| Chinese characters seem the most difficult | | | | six categories, namely pictogram, ideograph, |
| part for foreign friends to learn the Chinese | | | | logical aggregates, pictophonetic compounds, |
| language. In my opinion, the main reason for | | | | borrowing and associate transformation. |
| that may be Chinese characters look very | | | | However, the last twos are often omitted, for |
| different from their quarter parts in the | | | | the characters of these categories have been |
| Roman languages: each character represents | | | | created before but somehow borrowed to |
| not only the pronunciation, but a certain | | | | represent another meaning, or detached into |
| meaning. Many a complaint comes from that | | | | separate words. Generally, Chinese characters |
| Chinese characters are so unlike each other | | | | fall into four categories in view of their |
| that you have to learn them one by one, and | | | | origin.Pictograms (Xiang4 xing2 zi4) |
| there are so many to memory, and that when | | | | |
| encountering a new character, the previous | | | | Pictograms are the earliest characters to |
| knowledge of other ones helps little, you can | | | | create, and they usually reflect the shape of |
| neither pronounce it directly nor guess what | | | | physical objects. Examples include the sun, |
| it means. Actually, there really are some | | | | the moon, a woman, fire. From this |
| connections between Chinese characters, all | | | | picture-drawing method, the other character |
| composed in a defined way. You are unable to | | | | forming principles were subsequently |
| discover that probably because the numbers of | | | | developed. Over a long history, pictograms |
| the characters you know are too limited, or | | | | have evolved from irregular drawing into a |
| you didn't learn them in the Chinese | | | | definite form, most simplified by losing |
| perspective.Chinese characters are the | | | | certain strokes to make ease of writing. |
| writing system to record the Chinese | | | | Therefore, to see the actual picture of what |
| language. With a history as long as 8,000 | | | | it represents, you must have a lot of |
| years at least, it's perhaps the oldest | | | | imagination as well as knowledge of the |
| surviving writing system in the world. An old | | | | origin of the character and its evolution. |
| Chinese legend said that Chinese characters | | | | However, only a very small portion of Chinese |
| were invented by Cangjie, a historian | | | | characters falls into this category, not more |
| official under the legendary emperor, Huangdi | | | | than 5 percent.Ideograph (Zhi3 shi4 zi4) |
| in 2600 BC. Obviously, the fable cannot | | | | |
| possibly be true, for the creation of a great | | | | Also called a simple indicative, Ideograph |
| writing system made of so many characters are | | | | usually describes an abstract concept. It's a |
| such a huge project, too huge to be one | | | | combination of indicators, or adds an |
| single person's accomplishment. But perhaps | | | | indicator to a pictograph. For example, a |
| Cangjie really made some contributions in the | | | | short horizontal bar on top of a circular arc |
| existing Chinese writing system: instead of | | | | represents an idea of up or on top of. |
| the inventor, he might be a collector and | | | | Another example: placing an indicative |
| collator of scattered Chinese characters in | | | | horizontal bar at the lower part of a |
| ancient China. Thanks to many a contributor | | | | pictogram for wood, makes an ideograph for |
| like Cangjie and the common people using and | | | | "root". Like pictograms, the number of this |
| spreading characters, a complete | | | | category is also small, less than 2 |
| well-developed writing system had finally | | | | percent.Logical aggregates (Hui4 yi4 zi1) |
| come to birth. The indisputably evidence is | | | | |
| Chinese character inscriptions found on | | | | It is a combination of pictograms to |
| turtle shells dating back to the Shang | | | | represent a meaning, rather like telling a |
| dynasty (1766-1123 BC), formally called | | | | little story. A pictograph for person on the |
| Oracle bone script. Of the 4,600 known Oracle | | | | left with a pictogram for wood on the right |
| bone logographs, about 1,000 can be | | | | makes a aggregate for "rest". This |
| identified with later Chinese characters, and | | | | story-telling formation is relatively easier |
| the other unidentifiable ones are mostly the | | | | to learn, yet most of aggregates have been |
| names of people, places or clans.In view of | | | | reformed into phonetic compounds, or just |
| formation, written Chinese is a script of | | | | replaced by them.Pictophonetic compounds |
| ideograms. Xu Shen, in the Eastern Han | | | | (Xing2 sheng1 zi4) |
| Dynasty (121 AD), was a distinguished scholar | | | | |
| who had attained unparalleled fame for his | | | | Also called semantic-phonetic compounds, |
| etymological dictionary entitled Shuo Wen Jie | | | | just as the name implies, it combines a |
| Zi, whose literal meaning is "explaining | | | | semantic element with a phonetic element, |
| written language and parsing words". In Shuo | | | | taking the meaning from one and the phonetics |
| wen, Chinese characters are classified into | | | | from the other. |