Essays on Writing and Language in Honor - Sino-Platonic Papers

Sino-Plato~zic Papers, 27 (August 3 1, 199 1)
writing. Pure, idea writing is very rare, often considered as non-existing.
('0 Chinese Writing Sys tem.
Chinese writing system is divided into ancient and modern. In ancient
Chinese writinq, pictographic, ideographic and even phonetic symbols all
belong to the category of picture symbols in broader sense, not possible to
be deromposed into strokes. Roughly speaking, from the time of Qinshihuang,
shell-and-bone style and hig and small seal styles were changed to clerk and
regular styles. This is a change from picture symbol form to character symbol
form. Pre-Qin writings used picture symbols, while post-@in writinqs hegan to
USP chararier symbols. In respect to speech segment, Chicese characters
mostly represented word qegments in classic Chiaese for most words were mono-
syl labjc by that time. It is different in modern Chinese, for most words have
become polysyllabic, and Chinese characters mostly become syllabic and not
logographic. A recent strtdy by the author reveals that among 1000 currenlly
used characters, there are about one third word( free)-characters and two
thirds syllable(bound)-characters. So modern Chinese writing is a system of
word,/syllatle scrip! in idea.,#sound writing. There is neither picture nor
alphabet in formal modern Chinese writing. The Chinese alphabet (Sound-
Notatins Symbol or Pinyin Alphabet) is not a part of formal writing,
(4) Japanese Writing System
Chinese characters were introduced to Japan after they were ripen in
chnng ing from picture symbol form to character symbol form. Japanese wri t ing
system is divided into two periods: !he period of character and the period of
character/alphahet. so far as symbol form is concerned. Japan used Chinese
classic written speech for about 500 years, and in .the later 1000 years tried
to write Japanese speech with Chinese characters, This again is divided into
two pcriods. First, Chinese characters were used in their original forms to
write Japanese word, root of word and inflexion of word. Chinese characters
were original ly a1 1 eonosyl labic symbols. For writing Japanese speech, they
were pronounced as polysyllabic symbols. For inflexion of word. $hey became
monosvl labic alphabet symbols called Manyo Gana. Later, Manyrr Gana were
simplified to he modern kana alphabet of pure syllabic nature. But up to
today, the official Japanese writing is a mixed script of characters and kana
syllabary. not purely syllabic alphabet. Modern Japanese is word,/syllablc
writing, not pure syllable writing as often calledmistakenlg by people. In
complete term, Japanese wri t ing is of charactar./alphabet ic symbol farm, word/
syllable speech segment, and idea-narrating..sound-natating expressing mode.
. In short, it is idea/sound wri t ing.