J. Howell In a previous essay I proposed that Chinese characters are ideographic (in distinction to being ideographs). The present essay describes the ideographic nature of characters that originated in pictographs. It also presents examples of compound characters built upon them. First, a repeat of three paragraphs outlining the types of characters. A handful of characters have traditionally been regarded as ideographs: They were created to represent ideas or concepts. One such example is , the original sense of which was a supreme god unifying heaven and earth. Two others would be and , the earliest forms of which suggested the meanings above and below, respectively by depicting one line above (or below) another. Several hundred among the existing characters were devised as pictographs, representations of objects such as specific animals, body parts, features of the natural world and so on. Examples include bird, ear and river. That leaves thousands (even tens of thousands) of compound characters. These characters combine two elements. One element, the signific, suggests the character's meaning alone. The other element, the phononoemaphore (= sound-concept bearer) suggests both the character's meaning and its pronunciation. For instance, combines the signific sun and the phononoemaphore , which was originally a tree with a diminutive, curved, and dimly visible branch on top. In , suggests dim (visiblity). The combination of elements originally indicated poor sunlight,

resulting in dim visibility. Current meanings of this character include dark and conceal. Turning our attention to the pictographic characters, we'll start with the three noted above: bird, ear and river. It is important to recall that all characters have pronunciations. The earliest pronunciations that can be reconstructed with a certain degree of confidence provide important clues about how each pictograph was originally conceived. That is, is not simply a pictorial representation of a bird, of an ear and of a river. There are larger ideas behind each pictograph. was conceived of not as a generic bird, but specifically as one with a long, curved and rising tail. is not simply an organ of hearing; it is a supple object clinging to the side of the head. is not just a waterway, but a curved object stretching between and connecting two points. How are we able to pinpoint these meanings so precisely? Linguistically, by comparing terms that were homonymic in the early stages of the Han language. Conceptually, by sifting through these terms to extract what it is they have in common. Let's look at , and in the context of other terms that are phonologically and conceptually close. The characters are followed by the Old Chinese readings offered by Axel Schuessler in his Minimal Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese: A Companion to Grammata Serica Recensa. The numbers pertain to the classification scheme to which Schuessler has made slight modifications from Bernhard Karlgren's system. Note that still earlier pronunciations of the terms in each group were likely closer than what we find here.

Concept: Curved and vertical dh 10-16 Food stand dh 10-17 Two persons in combat to 10-19 Lamp stand, a stationary object ti 13-25 Bird with a long, curved and rising tail ju; ju 13-34 Long-necked, rounded alcohol container ju 13-36 Long-necked, rounded alcohol container dziu 13-36 Long-necked, rounded alcohol container lhu 13-38 (Tubular) neck running between head and trunk truk 14-8 (Rigid, tubular) bamboo tiuk 17-3 Suspended vine diauk 17-5 Raise a curved spoon/ladle Supple/soft objects sna 3-42 Soft, yielding sack in which goods are placed n 4-40 Supple ear clinging to the side of the head n 4-41 Soft, droopy beard / ns; nts 21-27 Knife pressed into soft wood in carving it nit 29-26 The sun, the heat of which softens objects and/or reduces them in size / nns 33-20 Supple/flexible blade nm 38-25 Spool encompassed by soft threads Curved object stretching between and connecting two points kns ! 25-3 Pierce rounded seashells, which adhere closely in being strung together krns 25-9 Boards pierced by elliptical connecting rods gwn 32-5 Tip of a twisted thread stretched between and linking two points k-hlun ! 34-20 River boring through the earth between two points

Via a similar comparison process we can deduce how other objects and phenomena were originally conceived. Here is a short list of examples.

Character/Original Signification

Larger Concept

Related/Original Signification Long desk; Frame of a vehicle; Door (frame); Large/great framing tool, with arms at distant ends; Tripod cooking vessel containing a square partition

Square or Square/rectangular rectangular winnow objects that frame/are framed

Neatly aligned bones of the spinal column

Rows of like objects Rippling muscles of a powerful arm; Linked beads of raindrops; Aligned pairs of arms on both sides of a measuring device Dancing figure with long, concealing sleeves; Fruits of grain (rice), concealed in husks/hulls; Cover an object, obscuring it; Dish, plate or bowl covered by a lid

The sun, as seen Covered and thus from ground level, concealed concealed by vegetation Supple female

Supple/soft objects Supple ear clinging to the side of the head; / Soft, droopy beard; Put goods in a soft, yielding sack; Seal (pressed into soft clay) Spread/expose an animal hide on the ground for drying in the sun; Alcohol container with a bulging middle; Spread the arms to signify refusal/negation; Curls of peeled bamboo scattered in being pared Rocks piled to cut off a stream; Chop/cut wood with an ax-like implement, creating piles of shavings; / Pile of slender threads; Figurative pile of children/offspring Small, curved boat; Curved boat; Circulate an enclosed field of grain plants; Curved cracks splitting over the surface of bones/shells in divination rites

Cracks spreading Objects that curve over shells/bones in in spreading a divination rite

Slender pile of objects

Profusion of small/slender objects, creating a pile Curved and horizontal

Curved ladle

A second chart suggests how characters deriving in pictographs are also conceptually related to compound characters built upon them.

Conceptually Common Concept Related PictographBased Characters Square/rectangular objects that frame/are framed

Conceptually Related Compound Characters, with Original Significations Square, earthen foundation; (Wooden) desk; Storehouse for covering vehicles; Door of a cage; Carpenter's square; Earthen partition/barrier

Rows of like objects Timber aligned in support of rafters at the eaves; Rippling muscles of the ribs; Latticework; Two-wheeled vehicle Covered and thus concealed Desert, where water sources are concealed; Luxuriant/overgrown vegetation that covers/conceals; Stray off course on account of obscure visibility; Cover blocking the entry of sunlight; Fill a dish with food

Supple/soft objects Soft rice cake; Fetus clinging to the womb; Tender, luxuriant plant life; Put inside a storehouse; Seal Objects that curve in spreading Tree with cracks in its bark; Explosion that exposes objects; Abundant/numerous spokes radiating from a hub; Spread word of refusal/negation/denial; Pare/strip Pile/heap of unpalatable rice; Pile earth to cut off the flow of a river; Slice then preserve vegetables in vinegar; Slender (silk) threads; Plum (produced in voluminous quantity) Measure out grain by ladling it; Curved and knotted string/cord; Remove wood from a log to create a dugout canoe; Circulate, completing one cycle; Split away from the ground in leaping

Profusion of small/slender objects, creating a pile Curved and horizontal

The concepts presented in this essay belong to larger conceptual groups. The latter groups are the topic of a separate article. By maintaining the distinction between form and function we discern that Chinese characters are ideographic though they are not ideographs. This applies to characters that are pictographic in origin and to compound characters as well. Lawrence J. Howell 10 April 2012 Kanji Networks