1、Unit 6 Chinese Characters: Poetic Symbolsp Lead-inp Text studyp ExercisesContentLead-inLead-inp Introductionp Symbols of Sentimentp Graceful Olympic SymbolsText studyIntroductionAdditional Info According to legend, Chinese characters were invented by Cangjie (倉頡), a bureaucrat under the legendary Ye

2、llow Emperor. The earliest surviving examples of writing in China are inscriptions on so-called “oracle bones”, tortoiseshells and ox scapulae (肩胛骨) used for divination (占卜), dating from around 1200 BC in the late Shang dynasty. Additional Info甲骨文甲骨文An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province

3、IntroductionUnificationAdditional Info Seal script, which had evolved slowly in the state of Qin during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, became standardized and adopted as the formal script for all of China in the Qin Dynasty.IntroductionSimplificationAdditional Info Although most often associated with the

4、 Peoples Republic of China, character simplification predates the 1949 communist victory. Examples:愛愛鄉鄉義義導導親親Introduction The number of Chinese language learners across the world has been on the rise in recent years. Some learners may experience the gratification of discovering historical and cultur

5、al elements in the process.IntroductionSymbols of SentimentNote:Ezra Pound: 埃茲拉龐德。美國詩人、翻譯家、評論家、意象派詩歌代表人物，曾幫助TSEliot，Joyce和Hemingway 手發表早期作品，對英美現代文學發展作出重要貢獻。 Pounds poetic allusions (影射) are not without basis. For example: Symbols of SentimentCharacterMeaning of the partsMeaning of the character 旦日：t

6、he sun 一：the horizon Symbols of SentimentSymbols of SentimentSymbols of SentimentSymbols of SentimentSymbols of SentimentSymbols of SentimentGraceful Olympic SymbolsGraceful Olympic SymbolsChanges of Chinese charactersGraceful Olympic SymbolsAdditional Info甲骨文【商】金文【周】(大篆) 【秦】小篆【秦】 隸書【漢】 草書【唐】、 楷書【唐】

7、、 行書【唐】 At its beginning, Chinese included language pictures, which became fewer and fewer during the period of the oracle-bone (甲骨) inscriptions (銘文). A “seal character” is a type of Chinese calligraphy often carved on seals.Graceful Olympic Symbols The seal characters feature smoother and rhythmic

8、 lines, and thus have a more appealing appearance. There are two types of seal characters: the dazhuan, or greater seal, and the xiaozhuan, or lesser seal. Graceful Olympic Symbols The greater seal is also known as bronze inscription, because it was often used for carving inscriptions on bronzeware

9、in ancient times. The lesser seal was the script the First Emperor of Qin (r. 246-210 BC) adopted for the whole country, when he united China in 221 BC. Graceful Olympic SymbolsLook at the picture, can you find any difference between greater seal and lesser seal in the following picture? Whats it?Co

10、mpared to greater seal, lesser seal is more simplified.Graceful Olympic SymbolsExamples of Olympic symbols The upper part is a symbol for “person”, while the lower part is a symbol for “water”. The swimmer strokes the water with vigor, imparting a strong sense of motion. If we take a look at the sea

11、l character for “walk”, we make out a clear connection between the Olympic symbol and the character: the upper part for “swinging arms” and the lower part for “walking legs”. The gentle and flowing lines in the lower part of the Olympic symbol are similar to the seal character for “water”. Graceful

12、Olympic Symbols This symbol is aptly taken from the seal character for “dance”. The dancer slightly tilts (使傾側) his head to one side, leans his body forward, swings his arms back and forth, and lifts his legs in a running fashion. The symbol, athletic yet graceful, has also been adopted for the “tri

13、athlon (鐵人三項)” and “football”.Graceful Olympic SymbolsExercisesp Comprehensionp Communicationp ApplicationComprehensionl. Skimming and ScanningGo through the passage quickly and judge whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the passage._1) Every Chinese character has

14、a pictographic symbol to show its meaning(s)._2) The character旦 is mentioned to show that Chinese characters are easy to recognize, and even foreigners can understand them through their pictographic symbols._3) In Paragraph 4, several characters containing El as an element are given as examples to i

15、llustrate that such characters relate to the rising or setting of the sun._4) The 2008 0lympic symbols were adopted mainly to make it easier for the foreigners to understand their meanings._5) The 2008 0lympic symbols were designed to represent the beauty of seal characters .ComprehensionII. Careful

16、 Reading1. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each of the following questions.1) Which of the following is irrelevant to the pictographic symbols of Chinese characters? _A. Aspiration. B. Imagination.C. Creativity.D. Allusion.Comprehension2) Which of the following statements is

17、 true of the name of Fudan University? _A. The characters both stand for the sun rising on the horizon.B. The name is taken from a Chinese classical poem.C. The name encourages the students to get up early in the morning.D. The characters are intended to tell the students to make progress day by day

18、.Comprehension3) Which of the following languages mostly consists of language pictures? _A. Mandarin Chinese. B. Hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt.C. Oracle-bone inscription. D. Seal characters.4) The symbol for “swimming” is closest to _.A. oracle-bone inscriptionB. Mandarin ChineseC. seal characters D.

19、 none of the aboveComprehension5) The symbol for “athletics” contains the ingredients of _.A. dancing and runningB. running and swinging C. dancing and swinging D. triathlon and footballComprehension2. Find from the passage the English interpretations of the following characters containing 日 as an e

20、lement.CharactersInterpretations1）旦2）朝3）暮4）明the sun rising on the horizonthe morning sun rising and shining over the flowing riverthe sun setting into a forestthe moon shining through the windowComprehensionThe following are three groups of Chinese characters belonging to different word formations. Study the