Tang Han Xie Zi: Chinese Characters and Gender Culture

Author: Tang Han
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: Among the known writing systems in the world, Chinese characters are widely recognized as difficult to master, leading to many mysterious connotations attached to them. For example, the legend of Cangjie, the ancient inventor of Chinese characters, was said to have caused "gods and demons wept, and the sky rained grains of rice." Over the centuries, Xu Shen wrote the Shuowen Jiezi, summarizing the six methods of character formation in Chinese characters, which brought the recognition and use of Chinese characters into a more rational era. However, for millennia, Chinese characters have remained difficult to recognize, write, and memorize. By the early 20th century, as China opened its doors to the world and Western influences swept in, everything underwent renewal, leading to calls for the promotion of the romanization of Chinese characters.