Fun with chinese characters 3

Fun with chinese Characters

=——FUN WITH

CHINESE CHARACTERS

The Straits Times Collection (3)

Cartoonist: Tan Huay Peng

FEDERAL PUBLICATIONS

Singapore + Kuala Lumpur » Hong Kong

© 1983 Federal Publications (S) Pte Ltd Times Jurong

2 Jurong Port Road

PREFACE

Fun With Chinese Characters Volume 3 features another 140 characters which first appeared in the Straits Times Bilingual Page They trace systematically the evolution of Chinese characters from pictographs and ideographs, introducing radical elements and compounds with the appreciative and discerning eye of

wai

méng

yé ming ming yuan công xíng, hãng

dé

dé

ta hén jie

hou dai

gong

jia ban xié lao fan guảng

king; ruler

THREE horizontal planes (= ) repre-

senting heaven, man and earth, con-

nected by a vertical structure ( ! ),

form the character for king: = — the

one vested with power, between heav-

en and earth, to rule uprightly over

man Originally was a pictograph

of a string of jade beads ( $= ) which

only the royalty could afford It even-

tually became the symbol for king

FENG

the law the nobility

Guo wang -si hou wang zi

When the king dies, the prince will succeed to the throne

persons of royal lineage

= represents 3 pieces of jade strung

together as a symbol for king: =

The dot (+ ) was added to form =

(jade), distinguishing it from =

(king) Highly valued as a symbol of

excellence and purity, jade may be

found in its crude form, hidden in

rough stone Hence the saying: “Jade

which is not chiselled and polished is

not an article of beauty.”

FENG

This jade carving is not cheap

jade carving; jade sculpture the Jade Emperor (the Supreme Deity of Taoism)

as pure as jade and as clean as ice jade article

jade green; light bluish green

maize; corn

the Jade Hare — the moon jade hairpin

ary» g — (and), @ (mouth)

and (spear) @ therefore

means Zt people and weap-

ons within a boundary — a

country The simplified form

In only £ (jade, represent-

t king) within the boundary

[] ) to produce nation: fg] But

‹ king needs subjects as much

as subjects need food: “People

are the nation’s source; food is

the primary need of the people.”

pe gud chdn<z, made in our country Br guoji Xe international

# quo fã the law of the land EER quo ging k National Day

THE radical is £ (jade, gem)

contracted to £ The phonetic

» representing eyes ( 4 ) of man

(JU), means to see So $8, means

the sight of a sparkling gem, its

appearance at that very moment;

now Appearances may be reveal-

ing or deceptive According to the

saying: “Fine words and appear-

ance are seldom associated with

virtue.”

Pane

“ J† J7 |F iFM

HH2) — xiàn chăng:-.: scene (of an incident)

LEK — xiần chếngs:-: ready-made

contemporary age

Example:

th Đ#U H — 2 # 8 2

Ta lăn shang xian chủ yi sỉ xiầo rồng

A faint smile appeared on her face

xiần xiầng›s›: appearance (of things);

phenomenon now available; existing

now; at present; today

v= appear

discover

# originally was a_ village

made up of @ (fields) and +

(earth) The average length of one

side, about 600 metres, became a

measure of length: ¥ , a Chi-

nese mile ¥ is also the simpli-

fied form of Here the radi-

cal for clothes (4%) is split and

lined inside with the phonetic

HARE li chéng mileage; course of development

tt lí chéng bai milestone

Example:

a © i ¥ WW EH % -

Wi 2 lÏ miền chong măn váng quảng

The house is filled with sunshine

to a simpleton with principle.”

E (gem) is the radical, and the

phonetic & is made up of @

(field) and + (land) $¥ com-

pares the cutting of a gem to the

dividing of field and land, both

done according to fixed rules and

principles; hence the extended

meaning: reason, principle The old

saying highlights the importance

of a moral standard: “A man of

talent without principle is inferior

PENG

pay attention to;

show interest in

FH lita haircut; hairdressing

FHSS lihul understand; comprehend

FH fy =(lijié ~~ understand; comprehend

Example:

Wo yếu chong fén li you xiang xin

I have every reason to believe his words

##tt EBS FRAT 4K

EEE FEE

reason; ground; argument reason; intellect

with the flame rising above it It

symbolises a man who spreads light

— a lord or master To shed light,

the master himself needs the en-

lightening counsel: “If you suspect a

man, don’t employ him; if you em-

ploy a man, don’t suspect him.”

owner; master

` ` ` ` `

>[>|>|*#

Example:

KRM MW kw + 3 % Bi th °

Wo men ying gỗ zhu dong qu jê jn ta

We ought to take the initiative to befriend him

ZHU A (man) is combined with ® (master) to form 4% , meaning to

dwell In ancient days, the man (A_) was always master ( + ) of his 4+ live; dwelling; so the combination 4% suggests to dwell, to stay In

reside; modern times, however, some husbands still boss the house; others stay house the boss

Example:

th A BB oF IY Tel fe =F E LE TA

Ta da bù fén shi jian z3ä xuế xiao ?hù su

He stayed at the school most of the time

pleted, i.e., the components are :

assembled and the work finished :

However, the modern character,

classified under ~ (in), could be

interpreted as a jade ( % or £) -:

skilfully inlaid ( A), and so flaw- :

less and perfect: ® But

perfection is not always the

crucial thing: “Better an ị

imperfeet jade than a perfect

4 Eh quấn bù whole; complete; total; all jRj quan ja overall situation

17 quấnchăng the whole audience;

all those present

2£ quan ji complete works; collected works

= quan jing panorama; full view

quán miần overall; comprehensive

quấn niấn : annual; yearly

quan qiú ‹+:: the whole world quan tao complete set

&

QUAN _ recover from illness

THE radical ⁄” (originally J )

represents a sick patient lying down

(—~ ) ona bed ( ) The phonetic &

means finished or completed The

combination J& is based on the belief

of physicians that when a disease

(7 ) has run its full course (2), the

Example:

1h RR A Se He

Ta de bing hai méi you wan quấn quấn yi

He has not fully recovered from his illness

10

symbolising grains (4<) separated in the four quarters (+) by rice threshing Although the rice-bowl may represent an honest means of

(uncooked) living, “rice obtained by crookedness will not boil up into good food ”

+ mi fén rice-flour noodles; vermicelli

ARAL mi Ii grain of rice

FACE powder in China was

once made by grinding rice

into fine particles Hence the

ideograph: X neaning face

powder — from X (rice) and

3 (divide, grind) The radi-

cai 3X is a likeness of a rice

stalk and the phonetic 7 is a

picture of a knife severing an

object #7 now stands for any-

thing ground into powder

Bp 22 fén si vermicelli made from bean starch, etc

AK (rice) is the radical of this character

and 4 (green, pure) the phonetic Rice,

the only grain that grows in a padi field,

is never mixed with other grains, and so

signifies something pure & (green) is

also a symbol of purity; it is the colour

of vegetation, #} representing the al-

chemist’s stove and the growing plant

The two symbols of purity combine to

enforce the idea of refinement, essence

Xầ# jing cai ~ brilliant; splendid; wonderful | #24 jing shén spirit; mind; vigour; drive

*§% jing méi ©) exquisite; elegant Xổ Íngyề seminal fluid; semen

Example:

XX 76 HR HD BE BI 7 HE Be

“hè hud ping de đão ké hồn jing zhi

The carvings on this vase are exquisite

13

^+%, represents curling vapours rising and forming clouds

an = Ancient forms_show the sun (© ) and fire (4 ) which cause

the vapours: #{ The regular form 5a , however, depicts the

\ Sl, vapour (4) ascending from boiling rice (;K.) — now simpli-

fied to 4, , meaning air, vapour, breath, energy or anger

jth jth qichong chong furious; beside oneself AN qìhu climate

Sl ai fen indignant; furious “# & ai xiang tsi meteorological observatory

Example:

2 # & # % U Ä% thí “S4 TH đ ÍfT °-

Hui tan shi zai ging gi yếu hào de qi fén zhong jin xing

The talks were held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere

14

SHI eat; food

general Its seal form shows that it is made

up of & (together) and 2 (boiled grain,

food) itself is a pictograph of the rice-

pot (© ) and its contents ( — ) with a spoon

or ladle (&) is the signal to come

together (4) to eat the food (#) But

food, like knowledge, needs to be properly

digested So: “Be quick over your work, but

not over your food.”

Example:

A Zz Wứ ở AÁ ) 3 ã °

Mi sh Yà zhou rến de zhi shi

Rice is the staple food of Asians

board and lodging

dining room; mess hall; canteen

food; eatables; edibles

go back on one’s word;

break one’s promise index finger

eh, the character for cooked rice,

comes from the radical # (food) ae

and the phonetic % meaning return

J represents the repetitive motion

(x ) of the hand (_X_), as in eating

(# ) Although hungry people are not

fastidious about food, “One speck of

rat’s dung spoils a whole pot of rice.”

TEA fan guo pot for cooking rice; rice cooker

RHR fần tống 1ice bucket; big eater; good-for-nothing

Tưữn fan wan tice bowl; job; means of livelihood

Example:

là 4 Hï #4 %# "HH :› W A X l #l °

Zhà cần ting fan cà kế _kếu fi wi you zhou dao

This restaurant offers tasty food and good service

16

Tả de yan jing bdo han zhe xing fi de rẻ lồ

Her eyes were filled with tears of joy

17

feed (# ) me ( 4%) — a fitting sign for hunger Another character for

hunger is##¥, literally: little (&¢) food (2 ), simplified to 71, i.e., food

( 4 ) on small table (/U ) Although hunger is no respecter of persons,

“Evena hungry person will refuse food offered in contempt.”

lệ B1 THIS character is based on the radical for food: ê It literally means

TREE Th A Bhi pi shi like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey

Example:

th + GL DL #4 bk °

Ta zheng zh 2a) j xiần shang

She struggled along on the verge of death

18

a THE food radical # combines with 7Ÿ to produce #8 , a public

ara mm building The phonetic ‘# (official) originally meant the residence of

an official — the hall (7) of the city (& ) 4% (food) together with

V %Ÿ suggests a public building doing food business — inn, hotel or

restaurant Hence: “An innkeeper never worries if your appetite is

Example:

Zhe lÏ guăn de bù zhì hến tíng huấng

The hotel’s decor is very impressive

19

BASED on the food radical # , this

character has a significant phonetic % ,

suggesting breath % originally was a

pictograph of a man opening his mouth to

catch his breath, as_in drinking: 2 This

was modified to 3% _, representing air

waves (2 ) emanating from the man ( Jv )

The primitive form of the character for

drink shows clearly a drinking flask (a )

as part of the food radical

TK Gee yin dan be hit by a bullet

TROL yin qi weep in silence

TK AA yin yong shui drinking water; potable water

Example:

Tả xỉ hưữn zäo shang za chế lu vín cha

He likes to drink tea at the teahouse in the morning

20

its body (@), the two wheels (=) and the axle ( | ) The primitive forms of # are as varied as carts, carriages and chariots But, whatever the form, where there is a cart in front there is a track behind; so “Take warning from the wrecked CHE cart ahead of you.”

#w is the triple form of the nolsy cart (#) It serves as a fitting symbol for any loud or explosive sound like the rumbling of many carts In the simplified form,, 2 (again; ditto) replaces each of the two lower carts to produce - Sitself is a simplified picture of

IX the right hand; and the right hand, returning repeatedly to the

mouth in eating, suggests “again”

weg, hong ming thunder; roar

Example:

ah A OR KO EE Sh Rw MK -

Tả de cho jf mí ni gin shi quấn ching hong dong gi lá

Her ultra-miniskirt caused a stir at the party

22

or, ee with an open front

J originally wag a shed

(f”) for carts (@) But,

before long, it came to be

used for storing grain and

all sorts of goods Hence

Zhe cũng kù lề yí rống nề dà lầng huồ wù

This warehouse can accomodate a large amount of goods

23

¥6i, the wheel that, moves the cart, has

(cart) for radical @ , its phonetic, is sugges-

tive, not only of the orderly arrangement of

and stability It signifies a collection (“-) of

ancient documents preserved on bamboo

eps tied together in an orderly manner

=

diers (+7) — an army:#

Armies are maintained for

years, to be used on a sin-

gle day And on that crucial

day: “The conquerors are

erowned kings; the defeated

are branded bandits.”

hồ

)

THE seal form of this ‡

character shows a_ war &

) PIVEN IE)

ye jlinfé military criminal code | 3h ygq>]

% Ye jingaéng naval port

EF jin guan officer

Example:

+#

+® Á H TL ÍE & fR # đ ñ ME #9 -

Jin rén de gong zud shi hến yếu tão hân xing de

The work of a soldier is full of challenges

25

jin hud

jin li jữn rén jan shi jun shi xin lian jun shi yan xí jun ying

arms and ammunition military strength soldier; serviceman noncommissioned officer (NCO) military training

military manoeuvre; wat exercise

military camp; barracks

#fƒ probably has reference to a

war chariot ( #) with warriors

wielding axes ( 77 ) to cut off the

enemy It may also mean to

whirl or brandish (¥ ) a battle

axe (jf) But cutting off an

enemy does not eradicate the

source of trouble; hence the

saying: “When cutting the

weeds, get rid of the root”

5 EM

“Fae ae

Hr iit zhăn duần chop off

a= zhan shou behead; decapitate

is composed of (vehicle) and l

, something high and stately —

the sedan chair The phonetic $

combines & (man leaning ina

with a contracted form of &

(high) Although the high Bah

mighty travel in sedans, “He who

rides in the chair is a man; he, who `

carries the chair is also a man

Example:

ai Ay fe HỤ %@ A mf lR fe AK OTE BROAD

GŨ shi hud de hud rến xin niéng shi zo hud jầo de

In the olden days, Chinese brides rode on bridal sedan chairs

27

( ) gasping for breath ( Z ), i.e., exhausted, deficient €Z

may also be_written¢@ , the phonetic b4 representing the

soft beard (#g) of a man (X )

mild steel; soft steel

a weak-kneed person; a spineless person; a coward cartilage

soften; win over by soft tactics gentle; kind; soft

software put somebody under house arrest

weak; feeble; flabby

E

LIAN link; join; connect J

L⁄2

form a connecting link (3%) be-

tween places, leaving a continuous

track, not broken like the track of

man also represents a string

of carriages (#) moving along

(4_) as_if connected By the same

token 43¥, the character for chain,

is made yp of rings of metal (4)

354 |B] liấn huấn huầ a book (usually for children) with a story told in pictures; picture story book JER liấn lši implicate; involve; get somebody into trouble

AAC lian mang promptly; at once

3£H lian ri for days on end; day after day

3: lian yé the same night; that very night

Example:

Xão mốc xí huân kan Xiang Gang de lấn xù jd

Xiaomei likes to watch the Hongkong serialised dramas

29

xe (Số)

, the lotus, is a prolific water plant

(+“) that spreads continuously (3% )

like a flowery chain It epitomises

purity because it grows out of mud

ut remains undefiled From 3? (cop-

nect) also comes the character Me :

(ripples) based on the water radical `

» — ripples being a continuous sue-

_

a | Am AK | AD AE

Example:

@ fe eK OK HAD

Lian hud shi shéng zhang zai shu li de

Lotus flowers grow in water

30

5%

father

THE Chinese proverb defines father

as “a man who, in praising his son,

extols himself’ Accordingly, the

seal form ® depicts father as a

disciplinarian — the right hand (3X )

wielding the rod of authority ( | )

Eventually the rod is contracted: &

and then broken: SC Apparently:

“It is easy to govern a kingdom but

difficult to rule one’s family.”

2 fù mũ father and mother; parents

2m fil quan zhi patriarchy

2) ful xiong father and elder brothers; head of a family

Example:

4# ñ9 44 3 we DRT AD A °

Wo de fi gin shi ge ci xiéng de rén

My father is a kindly person

31

JIN rh is a pictograph of a small piece of cloth used for cleaning,

dusting or ing In ancient times it was worn, suspended

from the gir e represents the two extremities of the

napkin; towel; cloth hanging (| ) from the girdle forms the radical of a handkerchief series of characters relating to cloth in general

FE? WE] SEE — jin quo ying xiong a heroine

Example:

#bU H # th ‡# là °

Tả yong shou jn ma lian

She uses the towel to wipe her face

32

Th

THIS character is based on the

radical for cloth: tf] The phonetic

t (father) is, discernible as Qin

the seal form 7 & is a picture of

the right hand (3 ) with the rod of

cloth

authority (1), and implies disei- |

pline, control and order — as essen-

tial in weaving as in marrying So

the saying goes: “Hasty weaving

produces shoddy cloth; a girl who

marries in haste has a feol for a

This cloth will make a pretty dress

cloth; piece goods

>

yi

notice; bulletin; proclamation

2 AF ding hén pido liầng

Although a helping hand

(4) can easily turn

(broom) into (sweep),

“no one will sweep a public

hall used by everyone.”

sae sio zhdu xing comet

Example:

Ma

Mother bought a new broom recently

mm jn mặ le yi ba xin sầo zhou

HH | 08)

FU wife; married woman

WOMAN (3%) with broom

(2) is the symbol for wife

or married woman: đt? ,

simplified to 43 — woman

(3) with helping hand

(= ) Another character for

wife is — woman (#)

with broom ( f ) in hand

(=) Whatever the charac-

ter, “She who is the wife of

one man cannot eat the rice

of two.”

Example:

xewMeeBPRBHR: ATRLAR M# — D

Zhé wei shéo fù zhén yong gan Wế le zhang fa bù xì xỉ shéng yi qiề

She’s a brave young woman She sacrificed herself for the sake of her husband

35