Chinese Characters

Fülszöveg

CHINESE CHARACTERS
Their Origin, Etymology, History, Classification and Signification. A Thorough Study from Chinese Documents.
By Dr. L. Wieger, S. J.
For at least 2,000 years Chinese scholaís have conducted researches into their writing system. In addition to the study of origins and the processes by which new characters are created, Chinese scholarship has been especially interested in creating a rational classification of characters for dictionary use, which would show historical relationships, idea relationships, and phonetic features. This present volume, by one of the most profound Sinologists of the century, summarizes such traditional Chinese scholarship and carries researches still farther into the analysis of the writing system.
The heart of this book is a series of etymological lessons, in which approxi-mately 2300 Chinese characters are classified according to 224 "primitives" upon which they are based. For each character Father Wieger gives the modern form, its... Tovább

Fülszöveg

CHINESE CHARACTERS
Their Origin, Etymology, History, Classification and Signification. A Thorough Study from Chinese Documents.
By Dr. L. Wieger, S. J.
For at least 2,000 years Chinese scholaís have conducted researches into their writing system. In addition to the study of origins and the processes by which new characters are created, Chinese scholarship has been especially interested in creating a rational classification of characters for dictionary use, which would show historical relationships, idea relationships, and phonetic features. This present volume, by one of the most profound Sinologists of the century, summarizes such traditional Chinese scholarship and carries researches still farther into the analysis of the writing system.
The heart of this book is a series of etymological lessons, in which approxi-mately 2300 Chinese characters are classified 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, variant forms, quotations of classical usage, and similar material. The explanations of sym-bolic content are particularly rich, and gather together the most important traditional explanations (especially the Shuo-wén of Hsü-shih) as well as the author's own researches.
To make his book more tiseful Father Wieger has alsó incorporated a tre-mendous 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, compris-ing 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. With this most extensive apparatus (which to our knowledge is not available in any other single volume in English) the student can locate any character he is likely to meet. Indeed, this supplementary material is so useful that it serves the purpose of a dictionary in its own right.
Recent archeological research has, for the most part, sustained the historical analyses of traditional Chinese scholarship and Father Wieger. For the student, however, more important than the historical and classificatory concerns of the book are the analyses of characters in semantic terms. In the Far East analysis of characters has long been taught in such terms, but unfortunately this very valuable mnemonic technique has been largely overlooked in the West. With Wieger's book, however, both teachers and students will find learning easier and more lasting when phonetic components are under-stood and the relationships are perceived between various characters, between originál forms and present forms, and between idea and symbol. Father Wieger's book is an indispensable aid to every student of Chinese and Japanese.
Unabridged reprinting of 2nd (1927) edition. Translated by L. Davrout, S.J. Appendix on archaic bronzé writing. 820pp. 6i/8 \9i/4. Paperbound.
A DOVER EDITION DESIGNED FOR YEARS OF USE! We have made every effort to make this the best book possible. Our paper is opaque, with minimai show-through; it will not discolor or become brit-tle with age. Pages are sewn in signatures, in the method traditionally used for the best books, and will not drop out, as often happens with paperbacks held together with glue. Books open flat for easy reference. The binding will not crack or split. This is a permanent book. Vissza