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Cangjie
Cangjie is a legendary figure in Chinese mythology, said to have been an official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend has it that he had four eyes, and that when he invented the characters, the deities and ghosts cried and the sky rained millet. He is considered a legendary rather than historical figure, or at least not considered to be the sole inventor of Chinese characters. Cangjie was the eponym for the ''Cangjiepian'' proto-dictionary, the Cangjie method of inputting characters into a computer, and a Martian rock visited by the Mars rover '' Spirit'', and named by the rover team. Legend of character creation There are several versions of the legend. One tells that shortly after unifying China, the Yellow Emperor, being dissatisfied with the "rope knot tying" method of recording information, charged Cangjie with the task of creating characters for writing. Cangjie then settled down on the bank of a river, and devoted himself ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cangjie Input Method
The Cangjie input method (Tsang-chieh input method, sometimes called Changjie, Cang Jie, Changjei or Chongkit) is a system for entering Chinese characters into a computer using a standard computer keyboard. In filenames and elsewhere, the name Cangjie is sometimes abbreviated as cj. The input method was invented in 1976 by Chu Bong-Foo, and named after Cangjie (Tsang-chieh), the mythological inventor of the Chinese writing system, at the suggestion of Chiang Wei-kuo, the former Defense Minister of Taiwan. Chu Bong-Foo released the patent for Cangjie in 1982, as he thought that the method should belong to Chinese culture, Chinese cultural heritage. Therefore, Cangjie has become open-source software and is on every computer system that supports traditional Chinese characters, and it has been extended so that Cangjie is compatible with the Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese character set. Cangjie is the first Chinese input method to use the QWERTY keyboard. Chu saw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cangjiepian
The ''Cangjiepian'', also known as the ''Three Chapters'' (, ''sāncāng''), was a BCE Chinese primer and a prototype for Chinese dictionaries. Li Si, Chancellor of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), compiled it for the purpose of reforming written Chinese into the new orthographic standard Small Seal Script. Beginning in the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 221 CE), many scholars and lexicographers expanded and annotated the ''Cangjiepian''. By the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907), it had become a lost work, but in 1977, archeologists discovered a cache of (c. 165 BCE) texts written on bamboo strips, including fragments of the ''Cangjiepian''. Title The eponymous ''Cangjiepian'' title derives from the culture hero Cangjie, the legendary Yellow Emperor's historian and inventor of Chinese writing. According to Chinese mythology, Cangjie, who had four eyes and remarkable cognizance, created Chinese characters after observing natural phenomena such as the footprints of birds and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Input Methods For Computers
Several input methods allow the use of Chinese characters with computers. Most allow selection of characters based either on their pronunciation or their graphical shape. Phonetic input methods are easier to learn but are less efficient, while graphical methods allow faster input, but have a steep learning curve. Other methods allow users to write characters directly via touchscreens, such as those found on mobile phones and tablet computers. History Chinese input methods predate the computer. One of the early attempts was an electro-mechanical Chinese typewriter Mingkwai () which was invented by Lin Yutang, a prominent Chinese writer, in the 1940s. It assigned thirty base shapes or strokes to different keys and adopted a new way of categorizing Chinese characters. But the typewriter was not produced commercially and Lin soon found himself deeply in debt. Before the 1980s, Chinese publishers hired teams of workers and selected a few thousand type pieces from an enormous Chin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Characters
Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only one that has remained in continuous use. Over a documented history spanning more than three millennia, the function, style, and means of writing characters have changed greatly. Unlike letters in alphabets that reflect the sounds of speech, Chinese characters generally represent morphemes, the units of meaning in a language. Writing all of the frequently used vocabulary in a language requires roughly 2000–3000 characters; , nearly have been identified and included in ''The Unicode Standard''. Characters are created according to several principles, where aspects of shape and pronunciation may be used to indicate the character's meaning. The first attested characters are oracle bone inscriptions made during the 13th century&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xi Zi Pagoda
The Xi Zi Pagoda (惜字塔, Xizi Ta) is a paper burning incinerator constructed in the shape of a small pagoda. In Taiwan, it is commonly referred to as Sheng Ji Ting (圣迹亭) or Xi Zi Ting (惜字亭), in Hakka regions as Jing Zi Ting (敬字亭), and in Ryukyu as Funjirū (Ryukyu language: ). Unlike incinerators used for burning joss paper for ancestral worship, the Xi Zi Pagoda is specifically designed for burning paper containing written characters. This practice reflects the deep respect and reverence ancient scholars and literati held for written characters. The pagoda also symbolizes reverence for the inventor of Chinese characters and the God of Culture and Literature. The belief that written characters were sacred, influenced by the imperial examination system, was deeply ingrained in ancient Chinese culture. It was considered improper to casually dispose of paper inscribed with characters. Instead, discarded paper with words had to be burned with sincere reverence. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural traditions. Populated with engaging narratives featuring extraordinary individuals and beings endowed with magical powers, these stories often unfold in fantastical mythological realms or historical epochs. Similar to numerous other mythologies, Chinese mythology has historically been regarded, at least partially, as a factual record of the past. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion and Taoism, especially older popular forms of it. Many narratives recounting characters and events from ancient times exhibit a dual tradition: one that presents a more historicized or euhemerized interpretation, and another that offers a more mythological perspective. Numerous myths delve into the creation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as a deity individually or as part of the Wufang Shangdi, Five Regions Highest Deities () in Chinese folk religion. Regarded as the initiator of Chinese culture, he is traditionally credited with numerous innovations – including the traditional Chinese calendar, Taoism, wooden houses, boats, carts, the compass needle, "the earliest forms of writing", and cuju, ''cuju'', a ball game. Calculated by Jesuits in China, Jesuit missionaries, as based on various Chinese chronicles, Huangdi's traditional reign dates begin in either 2698 or 2697 BC, spanning one hundred years exactly, later accepted by the twentieth-century promoters of a universal calendar starting with the Yellow Emperor. Huangdi's cult is first attested in the Warring States peri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It borders Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, Shandong and Liaoning to the east, and Inner Mongolia to the north; in addition, Hebei entirely surrounds the direct-administered municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin on land. Its population is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu people, Manchu, 0.8% Hui people, Hui, and 0.3% Mongols in China, Mongol. Varieties of Chinese spoken include Jilu Mandarin, the Beijing dialect of Mandarin, and Jin Chinese. During the Spring and Autumn period, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (771–226 BC), the region was ruled by the states of Yan (state), Yan and Zhao (state), Zhao. During the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), the region was called Zhongshu Sheng, Zhongshu. It was called North Zhili during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to the west. Shaanxi covers an area of over with about 37 million people, the 16th-largest in China. Xi'anwhich includes the sites of the former capitals Fenghao and Chang'anis the provincial capital and largest city in Northwest China and also one of the oldest cities in China and the oldest of the Historical capitals of China, Four Ancient Capitals, being the capital for the Western Zhou, Western Han, Sima Jin, Jin, Sui dynasty, Sui and Tang dynasty, Tang List of Chinese dynasties, dynasties. Xianyang, which served as the capital of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), is just north across the Wei River. The other Prefectures of China, prefecture-level prefecture-level city, cities into which the province is divided are Ankang, Baoji, Hanzho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shǐ (surname)
Shǐ (史) is a Chinese surname meaning "history" of "official historiographer". It is romanized Shih in Wade–Giles, or Sze or Si in Cantonese romanization. According to a 2008 study, it was the 82nd most common name in China. A 2013 study found that it is shared by 2.85 million people, or 0.210% of the population, with the province with the most people being Henan. It is the 63rd name on the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' poem.K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. . Origins # It is said to be borne by descendants of Cang Jie, the official historiographer during the reign of the mythical Huang Di, the ‘Yellow Emperor’The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland # Shi (史), post name of an official in charge of recording historical events during the Western Zhou dynasty. Later, the surname was subsequently adopted as a surname by descendants of official historiographers in many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literary And Colloquial Readings Of Chinese Characters
Differing literary and colloquial readings for certain Chinese characters are a common feature of many Chinese varieties, and the reading distinctions for these linguistic doublets often typify a dialect group. Literary readings () are usually used in loanwords, geographic and personal names, literary works such as poetry, and in formal contexts, while colloquial readings () are used in everyday vernacular speech. For example, the character for 'white' () is normally read with the colloquial pronunciation in Standard Chinese, but can also have the literary reading in names or in some formal or historical contexts. This example is particularly well known due to its effect on the modern pronunciations "Bo Juyi" and "Li Bo" for the names of the Tang dynasty (618–907) poets Bai Juyi and Li Bai. The differing pronunciations have led linguists to explore the strata of Sinitic languages, as such differences reflect a history of dialect interchange and the influence of formal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
