The Origin of Chinese Characters by Lee Kihoon;

Author:Lee, Kihoon;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Algora Publishing
Published: 2018-07-10T16:00:00+00:00

Cow pulling wagon (550~577) <National Museum of China>

Elephant with decorations

Cup made of ivory elephant tusks (left), Jade elephant (right) (13th century-11th century BC). In ancient China, elephants and alligators existed in the areas with warm climates. <Yinxu Museum>

Thousands years ago, China’s weather was warmer than today. So, big fish and big animals lived around the Yellow River, including the elephant. The elephant was drawn like this: But for the convenience of writing, the character was flipped vertically (象, xiang=hsiang, elephant). It shows the characteristics of the elephant quite clearly, especially the elephant’s big head, protruding long nose and long ears.

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