中国文化系列丛书：中国文化·汉字（英文版）

　　Using Pictures to Express Ideas
　　Drawings are a direct and convenient way to express simple ideas. Early man therefore used drawings to communicate and it was only after a long period of history had passed that drawings evolved into more abstract and symbolic characters that could be read and enunciated as speech.
　　Rock Paintings for Recording Events
　　Long before the invention of characters, early human societies in both the East and West recorded events using drawings that they engraved or painted on rocks. These have become known as the rock paintings. Rock paintings were the earliest method humans used to record events and those that have been preserved are the oldest paintings in existence. Rock paintings represented the greatest artistic achievements of Stone Age society. So far, rock paintings have been discovered in more than 120 countries and regions all around the world. Examples include the famous cave paintings in Altamira in Spain and in Lascaux in France. Rock paintings have also been found in many places of China. They all vividly bring to life the mysterious, primitive world of some of our earliest ancestors. Surprisingly, some rock paintings from 10,000 years ago show an extremely high level of artistry. Many of the rock paintings found in China include patterns and symbols, some of which resemble pictographic characters used in later times.
　　Despite their artistic merit, rock paintings expressed a narrow range of meanings that had no direct relation to language and had no spoken equivalent. They were not symbols that were used to widely spread information, so they cannot be thought of in the same way as written characters. That said, rock paintings did illustrate natural things and human activities and expressed meaning visually. In other words they were used as a way of recording events. It has been confirmed that rock paintings did develop to represent ideas (e.g. people hunting animals) and that, although were not themselves characters, they did play a role in the creation of later characters, especially pictographs. Thus, we can say that Chinese rock paintings were the earliest ancestors of Han characters.
　　Pottery Paintings for Recording Events
　　During the Neolithic Age, the pottery of some ancient Eastern and Western civilizations was decorated with simple and unvarnished paintings. These pots were some of the earliest items created by human using natural products and are a key symbol of the Neolithic Age.
　　The Yangshao Culture existed some 6,000 years ago. During this era, earthenware was produced in the area drained by the Yellow River. This pottery was decorated with drawings and patterns. These drawings and patterns were simple, unvarnished, vivid and interesting. Many of those that have survived show that the people who made them were skilled painters with a strong sense of design. As the drawings on this type of earthenware were colored in black, red and white, these pottery items have become known as “painted pottery”. They are the most numerous and most characteristic cultural product from the period of the Yangshao Culture. The Yangshao Culture is therefore often referred to as the “culture of painted pottery”.
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　　韩鉴堂，天津市人。天津师范大学对外汉语教师。1985年起从事对外汉语言文化教学和研究工作，1994年受国家教委委派赴蒙古国乌兰巴托国立大学讲学3年。出版著作：《中国文化》（1994）、《走近中国传统艺术》（2001）、《汉字文化图说》（2005）、《中国汉字》（2009）、《图说殷墟甲骨文》（2009）、《汉字文化》（2010）。在书籍报刊上发表插图数百幅；版画作品三次入选天津市美术作品展览；画像砖版画作品在中国美术馆展出。

Han Jiantang, a native of Tianjin and a TCSL (Teaching Chinese as Second Language) teacher at Tianjin Normal University, began to engage in TCSL education and research in 1985, and was dispatched by the State Education Commission in 1994 to give lectures at Mongolian National University, Ulaanbaatar for three years. Publications: China’s Cultural Heritage (1994), Approaching Traditional Chinese Art (2001), The Culture of Chinese Characters – With Illustrations by Pictures (2005), Inscriptions on Bones and Tortoise Shells from the Yin Ruins – With Illustrations by Pictures (2009) and The Culture of Chinese Characters (2010). Hundreds of his illustrations were published in books, newspapers and periodicals; his prints were displayed at three artwork exhibitions in Tianjin; his brick-relief prints were exhibited at the National Art Museum of China.

　丛书从源远流长的中国文化中，选取有代表性的10个领域和专题进行介绍，包括哲学思想、文学、艺术、汉字、节日、饮食、工艺、服饰、建筑、医药等10分册。通过流畅、轻松的文字和精美的图片，使海内外广大读者在愉快的阅读体验中，领略中国文化的丰富多彩、博大精深。整个系列中的每种图书既各自独立，综合起来又在精心搭就的框架下，勾勒出中国文化的总体面貌。

　汉字是方块形的表意体系的文字，也是世界上活着的古文字。汉字的存在，是人类文明史上的一个奇迹。今天，汉字仍在不断发展中。这种世界上使用人口多的古老文字，正朝气蓬勃地走向未来。

The “Chinese Culture” book series includes ten books on philosophical thoughts, literature, art, Chinese characters, festivals, foods and drinks, crafts, clothes, architecture and medicine. Each book introduces the history of a field or theme and the same origin of Chinese culture reflected by it, pursues its existence and manifestation in Chinese people’s life today, tells those “unknown stories” through smooth and relaxing words and exquisite pictures, reveals Chinese people’s thinking habits, behavioral modes, traditional concepts and social life, and helps readers understand “what Chinese people are like and what their thinking modes and living customs are.”

Chinese characters are square-shaped ideograms and the only ancient language alive in the world. The existence of Chinese characters is a miracle in the human civilization history. Today, Chinese characters are still developing. This ancient language used by most people in the world is embracing the future vigorously.

Contents
Preface
The Dawn of Civlization
The Graphic Characters of
the River Civilization
The Fate of the Graphic Characters of the River
Civilization
Using Pictures to Express Ideas
The Origin of Han Characters
Legends from Ancient Times
Discovering the Origins of Han Characters
The Evolution of Han Characters
Ancient Drawing-like Characters
The Development of Modern Characters
The Main Aspects of the Development of Han Characters
The Formation of Han Characters
The Development of the “Six Categories”
How Han Characters were Formed
The Form and Structure of Modern Han Characters
The Square Form of Han Characters
The Mystery of Modern Han Characters
Pictographic Elements in Modern Han Characters
The Use of Pictographic Elements in Modern Han Characters
Han Characters and the Chinese Language
Why Han Characters are Well Suited to the Chinese Language
Han Characters Are the Basic Structural Units of the Chinese Language
The Word-making Ability of Han Characters
Han Characters Bridge the Gap Between Dialects and Eras
The “Sinosphere”
Chinese History Told in Han Characters
China in Ancient Times
China’s Ancient Civilization Shown Through Han Characters
The Art of Han Characters
The Calligraphic Art of Han Characters
Famous Calligraphic Treasures
Commercial-art Han Characters
The Seal Art of Han Characters
Stepping into the Information Age
The Computerization of Han Characters
Fears and Worries for Han Characters in the Information Age