THE CHINESE SCRIPT

Imre Galambos (University of Cambridge)

Chinese Studies, Oxford Bibliographies (2014)

http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/browse?module_0=obo-9780199920082

Introduction

General Overviews

Nature of the Script

“Champions of Ideography”

“Phoneticians”

Structure of Characters

Origins of Chinese Writing

Invention

Ritual Origin

Contacts with Western Asia

The Script through Time

Shang and Zhou Inscriptions

Scripts of the Warring States

The Qin-Han Transition

After the Han

The Modern Script

Variant Characters

Taboo Characters

Empress Wu Characters

Literacy

Nüshu

The Use of the Script in Non-Chinese cultures

Punctuation and Other Marks

Introduction

The Chinese script is one of the most important achievements of Chinese civilization and has

played a vital role in maintaining a cultural continuity for more than three millennia. To this day,

it remains an iconic feature of Chinese culture which not only connects the people with their past

(even after the modern simplification of the script) but also provides a fully functional alternative

to alphabetic writing systems in our information age. Although various graphic marks are known

from Neolithic sites as early as 6,000 BC (e.g. Jiahu 賈湖, Henan), the first examples of written

texts come from the late Shang period, around 1,200 BC. These are the oracle-bone inscriptions

used in the Shang court as records of divination related to state affairs. Most specialists agree

that these early inscriptions, carved onto turtle plastrons and ox scapulae, present a fully mature

writing system capable of recording contemporary spoken language. Yet there may have been an

earlier stage of which we still do not have archaeological evidence. Attempts to link Shang

writing with Neolithic symbols have been unconvincing, primarily because of the gap of several

thousand years between them. But starting with the late Shang period, we have an unbroken

continuity of archaeological materials with writing on them, including oracle bones, bronze

inscriptions, and bamboo and silk manuscripts. Although paper is known from at least the 2nd

century BC, it becomes widespread as a medium for writing only around the 4th century AD,

after which it almost completely replaced all earlier media. In the meantime, the script itself also

evolves from its Shang form and becomes increasingly sophisticated as a growing number of

characters develop towards greater structural complexity. The reform of the script initiated in

221 BC by Li Si 李斯, the First Emperor’s chancellor, at least symbolically marks a transition

from the ‘ancient’ script of the pre-Qin era to the ‘modern’ script of dynastic China. Although

this ‘modern’ script underwent significant changes from the Qin-Han through the Sui-Tang

period, in terms of their structure and the principles behind their composition, Chinese characters

essentially remained the same.

General Overviews

There are many introductions to the Chinese script in a variety of languages, written for different

audiences. While Allen 1956 attempts to provide a point of entry for Western students, the two

books by the eminent Japanese scholar Shirakawa Shizuka (Shirakawa 1976 and Shirakawa

1978) provide easily digestible accounts for readers already familiar with the script but not its

history. A linguistic point of view is expressed in Boltz 1999 and Norman 1988, whereas Qiu

2000 and Tang 1965 lay out the basic principles of the field of Chinese palaeography.

Allen, Joseph Roe. “Chinese Script and Lexicography for the Uninitiated.” Chinese Language

Teachers Association 19.3 (1984): 35–86.

An elementary introduction to Chinese writing and lexicography for the non-specialist.

Discusses certain misconceptions (e.g. pictographic nature) concerning the script, and

explicates the three “generations” in its historical evolution, which largely correspond to the

“three-fold” model of evolution advanced by Chen Mengjia 陳夢家 in 1956.

Boltz, William G. “Language and Writing.” In The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From

the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L.

Shaughnessy, 74–123. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

The second half of this introduction is devoted to Chinese writing (the first to language),

approaching the subject primarily from the point of view of the historical development of the

different types of characters. Divides the evolution of early Chinese writing into

‘zodiographic,’ ‘multivalent’ and ‘determinative’ stages.

Norman, Jerry. Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Chapter 3 of this book is devoted to Chinese writing, explaining its relationship with the

Chinese language and its evolution from the earliest stages and the Qin-Han period to the

medieval and modern periods. Also discusses the adaptability of the script to other

languages, such as Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese.

Qiu, Xigui. Chinese Writing. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and The

Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley, 2000.

English translation of Qiu Xigui’s 裘錫圭 authoritative work (Wenzixue gaoyao

文字学概要, Beijing: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1988), a comprehensive overview of the

Chinese writing system, including its origins, evolution and structure. The book provides a

detailed analysis of the types of characters and contrasts traditional understandings with

knowledge derived from recent archaeological finds.

Shirakawa Shizuka 白川静. Kanji no sekai: Chūgoku bunka no genten 漢字の世界 :

中国文化の原点. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1976.

A book for the general audience on the history and nature of Chinese writing. Beside an

overview of the historical development of the script, the author also provides a wealth of

information about the social contexts in which writing was used and demonstrates its vital

role in early Chinese society.

Shirakawa Shizuka. Kanji hyakuwa 漢字百話. Tokyo: Chūō kōronsha, 1978.

A collection of hundred short writings about Chinese characters. The stories appear grouped

into different topics (e.g. linguistics, archaeology, philosophy), all related to Chinese

characters. The book is a fairly successful attempt to make paleography more accessible and

introduce paleography to a wider audience.

Tang Lan 唐蘭. Zhongguo wenzixue 中國文字學. Hong Kong: Taiping shuju, 1965.

An introduction to Chinese palaeography with a strong emphasis on the early period of the

script, including its origins and subsequent evolution. Discusses in detail the orthographic

structure of characters and provides an insightful critique of traditional interpretations based

on the principles of liushu 六書 (six scripts).

Nature of the Script

Understandably, the question that generated the greatest interest in the West with regard to

Chinese writing was that of the nature of the script, that is, what are the main principles behind it

and how characters are formed. Scholars from within the Chinese script tradition have tended to

take it for granted, while it is mostly foreign scholars who have problematized the issue. By now,

however, the ‘ideographic’ approach has been largely refuted and is usually met with only in

non-academic circles. Especially prominent in related scholarship is the debate between leading

Western sinologists whether Chinese writing is ‘ideographic’ and can represent ideas directly

without reference to language (i.e. speech). Recognizing the inherent difficulties in reconciling

modern studies of the script with the terminology used in traditional scholarship, Boodberg 1957

proposes a new set of terminology for the field, whereas Bottéro 2002 argues for a new

interpretation of some of the most basic traditional terms. Chao 1940, Lundbæk 1988 and Rusk

2007 introduce specific cases of how Chinese characters were understood in pre-modern Europe.

Pelliot 1936 and Lurie 2006 both provide comments on the academic debate over the

‘ideographic’ nature of the Chinese script.

Boodberg, Peter A. “The Chinese Script: An Essay on Nomenclature (The First Hecaton).”

Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 29 (1957): 113–120.

An attempt to improve the academic terminology related to Chinese writing, in many cases

through calquing new terms—primarily using Greek and Latin roots—that would reflect their

meaning more accurately. The word “hecaton” in the title refers to the fact that a hundred

such terms are proposed and explained.

Bottéro, Françoise. “Revisiting the Wen and the Zi: The Great Chinese Characters Hoax.”

Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 74 (2002): 14–33.

Re-examines the terms wen 文 and zi 字 used in the Shuowen jiezi 說文解字, rejecting their

usual interpretation as “non-compound” and “compound” characters. Attempts to clarify the

relationship between writing and language in the Shuowen, arguing for an overlooked

metaphysical and philosophical dimension in the dictionary.

Chao, Yuen Ren. “A Note on an Early Logographic Theory of Chinese Writing.” Harvard

Journal of Asiatic Studies 5.2 (1940): 189–191.

A short note in support of Boodberg’s logographic theory of the Chinese script. Draws

attention to the work of 19th-century scholar Peter S. Du Ponceau who, despite his inevitable

shortcomings, already in 1838 claimed that Chinese writing represented speech, rather than

directly ideas.

Lundbæk, Knud. The Traditional History of the Chinese Script: From a Seventeenth Century

Jesuit Manuscript. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1988.

An early Jesuit manuscript about the nature of the Chinese script. The book includes

facsimile images of the original Latin manuscript with English translation, followed by some

notes by the translator. This is a fascinating witness of a European presentation of the

traditional Chinese understanding of the composition of characters.

Lurie, David B. “Language, Writing, and Disciplinarity in the Critique of the ‘Ideographic

Myth’: Some Proleptical Remarks.” Language and Communication 26.3–4 (2006): 250–69.

An insightful analysis of the “Critique of the Ideographic Myth” of DeFrancis and Unger (see

DeFrancis 1984, DeFrancis 1989, Unger 1990 and Unger 2004 under *Phoneticians”), which

argues against the notion that the Chinese script conveys ideas directly, as opposed to being a

graphic representation of speech. Discusses the debate within a disciplinary framework,

providing astute observations about modern linguistics and sinology.

Pelliot, Paul. “Brèves remarques sur le phonétisme dans l’écriture chinoise.” T’oung Pao 32

(1936): 162–166.

A short editorial comment to Creel’s 1936 article on Chinese ideography (Creel 1936 cited

under *Champions of Ideography*), taking issue with the conceptual framework of the study.

Claims that Creel went too far in denying the phonetic element in Chinese characters and by

doing this created an artificial gap between writing and language.

Rusk, Bruce. “Old Scripts, New Actors: European Encounters with Chinese Writing, 1550–

1700.” East Asian Science, Technology and Medicine 26 (2007): 68–116.

A fascinating account of European attitudes and curiosity towards the Chinese script during

the 16th-17th centuries, which coincided with a boom in interest in paleography and

philology among native Qing scholars. Argues that this was also the time when myths about

the script’s universality and ideographic nature were born.

“Champions of Ideography”

The “champions of ideography” are scholars who argued—mainly from the philological

perspective of traditional sinology—in favor of the semantic significance of Chinese characters

and their ability to express meaning regardless independent of speech. The debate was initially

sparked by Creel’s article “On the Nature of Chinese Ideography” (Creel 1936), which provoked

a strong response from Boodberg, followed by Creel 1939 and Boodberg 1940

(*“Phoneticians”*). Over half a century later, showing that the issue was far from settled,

Hansen 1993 criticized the anti-ideographic approach of Western linguists.

Creel, Herrlee G. “On the Nature of Chinese Ideography.” T’oung Pao 32 (1936): 85–161.

Takes issue with Western theories of the evolution of writing systems which see the Chinese

script as being at a more primitive stage than phonetic alphabetic systems. Opposes the

model of unilinear evolution and insists that the “ideographic” model of East Asia is just as

valid as the phonetic one.

Creel, Herrlee G. “On the Ideographic Element in Ancient Chinese.” T’oung Pao 34 (1939):

265–294.

A defense of the theory of the “ideographic” nature of Chinese writing advanced earlier by

the author but subsequently criticized by Boodberg (Boodberg 1937, under

*“Phoneticians”*). Argues against a purely phonetic explanation of Chinese characters and

maintains that both phonetic and semantic aspects played a role in their origin and

development.

Hansen, Chad. “Chinese Ideographs and Western Ideas.” The Journal of Asian Studies 52.2

(1993): 373–399.

A look at the ideographic vs. logographic controversy from the point of view of analytic

philosophy. Criticizes “prohibitionist” theories of linguists such as DeFrancis and argues that

traditional Chinese theories of language and the notion of Chinese ideographs can help us

realize some of our Western misconceptions in this respect.

“Phoneticians”

The so-called “phoneticians” are scholars who take issue with the notion of the ideographic

nature of the Chinese script. They predominantly come from a Western linguistic background

and believe that all writing systems by default represent speech and argue that the Chinese

script—or any script for that matter—could not communicate ideas directly without the agency

of spoken language. Boodberg 1937 and Boodberg 1940 were the articles that first raised

objections against understanding Chinese characters as ideographs, and thus triggered the debate.

The two books of John DeFrancis (DeFrancis 1984 and DeFrancis 1989) were highly influential

both in sinological circles and among the non-specialists. Unger 1990 and Unger 2004 examine

the same issue from the perspective of Japan. Significantly less convincing, especially in view of

China’s recent economic rise, is the argument in Hannas 1997 and Hannas 2003 which maintain

that the nature of the script hinders East Asian countries in their development.

Boodberg, Peter A. “Some Proleptical Remarks on the evolution of archaic Chinese.” Harvard

Journal of Asiatic Studies 2 (1937): 329–372.

A passionate critique of the “ideographic” model of Chinese writing advanced by Creel. Re-

examines the nature of the Chinese script and the etymology of a series of characters, with an

emphasis on identifying the “living tissue of the Word” behind the graphs and breaking away

from the “ideographic” approach.

Boodberg, Peter A. “‘Ideography’ or Iconolatry?” T’oung Pao 35 (1940): 266–288.

A response to Creel’s defense of the notion of “ideography” in Chinese writing, according to

which Chinese characters conveyed ideas directly, rather than through the medium of sound.

Insists on the phonetic and logographic nature of characters, and demonstrates that the

ideographic examples given by Creel are actually phonetic compounds.

DeFrancis, John. The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii

Press, 1984.

The book partly is devoted to writing, discussing its nature and relationship with speech from

the perspective of modern linguistics. Part III attempts to demystify Chinese characters,

refuting commonly held notions such as the ideographic nature of the script or its

universality, arguing for its replacability with a phonetic alphabet.

DeFrancis, John. Visible Speech: The Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems. Honolulu: University

of Hawaii Press, 1989.

A general study of writing written by a specialist of Chinese, to correct former views about

the “pictographic” or “ideographic” nature of the script and to integrate it into the global

family of writing systems. Among the various scripts, Chinese is discussed under the

category of “meaning-plus-sound syllabic systems.”

Hannas, William C. Asia’s Orthographic Dilemma. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press,

1997.

A critique of the efficiency of the Chinese script as used in China, Japan, Korea and

Vietnam. Inspired by the work of DeFrancis, the book argues that the Chinese character-

based scripts used in these four countries are an obstacle to scientific creativity and should be

replaced with alphabetic writing.

Hannas, William C. The Writing on the Wall: How Asian Orthography Curbs Creativity.

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.

Puts forward the hypothesis that countries that use Chinese characters “suffer a creativity

deficit.” Claims—without actual experimental support--that the script prevents people in

these countries from thinking analytically and thus they have a handicap vis-à-vis Westerners

who use the alphabet and thus develop a more creative cognitive framework.

Unger, J. Marshall. “The Very Idea: The Notion of Ideogram in China and Japan.” Monumenta

Nipponica 45.4 (1990): 391–411.

An overview of the history of the development of the myth that Chinese writing is

ideographic. Traces this notion to the mid-16th century and connects it with the

contemporary European quest for a universal language. Demonstrates that such an approach

was not part of traditional Japanese linguistic discourse.

Unger, J. Marshall. Ideogram: Chinese Characters and the Myth of Disembodied Meaning.

Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2004.

Advances a forceful critique of the apparently widespread notion that Chinese characters

represent meaning directly, without reference to spoken language. Approaches the subject

from a variety of perspectives, providing an array of counter-arguments against the

ideographic interpretation of the Chinese script.

Structure of Characters

Traditional scholarship interpreted orthographic structure using the system of liushu 六書, or Six

Scripts, which were first used in this context around the 1st century AD. Although it is

increasingly clear that this system was not intended to be a historically accurate description of

the etymological principles behind Chinese characters, it continues to be used even today and

most discussions of orthography begin with either reiterating or refuting these six principles.

Miller 1953, Serruys 1957, Serruys 1984 and Winter 1998 are devoted to the examination of the

liushu categories as they are presented in the pioneering second-century Chinese dictionary, the

Shuowen jiezi, as well as the organization of the dictionary. Liu 2006 analyzes the orthographic

principles of graphs appearing in early Chinese inscriptions. Behr 2010, Maréchal 2006 and

Branner 2011 operate from a modern linguistic perspective and draw attention to ways of

character formation that have not been identified in traditional scholarship.

Behr, Wolfgang. “In the Interstices of Representation: Ludic Writing and the Locus of Polysemy

in the Chinese Sign.” In The Idea of Writing: Play and Complexity. Edited by Alex de Voogt

and Irving L. Finkel, 281-314. Leiden: Brill, 2010.

Explores the capacity for polysemy (i.e. having multiple meanings) inherent in the Chinese

writing system from a linguistic perspective largely independent of traditional understandings

of the script. As part of this examination, the author looks at practices of ‘ludic writing’ such

as generating phonetic puns or structurally dissecting characters.

Branner, David Prager. “Portmanteau Characters in Chinese.” Journal of the American Oriental

Society 131.1 (2011): 173–82.

Discusses ligature-type character structures that consist of two ordinary characters, calling

these “portmanteaux characters.” Such graphs (beng 甭, wai 歪, nao 孬) do not simply

consist of two semantic components but represent words that are read together as a definition

of the meaning of the whole character.

Liu Zhao 劉釗. Guwenzi gouxingxue 古文字構形學. Fuzhou: Fujian renmin chubanshe, 2006.

A comprehensive analysis of the structure of pre-Qin characters, including oracle-bone and

bronze inscriptions. In addition to the description of structure, the author also explains the

main principles behind the evolution of characters. Finally, a separate section discusses the

methodology of deciphering ancient graphs.

Maréchal, Chrystelle. “Graphic Modulation in the Ancient Chinese Writing System.” Journal of

Chinese Linguistics 34.1 (2006): 25–43.

A linguistic study of the process of “graphic modulation” (bianti 变体) responsible for the

creation of “cognate graphs,” both in the the early period and later on. Demonstrates how

modulation occurs and provides a set of criteria to help identify specific cases during

different stages of the script.

Miller, Roy Andrew. Problems in the Study of Shuo-wen Chieh-tzu. Ph.D. dissertation. New

York: Columbia University, 1953.

A comprehensive analysis of the historical, linguistic and textual problems related to the

Shuowen, with the aim of laying down the necessary foundation for employing the dictionary

in the study of ancient texts. The second half is a presentation of the Shuowen entries

according to the ‘graphic-phonetic-semantic’ scheme developed Boodberg.

Serruys, Paul L-M. “The Study of the chuan-chu in Shuo wen.” Bulletin of the Institute of

History and Philology 29 (1957): 131–195.

An extensive treatment of the problems associated with interpreting the term zhuanzhu

转注(‘rotated and annotated') in the Shuowen. Reviews how diversely this term was

understood in the past and undertakes a comprehensive survey of all zhuanzhu pairs and

chains that “fulfill the strict requirements” of the Shuowen definition.

Serruys, Paul L.-M. “On the System of the Pu Shou 部首 in the Shuo-wen chieh-tzu 說文解字.”

Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology 55 (1984): 651–754.

A study of the 540 radicals in the Shuowen, explaining the organization of the dictionary.

Draws attention to the sequence of bushou, pointing out that they were arranged in a manner

that “would display a most natural and easily apparent connection between each preceding

and following item.”

Winter, Marc. un Cang ie er an ie chri t’: in an buch r den Gebrauch des Shuo

Wen Jie Zi. Bern: Peter Lang, 1998.

A thorough investigation of the Shuowen jiezi which includes the probably most

comprehensive exposition of the liushu theory. Of special interest is the treatment of the

zhuanzhu 轉注 category which has also been the subject of Serruys 1957.

Origins of Chinese Writing As one of the independent writing systems in the world, the origins of Chinese script has been of

major interest to sinologists and historians of writing alike. Curiously, while later stages of its

history are relatively well documented, we do not have any archaeological material about the

first stage of the script prior to the late Shang period. Boltz 1994 provides an indepth study of the

origin of the Chinese script, and Coulmas 1991 examines it in comparison with other writing

systems around the world. Rao 2000 considers the script’s Western Asian connections, whereas

Bottéro 2004 and Bagley 2004 examine what the oracle-bone inscriptions can tell us about the

origin of writing in China. The significance of the calendar in this regard is raised in Pankenier

2011. Keightley 1989 and Branner 2006 provide concise overviews of the script during its early

stages.

Bagley, Robert W. “Anyang Writing and the Origin of the Chinese Writing System.” In The

First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process. Edited by Stephen D. Houston, 190–

249. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Introduces the corpus of oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions found at Anyang, which are the

earliest known examples of Chinese writing, and discusses the three main hypotheses

advanced by scholarship for the explanation of the origin of writing in China: stimulus

diffusion; clan signs; and the sudden invention of full writing.

Bottéro, Françoise. “Writing on shell and bone in Shang China.” In The First Writing: Script

Invention as History and Process. Edited by Stephen D. Houston, 250–261. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2004.

A brief general introduction to the origins and nature of the Chinese script as evidenced in

the oracle-bone inscriptions. Analyzes the main types of graphic variants found in the corpus

and identifies eight different categories. Concrete examples are provided for each of the

categories.

Boltz, William G. The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System. New

Haven, Connecticut: American Oriental Society, 1994.

Integrates the beginnings of the Chinese script into a general model of the origins of writing.

Provides an overview of the historical development up to the Han, and raises the question

why the Chinese script did not evolve into an alphabet, as other writing systems around the

world did.

Branner, David Prager. “China: Writing System.” In Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics.

Edited by Keith Brown et al., 331–341. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2006. 2nd edition.

A brief introduction to the graphic styles and linguistic structure of the Chinese writing

system. Includes an illustrated overview of the major styles of the script (e.g. clerical,

‘running’ and ‘grass’), punctuation and ligature marks, and the main principles of character

formation.

Coulmas, Florian. The Writing Systems of the World. The Language Library. Oxford and New

York: Blackwell, 1991

Introduces the Chinese script in Chapter 6. Points out that even though it is sometimes

criticized by Western observers as cumbersome, Chinese writing has been used for millennia

and is well suited for writing Chinese. This demonstrates that the notion that alphabetic

systems represent an advanced evolutionary stage is flawed.

Keightley, David N. “The Origins of Writing in China: Scripts and Cultural Contexts.” In The

Origins of Writing. Edited by Wayne M. Senner, 171–202. Lincoln and London: University

of Nebraska Press, 1989.

A brief introduction to the origins of the Chinese script. Points out the significance of the

study of Chinese writing for global history and provides an outline of the various stages of its

evolution.

Pankenier, David W. “Getting ‘Right’ with Heaven and the Origins of Writing in China.” In

Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar.

Edited by Li Feng and David Prager Branner, 19–50. Seattle & London: University of

Washington Press, 2011

Advances the hypothesis that astronomy and the early calendar, especially the cyclical signs

of Heavenly Stems (tiangan 天干) and Earthly Branches (dizhi 地支), were a driving force

behind the development of writing during its early stage prior to the Shang dynasty.

Rao Zongyi 饒宗頤. Fuhao, chuwen yu zimu: Hanzi shu 符號•初文與字母﹕漢字樹. Shanghai:

Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2000.

Investigates the beginnings of Chinese writing in light of the Neolithic signs and patterns

(pre-dominantly on pottery) discovered in China and farther west. The author argues for the

wide distribution of early forms of writing and points out their connection with literature and

visual art.

Invention

Since we do not have archaeological evidence for the earliest stage of Chinese writing, the birth

of the script is hidden from us. Yet based on what we know about other writing systems it seems

logical that if the script is indigenous to China then it was invented not much earlier than our

earliest examples of it from Anyang. Smith 2013 considers whether Chinese writing was

designed, and Bottéro 2006 revisits the myth of Cangjie inventing writing.

Bottéro, Françoise. “Cangjie and the Invention of Writing: Reflections on the Elaboration of a

Legend.” In Studies in Chinese Language and Culture. Edited by Christoph Anderl and

Halvor Eifring, 135–155. Oslo: Hermes Academic Publishing, 2006.

Examines early legends about Cangjie 倉頡 and traces the notion of him being the inventor

of the Chinese script to the late Warring States philosopher Xunzi 荀子 and his disciples.

Shows that native reflections on the origin of writing arose not earlier than the 3rd century

BC.

Smith, Adam. “Are Writing Systems Intelligently Designed?” In Early Writing and Agency in

Archaeology. Edited by Joshua Englehardt, 71–93. Boulder: University Press of Colorado,

2013.

Proposes an alternative account of the emergence of literacy to the model of “intelligent

design,” suggesting that writing develops from earlier systems of “non-literate sign-use” as

the use of the sign repertoire intensifies. In this process, the literate capacities of users evolve

alongside the development of the sign repertoire.

Ritual Origin

The earliest examples of Chinese writing are the oracle-bone inscriptions and these have an

intimate connection to divination and state ritual. Keightley 1994 and Keightley 1996 point out

the connection of early writing with state ritual and elite culture; Venture 2002 points out its role

in communicating with the spirits. Laufer 1907 maintains that at this stage the script was

ornamental and symbolic, rather than pictographic. Karlgren 1930 identifies a number of

fecundity symbols in early material.

Karlgren, Bernhard. “Some Fecundity Symbols in Ancient China.” Bulletin of the Museum of

Far Eastern Antiquities 2 (1930): 1–66.

Examines the use of fecundity symbols in oracle bones and archaic bronzes, identifying such

elements in a number of symbols. Despite the apparent graphic similarity with stone and

bronze age representations in Europe, the author argues for the possibility of their

independent origin.

Keightley, David N. “Sacred Characters.” In China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land. Edited by

Robert E. Murowchick, 71–79. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.

A brief introduction to the first examples of Chinese writing from the late Shang dynasty,

including their function in state divination and ancestral worship. The text is accompanied by

beautiful color illustrations of contemporary archaeological material, including oracle-bone

inscriptions and jade disks.

Keightley, David N. “Art, Ancestors, and the Origin of Writing in China.” Representations 56,

Special Issue: The New Erudition (1996): 68–95.

An inquiry into the origins of the Chinese script in light of oracle-bone inscriptions and

Neolithic signs. Argues that early writing was related to religious art, and was from its

inception a product of elite culture concerned with upholding both its privileged status and

the unity of the state.

Laufer, Berthold. “A Theory of the Origin of Chinese Writing.” American Anthropologist 9.3

(1907): 487–492.

A convincing argument against the theory that Chinese characters originate from

pictographic representations and proposes instead that they derive from conventional

ornamental forms and were prompted by an elaborate system of ritual symbolism. Thus the

author concludes that at its earliest stage the Chinese script was ornamental and symbolic.

Venture, Olivier. “L'écriture et la communication avec les esprits en Chine ancienne.” Bulletin of

the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 74 (2002): 34–65.

Refutes commonly held assumptions that Chinese writing arose out of the necessity to

communicate with the spirits, claiming that writing was initially employed for keeping

records of rituals and came to be used for talking to the spirits only much later, as an

alternative to existing channels of oral communication.

Contacts with Western Asia

The Chinese script appears in the Anyang inscriptions as a fully formed writing system. The

complete lack of material regarding the initial stage of the script raised the theoretical possibility

of a non-native origin. Pulleyblank 1979, Jao 1991 and Mair 1992 attempt to locate precursors

of the Chinese script in West Asia, an idea that never gained universal acceptance, even though it

has not been convincingly refuted either. Boltz 2000, among others, disputes such a possibility

and asserts that China developed its script independently.

Boltz, William G. “The Invention of Writing in China.” Oriens Extremus 42 (2000/01): 1–17.

Asserts that Chinese writing is indigenous to China, rejecting speculations of a West Asian

origin. Emphasizes that the earliest known examples are the oracle-bone inscriptions from

about 1300 BC, and discoveries of earlier Neolithic signs can be neither considered full

writing, nor connected with the Shang script.

Jao, Tsung-i. “Questions on the Origin of Writing Raised by the ‘Silk Road’.” Sino-Platonic

Papers 26 (1991): 1–10.

An investigation of the possible Western connections of Neolithic signs from pre-Shang

China. Shows that the Banpo 半坡 and Jiangzhai 薑寨 symbols from the 5th millennia BCE

are not necessarily related to later oracle-bone inscriptions. Instead, there is some indication

of a connection with West Asia.

Mair, Victor H. “West Eurasian and North African Influences on the Origins of Chinese

Writing.” Contacts between Cultures. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 1992. vol. III, 335–

338.

Promotes the hypothesis that the Chinese script originates from West Asia and, more

specifically, owes its origin to Phoenician writing. Outlines the chapter structure of a

forthcoming monograph on this subject, promising further details.

Pulleyblank, “The Chinese Cyclical Signs as Phonograms,” Journal of the American Oriental

Society 99.1 (1979): 24–38.

Proposes that Chinese writing emerged from the letters of the Semitic syllabary. This

syllabary developed in Shang China into the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly

Branches, and played an important role in the development of the script. The author has

subsequently withdrawn this hypothesis but it nevertheless remains influential.

The Script through Time

During the more than three millennia of its attested use, especially in the first millennium, the

Chinese script underwent tremendous changes, even though these changes largely involved the

calligraphic or stylistic attributes of the script, rather than the structure of characters which

remained relatively stable. Archaeological materials from different time periods and regions have

their characteristic features and these, once recognized, can be used for dating texts. In practice,

however, it is sometimes difficult to identify such features because we do not have a

comprehensive set of data covering all time periods and geographical regions, not to speak of the

media texts were written on. Yet archaeological material is crucial in evaluating traditional

understandings of what writing was in particular time periods.

Shang and Zhou Inscriptions

The overall majority of surviving material from the Shang and Zhou periods comprises the

divination records written on bones and turtle plastrons, and the bronze inscriptions on ritual

vessels. Perhaps the most important source for the study of Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, at

least in a Western language, is Keightley 1978. Also on the subject of oracle bones, Takashima

2000 is concerned with methodology and Smith 2011 with literacy and scribal training. With

regard to bronze inscriptions, important early scholarly studies are Karlgren 1936 and Rong

1941. Shirakawa 1971 attempts to explicate the social background to non-specialist readers.

Shaughnessy 1991 focuses on the methodology of working with Bronze inscriptions, and

Shaughnessy 2007 tries to understand the process of creating inscriptions.

Karlgren, Bernhard. “On the Script of the Chou Dynasty.” Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern

Antiquities 8 (1936): 157–178.

An account of the early stage of the Chinese script. Addresses discrepancies in vocabulary in

different times on different types of material. Calls for the differentiation of sacred and

profane scripts, arguing that the former would always be much more conservative and retain

a larger number of archaic elements.

Keightley, David N. Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age

China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.

A guide to using oracle-bone inscriptions as historical sources. Introduces Shang divination

procedures and the function of inscriptions. Marshals an array of examples, initiating the

reader into the process of reading divination records. To this day, this volume remains an

essential tool for working with Shang oracle-bone inscriptions.

Rong Geng 容庚. Shang Zhou yiqi tongkao 商周彝器通考. Beijing: Harvard-Yenching Institute,

1941, 2 vols. (Yenshing Journal of Chinese Studies, Monograph Series No. 17)

An important early work that offers a comprehensive examination of Shang and Zhou ritual

bronzes, including inscriptions and ornamental designs. Categorizes vessels based on their

use (e.g. for food, wine, music). The second volume contains photographs of the original

vessels.

Shaughnessy, Edward L. “The Writing of a Late Western Zhou Bronze Inscription.” Asiatische

Studien/ Etudes Asiatiques 61.3 (2007): 845–77.

Examines the process of how four bronze inscriptions written for a single individual from

the site of Yangjicun were composed. Attempts to reconstruct the actual process and

argues that this would also enable us to make assumptions regarding some of the literary

sources in existence at that time.

Shaughnessy, Edward L. Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels. Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1991.

An introduction to working with bronze inscriptions from the Western Zhou period,

including the basic methodology of approaching the texts. In addition to discussing issues of

authenticity, dating, archaeological context and historical significance, the book also

provides a practical hands-on guide for reading inscriptions.

Shirakawa Shizuka 白川靜. Kinbun no sekai: In- hū shakaishi (金文の世界 : 殷周社会史).

Tokyo: Heibansha, 1971.

An informative book on early Chinese bronze inscriptions written for the non-specialist

reader. In addition to a historical overview, carefully describes the social function of the

inscriptions and the modes of their production. Towards the end, also includes a

methodological section focused on dating and other paleographic issues.

Smith, Adam. “The Evidence for Scribal Training at Anyang.” In Writing and Literacy in Early

China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar. Edited by Li Feng and David Prager

Branner, 173–205. Seattle & London: University of Washington Press, 2011.

Advances he hypothesis that many of the so-called ‘practice-engraved divination records’

(xike buci 习刻卜辞) found among the oracle-bone inscriptions are in fact examples of

scribal training material, and that at least some scribes were trained in divination workshops.

Takashima, Ken-ichi. “Towards a More Rigorous Methodology of Deciphering Oracle-Bone

Inscriptions.” T’oung Pao 86 (2000): 363–399.

Proposes a number of methodological criteria for the reading of oracle-bone inscriptions and

demonstrates the use of these on concrete examples. A basic assumption is that the language

used in the inscriptions was the predecessor of the classical Chinese language used in Zhou—

including Warring States—texts.

Scripts of the Warring States

According to traditional accounts, with the decline of the Zhou realm the Chinese script

developed regional characteristics during the Warring States period. These were known as the

scripts of the six states. In the past decades, an unprecedented amount of Warring States

manuscripts have been discovered in China under archaeologically controlled conditions, and

this propelled the study of ancient Chinese manuscripts into a new era. As new manuscripts are

being discovered or acquired, the corpus of Warring States writing rapidly increases, enabling us

to gain a significantly better understanding of the contemporary script than our predecessors. Qiu

1985–1987, He 2003, Richter 2006 and Park 2009 address methodological issues related to

working with Warring States material. Venture 2009 and Boltz 2009 are both concerned with

identifying orthographic or linguistic features that could be tied to the ancient state of Chu,

whereas Venture 2006 discusses the issue of political identity of the main regions. Finally, Zhang

2006 studies the evolution of character structure in contemporary bronze inscriptions.

Boltz, William G. “Is the Chuu Silk Manuscript a Chuu Manuscript?” Asiatische Studien /

Etudes Asiatiques 63.4 (2009): 789–807.

Examines the Chu Silk Manuscript and attempts to discover features that may tie the

manuscript to the state of Chu. The conclusion is that while while we can ascertain that the

manuscript comes from the Chu region, neither its script nor language can be identified as

distinctly Chu.

He Linyi 何琳儀. Zhanguo Wenzi Tonglun (Dingbu) 戰國文字通論 (訂補). Nanjing: Jiangsu

jiaoyu chubanshe, 2003.

A thorough introduction to Warring States writing by one of China’s most important

palaeographers. Discusses the characteristics of the regional scripts and analyzes the

principles of their evolution. Also includes a section on the methodology of reading Warring

States manuscripts and inscriptions.

Park, Haeree. “Linguistic Approaches to Reading Excavated Manuscripts.” Asiatische Studien /

Etudes Asiatiques 63.4 (2009): 857–887.

Examines phonetic loan characters and “phonologically related textual variants,” claiming

that these can be accounted for by the orthographic variability of the script. Maintains that

the co-relations between alternating phonetic components come from Old Chinese, and do

not reflect the phonological situation at the time when the manuscript was written.

Qiu, Xigui. “On the Methods of Studying Ancient Chinese Script.” Early China 11–12 (1985–

87): 301–316.

Introduction to the methodology of studying the scripts of China from before the Qin-Han

small seal script. Introduces the most important historical sources along with modern

reference tools, and lays down a series of ground rules for researchers wanting to work

with early scripts and texts.

Richter, Matthias L. “Tentative Criteria for Discerning Individual Hands in the Guodian

Manuscripts.” In Rethinking Confucianism: Selected Papers from the Third International

Conference on Excavated Chinese Manuscripts, Mount Holyoke College, April 2004. Edited

by Xing Wen, 132–147. San Antonio: Trinity University, 2006.

An examination of scribal hands in the Guodian bamboo manuscripts. Based on a

comparison of graphic characteristics of the same graph in different texts, establishes a series

of objective criteria for distinguishing hands. Insists from a metholodigical point that

different hands should differ in at least two features.

Venture, Olivier. “Looking for Chu People’s Writing Habits.” Asiatische Studien / Etudes

Asiatiques 63.4 (2009): 943–957.

Attempts to identify characteristics that are particular to the state of Chu. Demonstrates the

potential difficulties with this line of enquiry, as the texts may have also been copied by non-

Chu scribes. Consequently, we should limit our investigation to manuscripts that were

authored and copied in Chu.

Venture, Olivier. “La question des ‘écritures chinoises’ à l’époque des Royaumes combattants.”

Arts Asiatiques 61 (2006): 30–44.

Examination of the different scripts during the Warring States period. Analyzes the political

and cultural context of the states and points out the differences between regional scripts,

claiming that there existed a tension between the desire to maintain regional identity and

ascribe to the common ancestral tradition of the Zhou.

Zhang Xiaoming 張曉明. Chunqiu Zhanguo jinwen ziti yanbian yanjiu

春秋戰國金文字體演變研究. Jinan: Qilu shushe, 2006.

A study of the evolution of the orthography of characters used in bronze inscriptions from the

Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. Compares character structure with that in

earlier (Shang oracle bones) and later (Warring States bamboo and silk manuscripts) and

defines the basic characteristics of the corpus.

The Qin-Han Transition

The Qin-Han period marks the transition of the script from the regional scripts of the Warring

States to the centralized standard of the new empires. In traditional terms this is a transition from

the ancient seal scripts to the ‘modern’ clerical script. Zhao 1993 examines the technical aspects

of the transition to the clerical script during the Qin-Han period. Barnard 1979 scrutinizes the

Qin reform of writing, while Galambos 2004 questions the success of this project. Venture 2008

offers a brief introduction to the Qin reforms, and Bodde 1938 looks at the same process from

the point of view of the life of its initiator, the scholar-politician Li Si. Chen 2003 provides a

thorough analysis of the evolution of the script of the Qin state (and later empire), and Louis

2003 examines Han dynasty examples of the birdscript and points out the political implications

of its use.

Barnard, Noel. “The Nature of the Ch’in ‘Reform of the Script’ as Reflected in Archeological

Documents Excavated under Conditions of Control.” Ancient China: Studies in Early

Chinese Civilization. Edited by David T. Roy and Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, 181–213. Hong Kong:

The Chinese University Press, 1979.

Discusses the “appreciably large number of descendantless graphs” seen in Warring States

manuscripts and other archaeological material from before the Qin-Han period. Examines the

radicals in pre-Han characters and descendantless multi-element graphs, showing that their

disappearance—which happened no later than 221 B.C.—was primarily due to phonological

considerations.

Bodde, Derk. China’s First Uni ier: A tu y o the Ch’in Dynasty as een in the Li e o Li su

(280?–208 B. C.). Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1938.

Chapter VIII “The Unification of Writing” is devoted to the reform of the script, attempting

to reconstruct what actually happened. In his assessment of the significance of the

unification, the author follows traditional views in regarding this as the single most important

episode in the history of Chinese writing.

Chen Zhaorong 陳昭容. Qin xi wenzi yanjiu: Cong hanzishi de jiaodu kaocha

秦系文字研究：從漢字史的角度考察. Taibei: Zhongyang yanjiuyuan Lishi yuyan

yanjiusuo, 2003.

A study of the historical evolution of the Qin script, including its manifestations on different

media, such as bronze and stone or bamboo and wood. Starts with the pre-imperial period

and examines the reforms during the reign of the First Emperor and the transition to the

clerical script.

Galambos, Imre. “The Myth of the Qin Unification of Writing in Han Sources.” Acta Orientalia

Scientiarum Hung. 57.2 (2004): 181–203.

Demonstrates that the Qin unification of the script cannot be fully corroborated by

archaeological evidence. Instead, traditional accounts can be shown to be ideological

motivated and should not be accepted at face value. While some reforms were probably

initiated, their enforcement was less rigorous and successful as usually assumed.

Louis, François. “Written Ornament—Ornamental Writing: Birdscript of the Early Han Dynasty

and the Art of Enchanting.” Ars Orientalis 33 (2003): 10–31.

A study of the birdscript on the bronze vessels from Mancheng 滿城. Points out the ritual

associations of this highly ornamental script and its links with the refined culture of southern

state of Chu. Draws attention to the ideological context of using such southern designs.

Venture, Olivier. “L’écriture de Qin.” In Les sol ats e l’éternité: l’armée e Xi’an. Edited by

Alain Thote and Lothar von Falkenhausen, 209–15. Paris: Éditions de la Pinacothèque de

Paris, 2008.

A brief overview of the script of the Qin empire in light of newly excavated material.

Describes the transition from the scripts of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States

periods to that of the Qin, including the unification of writing initiated during the reign of the

First Emperor.

Zhao Ping’an 趙平安. Libian yanjiu (隸變研究). Baoding: Hebei Daxue chubanshe, 1993.

A thorough examination of the process of clericization (libian 隸變), that is, the transition

from the pre-Qin ancient forms to the modern clerical forms of the dynastic period. Includes

a historical overview and an analysis of the typology of changes of characters during this

process.

After the Han

Chinese writing after the Han period continued to evolve, even though the majority of characters

remained relatively stable in terms of their structural composition. A series of standardization

efforts have been launched in different periods to address what at the time was seen as a

tendency towards disorder and confusion. Guo 2010 scrutinizes the script used in early medieval

stone inscriptions, while Galambos 2011 and Huang 2001 focus on the Dunhuang manuscripts.

Fang et al. 2000 examines the standardization of the script, whereas the studies in Ishizuka 2012

are concerned with the history of the orthography of Chinese characters during the dynastic

period. Bottéro 1996 examines how Chinese characters have been classified in Chinese

dictionaries.

Bottéro, Françoise. “Chinese Characters versus Other Writing Systems: The Song Origins of the

Distinction between ‘Non-Compound Characters’ (wen 文) and ‘Compound Characters’ (zi

字).” In Meaning and Form: Essays in Pre-Modern Chinese Grammar. Edited by Ken’ichi

Takashima and Shaoyu Jiang, 1–17. München: Lincom Europa, 2004.

Argues that the understanding of the terms wen 文 and zi 字 as “non-compound” and

“compound” characters does not go back to the Later Han period but is much later and can

be traced to the Song dynasty, more specifically to Zheng Qiao 鄭樵.

Fang Keyu 范可育, Wang Zhifang 王志方, Ding Fanghao 丁方豪. Kaizi guifan shilüe

楷字规范史略. Shanghai: Huadong shifan daxue chubanshe, 2000.

Overview of the standardization of the script during the medieval in light of lexicographic

works such as the Yupian 玉篇, Ganlu zishu 干祿字书 and Longkan shoujian 龙龛手鉴.

Demonstrates how similar efforts were continually present throughout the history of the kai

script.

Galambos, Imre. “Popular character forms (suzi) and semantic compound (huiyi) characters in

medieval Chinese manuscripts.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 131.3 (2011):

395–409.

Examines the occurrence of semantic compound (huiyi 会意) characters in medieval Chinese

manuscripts from Dunhuang and demonstrates that even if the huiyi principle was not at play

during the formative stages of Chinese writing, it certainly was a valid method of character

creation during the medieval period.

Guo Rui 郭瑞. Wei Jin Nanbeichao shike wenzi 魏晋南北朝石刻文字. Guangzhou: Nanfang

ribai chubanshe, 2010.

A comprehensive study of the script used on stone inscriptions from the Wei-Jin and

Nanbeichao periods. Explains the peculiarities of the script and how it fits into the wider

course of the history of Chinese writing. Highlights the relatively fluid character structure,

both on the level of components and strokes.

Huang Zheng 黄征. Dunhuang yuyan wenzixue yanjiu 敦煌语言文字学研究. Lanzhou: Gansu

jiaoyu chubanshe, 2001.

A collection of studies dedicated to the language and script of Dunhuang manuscripts, with

an emphasis on works of popular literature and of lexicography. Based on the author’s

extensive work with manuscripts, the studies discuss the most important aspects of medieval

Chinese writing, including its calligraphy, orthography and phonology.

Ishizuka Harumichi 石塚晴通, ed. Kanji jitaishi kenkyū (漢字字体史研究). Tokyo: Bensei

shuppan, 2012.

A collection of articles related to the history of the orthography of Chinese characters, both in

China and Japan. Topics include the standardization of the script, medieval manuscripts,

history of printing, traditional lexicography, variant characters, evolution of character forms

and modern databases of historical character forms.

Mok, Harod. “Seal and Clerical Scripts of the Sung Dynasty.” In Character and Context in

Chinese Calligraphy. Edited by Cary Y. Liu and Judith G. Smith, 174–198. Princeton, N.J.:

Art Museum, Princeton University, 1999.

Examines archaic scripts in Song calligraphy. Argues that the seal and clerical scripts were

important for the contemporary artistic tradition. Following an increased interest in

antiquities and art collecting, these two scripts were actively practiced by calligraphers and

were used to express artistic individuality and expressiveness.

The Modern Script The script continued to evolve during the modern period as China struggled to find its place

among the modern nations of the world. The most important changes pertained to various efforts

at the standardization and simplification of the script, beginning with the late 19th century.

Zhang et al. 1997, Bökset 2006 and Galambos 2012 discuss the prehistory of simplified

characters. Mair 1996 and Lord 1997 introduce the modern script in the context of the use of

Chinese characters throughout East Asia, while Chen 1999 and Zhao and Baldauf 2007 are

concerned with the political background of the modern simplification of writing. Yi 1955 and

Wang 1995 provide a more or less contemporary point of view into the reforms.

Bökset, Roar. Long Story of Short Forms: The Evolution of Simplified Chinese Characters.

Stockholm: Stockholm University Press, 2006.

A fascinating study of the evolution of simplified characters, combining historical overview

with field data. Demonstrates the extraordinary diversity of handwritten forms used in China

before and after the reforms, and shows that many forms can be tied to geographical regions

and that many modern abbreviations have a long prehistory.

Chen, Ping. Modern Chinese: History and Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1999.

Discusses the political motives behind reforms of modern Chinese language and writing,

including the simplification of the script. Chapter 9 provides a general introduction to the

subject, including its historical background and the pros and cons of the system. A useful

summary of Chinese scholarship available on the reform.

Galambos, Imre. “Simplified characters.” In Demystifying China: New Understandings of

Chinese History. Edited by Naomi Standen, 187–195. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.

Considers the origins of simplified characters instituted in modern China, showing that they

had been used in handwritten texts for centuries and ultimately go back to character forms

commonly used in medieval manuscript culture. Argues against the notion of considering

simplified characters as a product of Communist China.

Lord, Christopher. “On the Chinese Language and Its System of Writing.” Archív Orientálný:

Quarterly Journal of African, Asian and Latin American Studies 65.4 (1997): 353–364.

A study of the modern Chinese script in relation to modern spoken language, drawing on

examples from linguistic situations where Chinese characters are used outside of China

(i.e. Japan, Korea, Vietnam). Posits that in these situations the script represents “the

primary standard form of the language.”

Mair, Victor H. “Modern Chinese Writing.” In The Worl ’s Writing ystems. Edited by Peter T.

Daniels and William Bright, 200–208. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

A brief overview of the modern Chinese writing system and its relationship to “Chinese

languages” (i.e. Mandarin, Cantonese and Literary Sinitic). Also includes a “Comparative

Table of Sinitic Characters” which aligns over a hundred character forms used in China,

Taiwan, and Japan, presenting their differences in a visually accessible way.

Wang Jun 王均 et al. Dangdai Zhongguo de wenzi gaige 当代中国的文字改革. Beijing:

Dangdai Zhongguo chubanshe, 1995.

A large compendium devoted to the modern reform of the script. Provides a detailed

overiview of the simplification and standardization of characters and their significance for

education and literacy. The volume includes a wealth of primary sources related to the

reforms, such as original proposals, legislations and character lists.

Yi Xiwu 易熙吾. Wenzi gaige lunji 文字改革论集. Shanghai: Dongfang shudian, 1955.

A collection of studies on the writing reforms from a contemporary perspective, drawing

attention to issues related to specific reforms (e.g. list of common characters). The author

makes an effort to connect the new script with its past, pointing out historical precedents.

Zhang Shuyan 张书岩, Wang Tiekun 王铁昆, Li Qingmei 李青梅 and An Ning 安宁. Jianhuazi

suyuan 简化字溯源. Beijing: Yuwen chubanshe, 1997.

The book traces the origins of modern simplified characters, demonstrating that the overall

majority of the forms had been in use centuries earlier. In Part I, the book in addition offers a

convenient overview of the numerous simplification efforts from the late Qing period until

1986.

Zhao, Shouhui and Richard B. Baldauf. Planning Chinese Characters: Reaction, Evolution or

Revolution? New York and London: Springer, 2007.

Chapter 1 deals with the simplification of the Chinese script. Provides a detailed description

of events, followed by analysis of the political and cultural forces behind them. Displays a

thorough familiarity with primary sources and secondary literature, and thus is a useful

starting point for anyone interested in the subject.

Variant Characters Orthographic variation has been another popular theme in scholarship on Chinese writing. The

steadily increasing number of excavated manuscripts has pushed paleographic studies into the

foreground. As the new texts needed to be interpreted, dated and placed in historical context,

variant characters became an important part of examination. Proceeding in chronological order

of the subject matter, Anderson 2011 begins with an investigatation of orthographic variability in

Shang writing, Galambos 2006 does the same for late Spring and Autumn and Warring States

periods, and Richter 2005 for Han dynasty manuscripts from Mawangdui. Going further in time,

Zhang 1996 and Huang 2005 deal with variants in the Dunhuang manuscripts. In addition,

Richter 2009 and Kern 2002 examine the modes of textual production in light of character

variation.

Anderson, Matthew. “An Investigation of Orthographic Variance in Shang Writing.” Sino-

Platonic Papers 215 (2011): 1–16.

Analyses character structure in oracle-bone inscriptions, demonstrating a relatively stable

orthography in comparison with the Warring States period. The author claims that this was

probably not due to the existence of a standard but because Shang graphs being structurally

simpler, ultimately suggesting that they represented an earlier stage of development.

Galambos, Imre. Orthography of Early Chinese Writing: Evidence from Newly Excavated

Manuscripts. Budapest: Department of East Asian Languages, Eötvös Loránd University,

2006.

Analyses orthography in the Warring States period. Shows that variability was an inherent

feature of the script and variants did not necessarily imply lexical differences. Includes a

statistical analysis of synchronic variation in formulaic covenant texts from Houma 侯馬 as a

means of demonstrating orthographic diversity in excavated material.

Huang Zheng 黃征. Dunhuang suzidian 敦煌俗字典. Shanghai: Shanghai jiaoyu chubanshe,

2005.

A dictionary of commonly used variant characters in the Dunhuang manuscripts. This is an

essential tool for working with medieval texts, as the same variants are used not only in the

Dunhuang corpus but throughout the medieval period.

Kern, Martin. “Methodological Reflections on the Analysis of Textual Variants and the Modes

of Manuscript Production in Early China.” Journal of East Asian Archaeology 4.1 (2002):

143–181.

An examination of manuscript production in light of textual variants found in excavated

manuscripts. Demonstrates how variation, and the materiality of the manuscript in general,

may shed light on the circumstances of its creation. Stresses that manuscripts are the result of

“social acts and contexts of transmission and reception.”

Richter, Matthias L. “Towards a Profile of Graphic Variation: On the Distribution of Graphic

Variants within the Mawangdui Laozi Manuscripts.” Asiatische Studien / Etudes Asiatiques

59.1 (2005): 169–207.

A thorough analysis and classification of graphic variants in the two Laozi 老子 manuscripts

from Mawangdui 馬王堆, with the aim to compile a profile that would enable us to learn

about the circumstances of manuscript production.

Richter, Matthias L. “Faithful Transmission of Creative Change: Tracing Modes of Manuscript

Production from the Material Evidence.” Asiatische Studien / Etudes Asiatiques 63.4 (2009):

889–908.

A study of orthographic variation in early Chinese manuscripts. Noting the enormous

variability of these manuscripts, the article argues against seeing this as a lack of standard –

instead, it suggests that the standards were local or pertained to smaller circles scribal

schools, and thus variation reflects the discrepancies between different standards.

Zhang Yongquan 張涌泉. Dunhuang suzi yanjiu 敦煌俗字研究. Shanghai: Shanghai jiaoyu

chubanshe, 1996.

A meticulous study of non-standard characters (suzi 俗字) in common use in the Dunhuang

corpus. This work addresses all aspects of such characters and to this day remains the most

authoritative resource on the topic.

Taboo Characters In order to observe the imperial name taboo, the characters of the personal name of members of

the imperial family could not be written down in their full form. Instead, they were altered,

omitted or substituted with synonymous or homophonous ones. Because the taboos were

cumulative within a ruling house, they lasted throughout the entire dynasty (and sometimes

beyond, e.g. the name of Confucius), gradually increasing in number as newer emperors came to

the throne. Today, modern researchers use taboo characters (which can also mean the absence of

a certain character) to date texts, as their use is often closely tied to the specific imperial reigns.

Yet the use of taboo characters is far from being fully understood, as archaeological materials

reveal a highly inconsistent picture that does not accord with traditional explanations of the

practice. Chen 1997 and Wang 2007 are general studies about the custom of using taboo

characters. Beck 1987, Lai 2006 and Venture 2011 scrutinize the use of taboo characters in the

Qin-Han period. Soymié 1990 discusses their application in China in general, with an emphasis

on the medieval period. Dou 2007 and Galambos 2012 examine taboo characters in the

Dunhuang manuscripts. Vissière 1901 is an early study with a focus on the modern (i.e. Qing)

period.

Beck, B. J. Mansvelt. “The First Emperor’s Taboo Character and the Three-day Reign of King

Xiaowen.” T’oung Pao 73 (1987): 68–85.

Examines the question of taboo characters during the reign of the First Emperor in light of

excavated manuscripts. Proposes that the emperor was tabooed only after his death, not in his

lifetime.

Chen Yuan 陈垣. Shihui juli 史讳举例. Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1997.

A short but influential study of taboo characters in Chinese texts. The book is organized

around concrete examples which illustrate a series of patterns encountered in textual

sources, with an emphasis on enhancing the understanding of the original text.

Dou Huaiyong 竇懷永. Dunhuang wenxian bihui yanjiu 敦煌文獻避諱研究. Ph.D. dissertation.

Hangzhou: Zhejiang daxue, 2007.

A comprehensive study of taboo characters in the Dunhuang manuscripts. Provides an

analysis of the main types of orthographic changes and also explains their connection with

vulgar character forms. The study also demonstrates the value of taboo characters for dating

manuscripts, including the difficulties in such application.

Galambos, Imre. “Taboo characters in Buddhist manuscripts from Dunhuang.” In Zhonggu

shidai de liyi, zongjiao yu zhidu 中古时代的礼仪、宗教与制度. Edited by Yu Xin 余欣,

109–125. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2012.

Examines the use of taboo characters in dated Buddhist manuscripts, showing that while such

variant characters never occur in officially commissioned sutras, they are often found in other

Buddhist texts. Emphasizes that even in texts where they occur, taboo characters are used

inconsistently and often occur intermixed with non-tabooed forms.

Lai Guolong 來國龍. “Bihuizi yu chutu Qin-Han jianbo de yanjiu”

(避諱字與出土秦漢簡帛的研究). Jianbo yanjiu 簡帛研究 (2006): 126–133.

Investigates the use of taboo characters in Qin-Han manuscripts. Points out that the imperial

name taboo was observed in official communications between various levels of the

bureaucracy but not in other types of texts. Therefore, when trying to date manuscripts, we

should first identify the nature of the text.

Soymié, Michel. “Observations sur les caractères interdits en Chine.” Journal Asiatique 278.3–4

(1990): 377–407.

A study of taboo characters in dynastic China, primarily focusing on cases which avoid

writing the given names of members of the imperial family. After a historical overview, the

author turns to concrete examples from epigraphic and manuscript sources and shows that

their use is far from being consistent.

Vissière, M. A. “Traité des caractères chinois que l'on évite par respect.” Journal Asiatique (Sep-

Oct 1901): 320–373.

An examination of taboo characters associated with the names of emperors of the Qing

dynasty, plus those of Confucius and Mencius. Listing the emperors one by one, discusses

the various methods of tabooing a character and their occurrence in contemporary texts.

Venture, Olivier. “Caractères interdits et vocabulaire officiel sous les Qin : L’apport des

documents administratifs de Liye.” Etudes Chinoises 30 (2011): 73–98.

A study of taboo characters during the Qin dynasty in light of the newly excavated

documents. Demonstrates that the woodslips do not support earlier assumptions about the

Qin name taboos. Shows that some features habitually thought to have been introduced

during the Qin are also attested in Warring States manuscripts.

Wang Xinhua王新华. Bihui yanjiu 避讳研究. Jinan: Qilu shushe, 2007

A general study of taboo characters in Chinese history. Examines the reasons behind the

development of name taboos, the methods and patterns of its application in writing, and the

concrete changes in the script implemented in different time periods.

Empress Wu Characters

During the fifteen years of reign (690–705), Empress Wu Zetian 武則天 introduced eighteen

new characters to replace the ones used in her own name and reign titles. With the restoration of

the Tang in 705, these characters were abandoned and people began using, at least in principle,

the original ones. Because these characters were among the most common ones (e.g. 日, 月, 天,

人, 年), they are often seen in contemporary inscriptions and manuscripts, and this allows

modern researchers to use them for dating purposes. Yet it seems that some of the Empress Wu

characters continued to be used even after her reign, and in special contexts survived to modern

times. Kuranaka 1995 brings together several studies into an entire volume, with a focus on the

use of Empress Wu characters in Japan. Similarly, Shi 2002 comprises several studies discussing

the characters as they appear in inscriptional and manuscript sources, including their peculiarities

and differences. Drège 1984 analyzes the use of these characters in the Dunhuang manuscripts.

Drège, Jean-Pierre. “Les caractères de l'impératrice Wu Zetian dans les manuscrits de Dunhuang

et de Turfan.” Bulletin e l’École rançaise ’ xtrême-Orient 73 (1984): 339–354.

Analyzes the characters instituted by Empress Wu Zetian and compares their use in

epigraphic and manuscript materials. Discusses the applicatoin of such characters for

dating texts. An appendix discusses the dating of an early printed text found in the Pulguk

monastery in Korea, which includes several such characters.

Kuranaka Susumu 蔵中進. okuten moji no kenkyū (則天文字の研究). Tōkyō: Kanrin Shobō,

1995.

A collection of articles written by the same author on Empress Wu characters, including

their origins, invention, spread to Japan, use in reign titles or colophons. Includes several

case studies where the characters are examined in a particular manuscript.

Shi Anchang 施安昌, ed. Shanben beitie lunji (善本碑貼論集). Beijing: Zijincheng, 2002.

Part of the book 2 is devoted to Empress Wu characters, including topics such as the

discrepancy between transmitted sources and archaeological material; the date of introducing

particular characters; the sources behind the character forms; the corruption of original

forms; or the discrepancies between epigraphic and manuscript material.

Literacy

Literacy and the acquisition of writing is closely connected with the history of the script. As a

general rule, studies on literacy tend to focus not so much on the script itself as on the actors and

social circumstances behind it. They introduce a social dimension to paleography and attempt to

explain about who were the people who produced the texts we examine. While Li 2011 looks at

the social context of literacy, Lewis 1999 considers its political aspects. As Giele 2009 points

out the different degrees of literacy in Han administrative texts, Barbieri-Low 2011 and Yates

2011 examine what it meant to be literate at the lower levels of society. For the medieval period,

Mair 1983 discusses the production of manuscripts by lay students in Dunhuang, and Drège 1991

discusses the effect of printing on people’s ability to read and write. Rawski 1979 examines the

extent of popular literacy in the pre-modern period.

Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. “Craftsman’s Literacy: Uses of Writing by Male and Female Artisans

in Qin and Han China.” In Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia

Early China Seminar. Edited by Li Feng and David Prager Branner, 370–399. Seattle &

London: University of Washington Press, 2011.

Investigates literacy among artisans during the Qin-Han period, arguing while the state

compelled artisans to acquire writing skills in order to be able to control them more

efficiently, this also had a counter-effect as artisans used writing to promote their own

business interests and resist the imposition of the administration.

Drège, Jean-Pierre. “La lecture et l’écriture en Chine et la xylographie.” Etudes Chinoises 10.1–2

(1991): 77–106.

Discusses literacy and the effect of printing on reading habits in medieval China. Points out

that the greater availability of books changed the way people read and reduced the necessity

to memorize texts. Conversely, the greater readability of the woodblock prints had a

standardizing effect on writing habits.

Eno Gīre エノ・ギーレ [Giele, Enno]. “Kodai no shikiji nōryoku wo ikagani hantei suru no ka:

Kandai gyōsei monjo no jirei kenkyū”

古代の識字能力を如何に判定するのか──漢代行政文書の事例研究. In: Sanzennen no

kanji 三千年の漢字. Edited by Takata Tokio 高田時雄, 133–154. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten,

2009.

Using concrete examples of characters from excavated documents, the author reviews how

the modern researcher can assess the degree of literacy in administrative documents from the

Han dynasty. Explained also are the limitations we are facing in this respect.

Lewis, Mark Edward. Writing and Authority in Early China. Albany: State University of New

York Press, 1999.

A study of the social and political functions of writing in early China and the establishment

of a textual Canon which served as the basis for imperial authority. Explores the many

different uses of writing and how these were employed by the state for the purposes of

administration and control.

Li, Feng. “Literacy and the Social Contexts of Writing in the Western Zhou.” In Writing and

Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar. Edited by Li Feng

and David Prager Branner, 271–301. Seattle & London: University of Washington Press,

2011.

Investigates the social functions of writing during the Western Zhou period, at the same time

arguing that by that time literacy spread well beyond the groups of trained scribes, even

though the overall majority of the population remained illiterate.

Mair, Victor H. “Lay Students and the Making of Written Vernacular Narrative: An Inventory of

Tun-huang Manuscripts.” Chinoperl Papers 10 (1983): 5-96.

Attempts to identify those persons who wrote down the popular narratives found in

Dunhuang. Concludes that this was done by lay students studying in Buddhist monasteries as

part of their school practice, rather than for “evangelic” purposes as formerly assumed.

Rawski, Evelyn Sakakida. ucation an Popular Literacy in Ch’ing China (Michigan Studies

on China). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1979.

A study of literacy during the Qing period from the point of view of social history. The

author examines, among others, the educational system and the availability of popular

reading material, demonstrating that functional literacy in this period was relatively common

and could be found at all levels of society.

Yates, Robin D. S. “Soldiers, Scribes, and Women: Literacy among the Lower Orders in Early

China.” In Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China

Seminar. Edited by Li Feng and David Prager Branner, 339–369. Seattle & London:

University of Washington Press, 2011.

Explores literacy among the lower orders of administration in the Qin and Han empires,

providing evidence for basic literacy skills. Also demonstrates how members of this social

stratum at times relied on such skills in an effort to use the legal system to their personal

advantage and challenge state’s authority.

Nüshu

Nüshu 女书 (‘women’s writing’) is a script discovered in Jiangyong county, Hunan province,

that was used exclusively by female members of local society. It is essentially a simplification of

the Chinese script and is at least partially used phonetically to write the local dialect. Apart from

its linguistic peculiarities, it has also gained much attention because of its social background and

the fact that its use has been limited to female users. Zhao 1995 is one of the earliest studies

emphasizing the cultural aspect of the script, whereas Endō and Huang 2005 is mainly devoted to

linguistic considerations. Zhao 2005 is a facsimile collection of primary texts which provides

access to the manuscripts for other scholars, and Idema 2009 is a translation of some of the texts

written in this script.

Endō Orie 远藤织枝 and Huang Xuezhen 黄雪贞, eds. Nüshu de lishi yu xianzhuang: Jiexi

nüshu de xin shidian 女书的历史与现状: 解析女书的新视点. Beijing: Zhongguo shehui

kexue chubanshe, 2005.

A collection of academic articles related to Nüshu, including linguistic features such as the

etymology and multivalence of graphs, variant characters. Of special interest is Shi Jinbo’s

史金波 article which discusses the possible date of Nüshu in light of other ancient scripts

once used in China.

Idema, Wilt L. Heroines of Jiangyong: Chinese Narrative Balla s in Women’s cript. Seattle &

London: University of Washington Press, 2009.

Translations of ballads from Jiangyong written in the Nüshu script, preceded by an

introduction to the background of women’s writing. Understandably, the book focuses on the

literary and cultural aspects of the texts, including its historical connections, rather than the

script itself.

Zhao Liming 赵丽明. Nüshu yu nüshu wenhua 女书与女书文化. Beijing: Xinhua chubanshe,

1995.

An early study of the Nüshu phenomenon with a focus on its social and cultural background.

The last chapter makes an attempt to find parallels to scripts known to have been used by

female users in other cultures, such as Japan and Korea.

Zhao Liming 趙麗明. Zhongguo nüshu heji 中國女書合集. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2005, 5

vols.

A facsimile collection of manuscripts written in the Nüshu script divided into thematic

categories. In addition to the images, the compiler also included full transcriptions into

Chinese and occasional notes. This is a long-awaited publication that allows researchers to

study the texts themselves and make their own conclusions.

The Use of the Script in Non-Chinese Cultures

As the major writing system in East Asia, the Chinese script was also used for a number of other

languages than Chinese, creating what Japanese scholars in the 1970s termed “the cultural sphere

of Chinese characters” (kanji bunkaken 漢字文化圈). Not surprisingly, the strongest interest in

this phenomenon has been in Japan, as manifested in the steady stream of Japanese monographs

on the subject (e.g. Fujieda 1971, Tōdō 1971, Ishikawa 2007). Lurie 2011 also scrutinizes,

among other things, the adoption of the script in Japan, with implications for the history of

writing in general. In China, where interest in the spread of the script arose relatively late, the

basic works on the topic are Lu 2002, Dong 2002 and Wang 2003. Finally, Qi 2006 examines the

process and its cultural background in a single region—Vietnam.

Dong Ming 董明. Gudai Hanyu hanzi duiwai chuanbo shi 古代汉语汉字对外传播史. Beijing:

Zhongguo da baike quanshu, 2002.

An investigation of the use of the Chinese language and script in Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

An additional section is devoted to the role of religion in the spread of language, including

medieval Buddhist contacts with Central and South Asia and later links with Western

missionaries.

Fujieda Akira 藤枝晃. Moji no bunkashi 文字の文化史. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1971.

Introduction to the social history of Chinese characters for the general reader. Discusses the

origin and development of the script, including other related topics, such as seals, writing

media, bookbinding formats, and printing. One of the chapters enumerates the various other

scripts that have been in contact with the Chinese.

Ishikawa Kyūyō 石川九楊. Kanji ga tsukutta Higashi Ajia 漢字がつくった東アジア. Tokyo:

Chikuma shobō, 2007.

An examination of the role the Chinese script played in the development of the East Asian

cultural sphere, including its use in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The author argues for

the existence of a relatively unified East Asian culture which is largely determined by the use

of Chinese characters.

Lu Xixing 陆锡兴. Hanzi chuanbo shi 汉字传播史. Beijing: Yuwen chubanshe, 2002.

A study of the history of how Chinese characters spread to other cultures that co-existed with

the Chinese dynasties. The author examines the use of sinographs not only in Japan, Korea

and Vietnam but also among those peoples who lived in regions that are part of modern-day

China.

Lurie, David B. Realms of Literacy: Early Japan and the History of Writing (Harvard East Asian

Monographs). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center, 2011.

A thorough investigation of the beginnings of writing in Japan and the gradual adoption of

the Chinese script. The author discusses the complex history of literacy and how the Chinese

script was used in a variety of ways to write and read both Chinese and Japanese languages.

Qi Guangmou 祁广谋. “Hanyu hanzi zai Yuenan de chuanbo ji qi wenhua yiyi fenxi”

汉语汉字在越南的传播及其文化意义分析. Dongnanya yanjiu 东南亚研究(2006) 5: 88–

93.

An analysis of the use of the Chinese language and the Chinese script in Vietnam, and the

influences of this phenomenon on Vietnamese society and culture.

Tōdō Akiyasu 藤堂明保. Kanji to sono bunkaken 漢字とその文化圈. Tokyo: Kōseikan, 1971.

A general introduction to the development of Chinese characters in China, Japan, Korea and

Vietnam. Outlines the history of when and how the Chinese script was adopted in each of

these regions, and explains the social background and technical difficulties of the process.

Wang Feng 王锋. Cong Hanzi dao hanzixi wenzi: Hanzi wenhuaquan wenzi yanjiu

从汉字到汉字系文字——汉字文化圈文字研究. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 2003.

A study of the development of non-Chinese East Asian writing systems that derive from the

Chinese script, including the Zhuang, Chu Nom, Tangut, Khitan, and Jurchen scripts. In

addition to describing each of these scripts in detail, the author also examines their historical

evolution and peculiar cultural attributes.

Punctuation and Other Marks

Although for most of its history Chinese writing was fully functional without punctuation, a

number of marks had also been used before the introduction of Western-style punctuation in the

Republican period. Their presence, however, was sporadic and often limited to educational and

commentarial literature. With the emergence of a large amount of excavated material,

punctuation, as a phenomenon intimately related to the use of the script, also became a subject of

scholarly scrutiny. Guan 2002 is the only monograph devoted to the topic, covering the entire

spectrum of Chinese history. Likewise, Harbsmeier 1998 discusses punctuation in general

throughout history, while Behr and Führer 2005 are primarily concerned with early Chinese

material. Ishizuka 1993, Galambos 2010 and Galambos 2013 focus on medieval manuscripts

from Dunhuang.

Behr, Wolfgang and Bernhard Fuehrer. “Einführende Notizen zum Lesen in China mit

besonderer Berücksichtigung der Frühzeit.” In Aspekte des Lesens in China in

Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (Edition Cathay; Beiträge zur 4. DVCS-Tagung). Edited by

Bernhard Fuehrer, 1–44. Bochum: Projekt Verlag, 2005.

A study of reading in early China, which also includes an extensive discussion of the use of

punctuation in manuscript material (pp. 34–44), including marks used for duplication and

segmentation of text.

Galambos, Imre. “Scribal Notation in Medieval Chinese Manuscripts: The Hewen (Ligature) and

Chongwen (Duplication) Marks.” Manuscript Cultures in Asia and Africa (Hamburg

University) 2 (2010): 5–9.

A brief exploration of the use of the hewen 合文 and chongwen 重文 in the Dunhuang

manuscripts. Demonstrates that while medieval use of hewen is unrelated to the type used

in pre-Qin times, the chongwen mark shows a clear continuity from the Warring States into

the dynastic period.

Galambos, Imre. “Correction Marks in the Dunhuang Manuscripts.” In Studies in Chinese

Manuscripts: From the Warring States Period to the 20th Century. Edited by Imre

Galambos, 191–210. Budapest: ELTE University, Department of East Asian Languages,

2013.

An overview of the marks used by medieval scribes to correct mistakes. Provides a

classification of the most common marks illustrated by examples. An argument is

advanced that the consistency of the notation over the course of several centuries is proof

for the continuity of the manuscript tradition.

Guan Xihua 管錫華. Zhongguo gudai biaodian fuhao fazhanshi 中國古代標點符號發展史.

Chengdu: Bashu shushe, 2002.

A book-length diachronic overview of the use of punctuation in traditional Chinese textual

culture, from the oracle-bone inscriptions and Warring States bamboo slips to Dunhuang

manuscripts and the Qing dynasty.

Harbsmeier, Christoph. Language and Logic. In Science and Civilisation in China. Vol. 7, Part

1. Edited by Kenneth Robinson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Includes a brief overview of punctuation. Shows that while texts in China have been

generally unpunctuated, various marks appear already in Warring States manuscripts, even

though their use remained inconsistent. It is only in the 20th century that Western

punctuation is introduced and becomes used in a systematic way.

Ishizuka, Harumichi. “The origins of the ssŭ-shêng marks,” Acta Asiatica 65 (1993): 30–50.

A study of the beginnings of the sisheng 四聲 marks in China and Japan. Distinguishes

between the sisheng marks which indicated the tone of a character and the poyin 破音

marks used to differentiate between the original and derivative meanings of characters in

context.