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THE ALPHABET (2) The chih shih, indicative or self-explanatory characters (Fig. 57): abstract ideas are represented by signs borrowed from other words related to them in meaning, or by the representation of the gesture usually accompanying the abstract idea in question; a handicraft for instance is represented by the tool commonly employed in the trade in question.
Not many characters belong to this class. It contains the simplest numerals, such as "one," "two," "three," represented by one, two or three lines; the words shang, "above," and hsia, "below," represented by a dot or a short line drawn above or below a longer line. "To speak," yên, is represented by the sketch of a "mouth" with a "tongue" in it; tan, "dawn," but also "day," is represented by the "sun" above the "horizon," and hsi, "evening," by a pale moon, that is by the "moon" Ancient Modern
Ancient Modern
sure"
a
"middle"
one
lola,
"border, limit,
frontier"
Fig. 57 Chih shik symbols
without its internal line. Similar devices were employed for writing "half" or "middle," "square" or "zone," "limit" or "border" or "frontier (Fig. 57). A "sprout" proceeding out of the "ground" stood for "to be born," "to bear" or "to begin," and so forth.
(3) Hui 1 (Fig. 58) logical aggregates or suggestive compounds which "assemble ideas" (mui i); they are based on a natural association of ideas, their significance being indicated by their component parts. The characters belonging to this class may be called "ideographic combinations" (W. P. Yetts), or simply "ideograms." On the whole, abstract ideas are here represented by characters consisting of two or more simple figures put together.
These simple figures may be identical (for instance, two figures "woman" indicate "quarrel"; three such figures, "intrigue": two figures "east," indicate "everywhere"); or different (e.g., "to hear" and "door" indicate to listen": "man" and "word" ="sincere, true"). This is a very interesting class, and the Shuo-zvên contains 1.167 such characters, China
