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 MEMOIES j,o > •
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OF THE

OARNEaiE MUSEUM.
VOL. IV. NO. 1.

EARLY CHINESE WRITING.

By Rev. Frank H. Chalfant.

I. Illustrations of Early Writing Derived from Ancient Inscriptions.

II. Notes upon the " Shuo Wen."

III. The Royal Edict Confirming the Domain of San.

IV. Ancient Inscriptions upon Bone and Tortoise Shell.

Prefatory Note.
The Rev. Frank H. Chalfant, who for nineteen years has been a missionary in
the Province of Shantung, China, has devoted much time to the study of Chinese
archaeology, and more particularly to the ancient Chinese writings which tend to
throw light upon the origin of the present written and printed symbols. Upon the
occasion of a recent visit to the United States the writer induced Mr. Chalfant
to put into shape for publication the following memoir upon which he had for
several years been laboring at moments of leisure. It embodies a large amount of

interesting and curious information collated from Chinese sources, which, though in
part known to students of the Chinese language, has not been put into a form easily
accessible to philologists. Mr. Chalfant in his memoir has not confined himself to
material known hitherto, but has embodied in his paper the results of original
observations made by him upon archajological material acquired by himself and
others from the Province of Honan, consisting of inscriptions of great antiquity
upon bone and tortoise-shell. This material when further examined promises to
yield valuable results. For the first time, so far as is known to the writer, a tenta-

tive translation of the edict designated by Mr. Chalfant as " The San Edict" is

given. This is a legal paper of undoubted antiquity, going back at least to 1000
B. C.
1

759952
 2. ,. ,
; MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

•c r ft , • , c
f </;; I :M,r/'Chalfant has with great patience and skill written with his own hand the
. " . . t ' • „' »

characters which are employed in the text and accompanying plates, which have
been carefully reproduced by photogravure.
W. J. Holland,
Director of the Carnegie 3hiseum.

I. ILLUSTRATIONS OF EARLY WRITING DERIVED FROM

ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS.
The study of alphabetic or syllabic languages readily resolves itself into two
branches : orthography, which concerns the correct use of letters and syllables and
the history of these phonetic signs ; and etymology, which deals with the deriva-
tion of words and their successive changes in meaning. The fact that the letters
and syllables as writing-signs have only a phonetic value, and are used without
reference to their original and inherent significance, causes a distinct demarcation
between the two branches of philology just mentioned. For example, it is well
known that our letter A was originally an ox's head and signified that animal, but
it does not follow that every word containing the letter A must needs have some
connection with an ox.
Turning now to ideographic languages, the case is very different. Here the word
or symbol is in itself significant of the meaning which The A still means
it bears.
" ox," when it occurs alone or in combination, and the student must determine what
relation the accepted meaning of the symbol has to that of the primitive ideogram.
The Chinese language is in the main ideographic, with a tendency to syllabism
owing to the infusion of certain classes of signs called " radicals " and " phonetics."

Where the " phonetic " is purely such, the student need not attempt to reconcile the
accepted meaning of the complex symbol with that of the phonetic sign, the specific
meaning of which may be quite foreign to that of the complex symbol in which
the phonetic occurs.^ At the same time it must be remembered that the introduc-
tion of the " phonetic " was at one time a new idea to the Chinese. Once appreci-
ated, they applied it widely, and where a writer discovered in an old symbol some
semblance of a newly recognized phonetic, he forthwith altered it to suit the phonetic
scheme. This recalls the old-time rage in Europe for Latin derivations, which led
to the Latinizing of familiar Anglo-Saxon words, e. g., tongue from A. S. " tung."
In many instances the Chinese resorted to punning in order to bring a certain
symbol into the phoneticized class. Such may have been the case in the symbol
' An example of this is shown in the sign [ ^J yu = "park. " The phonetic j& yu means '
' have, " and here has
only a phonetic value.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WKITINU 3

^ cJamg — "grasshopper." This is contracted from t^*^ which is made up of ^

chung = "multitude" and v^ "insects." This "multitudinous insect" happened to
be called "chunfj," so that in selecting a phonetic sign "chung" a pun was apparently
made by adopting the symb(jl ^= " multitude." Without doubt many phonetics
add to the meaning of the symbol in which they occur. These we may call "sig-

nificant phonetics" to distinguish them from such as are used without reference to

their inherent meaning.

It thus appears that in the Chinese language orthography and etymology over-
lap. The key to the meaning of a sign lies in the ideogram itself. When we study
the changes in the form of the symbols we also learn the history of their varied

meanings. Besides the "phonetic" we find another class of affixed signs intended
to aid the reader in distinguishing the nature of the symbols. These have unfor-
tunately been called "radicals,"^ whereas "determinatives" or "classifiers" would
have been better. They determine the nature, class, or material of the symbol to
which they are attached. Thus words of feeling will likely appear with the "heart
"
{i\lt> or radical " affixed. The names of wooden things contain the sign for " tree
>f)

(;^). The names of metallic objects are accompanied by the "metal ('^) radical."^
There are now two hundred and fourteen radicals, reduced from the five hundred
and forty "primitives" or "classifiers" of the Shuo Wen, A. D. 120, (see infra).
Many of them designate incongruous groups of symbols not mutually related, and
often utterly at variance with the meaning of the radical. This has happened
through the accidental coincidence of forms in many symbols which have been
evolved from widely dissimilar roots. A marked example of this incongruity is the
group of symbols under Rad. 44 (/^ "corpse"), very few of which have any relation
to death.

Familiarity with Chinese modes of thought, methods of work, and social customs
aids much in determining the significance of certain old signs. The history of

ancient institutions which have now passed away, or been modified, also helps in
the same manner. For example, it is a tradition among the Chinese that the East
Palace was the hall of audience and place for administering the laws. When we
find an old symbol "judge" composed of the elements "east" (^) and "speak"
for

(E)) we see an appropriateness in the combination from the ancient custom of

"judging" in the "East" Palace.*
^Tlie Chinese
" word-raotber."
name is !X!
^p (s'i-pu "word-class" or "classifier." The collo<|nial term is l|Z &M nm

'This is nsnally termed the "gold radical." It means metal of any kind, and " gold " only by its preeminence
as a metal.
<The edict of Wu Wang (?), referred to elsewhere as the "San Edict," was "given in the East Audience Hall."
4 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

Care must be taken not to overvalue fantastic and distorted symbols, due to
illiteracy or intentional alteration. Sometimes a pictograph occurs where a descrip-
tive ideogram already existed for the same object. Thus in a certain old inscription

the picture '^'* occurs for the descriptive symbol, tla (modern |^ ki "chicken"),
"bird" -jl
with "claAvs" (A and "feathers," f\.
While the latter contains nothing
characteristic of a chicken as compared with other birds, still it is descriptive and
not pictorial. The picture of the bird answers the purpose of conveying thought
just as well as the descriptive symbol, but it would be wrong to infer that the two
are identical as pictographs. They are merely two separate signs for the same idea.

Possibly the writer in this case was not familiar with the existing sign, and so drew
a picture of a chicken which answered just as well, and was quite in keeping with
the genius of his language. Instances do occur where an incongruous collection of
elementary signs in the modern symbol resolves itself into a pictograph as the forms
are traced back. Take the symbol " to fly " (fei) as an illustration of this, beginning
with the modern form: ^<ff|<^<:^<;(^<^- Here, from a conventional modern
sign, we trace the successive forms to that of an undoubted pictograph, wherein the

idea of flight is beautifully portrayed.

The appended list of some four hundred symbols will suffice to show that
etymology, when applied to the Chinese language, appeals mainly to the eye, and
hence has more of orthography in it than it has of phonology, the main thing in the
study of alphabetic languages.

Sources op Knowledge Concerning Early Chinese Writing.

The modern style of Chinese writing had its beginning in the reign of the
founder of the Ch'in Dynasty (B. C. 240), when the substitution of the hair-pencil
for the metal stylus (Fig. 1) for engraving hard surfaces wrought an important
change in the shape of the symbols. Prior to that date the prevailing scheme was
that of curved lines, due to the habit of engraving upon copper, stone, bamboo, or
other hard substances by means of a metal point. This rendered curved lines
easier of execution than straight lines and angles. The hair-pencil on paper did
not lend itself readily to these shapes, and we find the "square character" in the
ascendency until it entirely supplanted the older system of "seal character" about
A. D. 400.
This change in penmanship so modified the appearance of the written signs as
to greatly obscure and almost obliterate their pictorial character. Hence the neces-

'This resembles the pictograph for "kite," -^ see Plate XV., No. 204.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING

sity for seeking older sources of information than that afforded by the modern text.
Fortunately we have many examples of the older text in (1) ancient inscriptions
preserved in existing works by Chinese scholars, a'nd in (2) exhumed
inscribed objects of durable materials, such as bronze, copper, stone,
and bone.
As to the value of the first source, there is a risk that intentional

or accidental changes in the text may have occurred in copying from

older manuscripts or from the original inscriptions. The Chinese
have not the high reputation as faithful copyists " which is credited to
the Hebrews, whose scribes were superstitiously careful in reproduc-
ing their Scriptures. Many errors have crept into the text of the
Chinese classics, which are undoubtedly traceable to careless tran-

scription.

The student must further be on his guard against spurious and

forged inscriptions. Such was the reputed " Tablet of Yii," which
first appeared as a manuscript copy purporting to have been taken
from a stone tablet found on a mountain in the Yang-tze valley. Had
it proved genuine we would have possessed an inscription of the
greatest antiquity (circa 2200 B. C). But this is now pronounced a Fig. 1. Form
of bronze stylus
forgery by the best Chinese scholars, both native and foreign.
from specimens
Perhaps the best extant collection of ancient Chinese inscriptions referred to chon

is that published by a famous scholar of Yang Chow, Juan Yiian b q 500), re-
<ineed in size.
(P/L ft)'
who in 1803 reedited the work of an earlier scholar, Hsiie
Al-i /l^
Shang-Kung (
f

g| \^ i;{^), adding sixty-seven transcriptions to the four hundred and

ninety-three of the original treatise.
The vocabulary obtained from all these is very limited, for most of the texts
yield only the conventional phrases inscribed upon sacrificial vessels, halberds, and
swords. One inscription of three hundred and fifty-seven symbols is referred to

the reign of Wu Wang {^ ^) (circa B. C. 1122), and affords the oldest known
Chinese writing of determinate date. (See infra.)
Inscribed objects of undoubted genuineness, which have been exhumed, while
they prove the most reliable source of knowledge of ancient writing, are far from
satisfactory in that it is seldom possible to fix their dates.The ancient Chinese
had a tantalizing habit of carefully inscribing the number of the year,' month, and
° In fairness to Chinese authors, their first editions are usually accurate. It is in reprints that numerous errors

jccnr through careless proof-reading.

^Chinese chronology is not on a consecutive basis upon an established era, but upon the successive reigns, often
nbstituting the cycle-year for year of the reign.
6 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

day, and omitting to designate the reign. Their ancient sacrificial tripods and
libation cups are often inscribed thus :
" Tenth year, first moon, I make this vessel
as a precious memorial for the perpetual use of my descendants " (•^ ^| ^
'^ j^).
Had only the solicitous ancestor added the current reign, how much more valuable
would have been his message to the antiquarian of to-day.
An extensive find of inscribed tortoise shells and bones of sacrificial animals was
made by Chinese in 1899 while digging in or near the ancient city Chao Kuo
Ch'eng (|^
J^ i^), now Wei-Hui-Fu, in Honan Province. These have been
reviewed by the writer and found to be inscribed in an archaic style difficult to
decipher. The may yield 600 different symbols, and are
entire set of inscriptions
probably referable to the early Chou Dynasty (circa B. C. 1000). (See infra.)
Small bronze objects which furnish meager data to the investigator of early
symbolism are coins, seals, and martial accoutrements, such as swords, spear-heads,
buckles, chariot hubs, and crossbow triggers. These furnish a limited vocabulary
of geographical names and numerals, together with devices and monograms the
significance of which has been lost.
The inscriptions on coins are prolific in names of cities, numerals, and mint-
marks of uncertain meaning. Contracted symbols are frequently noted on ancient
Chinese coins, just as on those of other nations, and allowance must be made for
this when comparing these symbols with the fuller forms found elsewhere. Thus
j^ appears for (^ (modern form |^) used to this day to specify the denomination of
a coin. ^^ often appears for (modern form ^), " exchange " or "
^ commercial
value."
Bronze and stone seals by their nature and use contribute but little to the list

of ancient symbols, monograms and fanciful signs having been in use for this pur-
pose from the earliest times.
Trade-marks on pottery afibrd a few old symbols, especially those found on frag-

ments exhumed on the site of ancient cities the date of the overthrow of which
is approximately fixed by history or tradition.
Another important source of information is the Etymological Dictionary of the
Han Dynasty, known as the Shuo Wen (^'£ jQ " speech signs," which was compiled
by the scholar Hsii Shen and firat The opinions of Sino-
published A. D. 120.
logues have differed widely as to the value of this work. After making allowance
for a corrupt modern text, and for the frequent flights of imagination made by the

author, it must be conceded that this celebrated work ranks high as an etymological
treatise, when compared with like works upon European languages produced at a

much later date by Western scholars. As an incidental evidence of the conscientious

 CHALFANT: EAELY CHINESE WRITING 7

thoroughness of this Chinese lexicographer, he remarks concerning the symbol Ji^

ye that on the standard measures of Er-shih Huang-ti ,=. 1^; ^ 'i^ (B. C. 230) the

form "Y"
appears. For centuries nothing else was known of this unusual form until
a set of these old "standard measures" was unearthed, and there appeared the
sign 'ij" exactly as the lexicographer had noted.
Unfortunately the original text of this famous dictionary is not extant, for all

modern show the old symbols analyzed by the author Hsii in the style
editions

called "small seal" —

a refined form developed during the Han Dynasty (B. C.
206-A. D. 264).* Another valuable work on the ancient language is the Liu Shu
T'ung (A. f"i3,) "Comparison of the Six Scripts."

Still another valuable treatise is that by a scholar of Shantung Province, Chou

}^ by name, whose beautiful and accurate .syllabary of the ancient Chinese language
is based upon the Liu Shu T'ung. It appeared in the ninth year of the Emperor
Kang-hsi (A. D. 1670), and is printed in black and red ink for perspicuity.' The
author adds a vast number of old symbols copied from antique bronzes and stone
tablets, presumably in private collections of Chinese antiquarians.
These works show evidence of careful transcription and classification of sym-
bols, but with characteristic vagueness, the authors fail to record exactly how and
where they obtained their information and data. Nevertheless I consider these
catalogues fairly reliable, barring typographical errors so frequent in Chinese books.

CHINESE IDEOGRAMS.
Origin of Chinese Writing.

The beginning of the Chinese written language is lost in obscurity. The popular
tradition that it began with knotted cords '" and developed through the grotesque
" tadpole letters," has little to substantiate it. It is true that many ancient inscrip-
tions are extant, the symbols in which are formed by alternating light and heavy
strokes resembling the form of tadpoles, but when these are reduced to plain
writing they will be found to belong to a highly developed orthography not difFer-
* As proof that the original text of the Shuo Wen was in a more archaic style, I notice that the forms quoted by a
Chinese etymologist of A. D. 1670, differ from those now extant. This writer must have had access to a texl of the
Shuo Wen nearer to the original than that of to-day.
' A complete copy of the first edition is in po.sges8ion of the writer.

'"Granted that the Chinese, like other peoples in their primitive state, used knotted cords, it does not follow that
such a system of recording and transmitting ideas had intimate connection with a scheme of piotographs subsequently
devised. It is even possible that at an early date the tradition of a knotted cord system was so current as to lead writers
to imitate it in {ascribing their written signs, just as they delighted to make ornamental iusoriptions, weaving birds,
beasts, and insects into all the characters.
8 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

ing essentially from the well-known "seal character" of the early Han Dynasty
(B. C. 200).

A more reasonable conclusion is drawn from what we find in the most ancient
inscriptions, to wit, that the Chinese, like most other peoples, began to record ideas
by scratching rude pictures upon wood, stone, bone, or metal, in order to suggest
the thought to be conveyed. Among these rude beginnings of language are found
the outline drawings of animals, wild and domestic, which soon assumed conven-
tional forms merely suggestive of the more elaborately carved originals.

tin one instance a tiger is represented with the attached symbol

as if to indicate that the beast inhabited the jungle, the sign
for " tree

()|<.)
"

being
Ancient sym- identical with ;^ " tree."
boHor jungle rj^j^^
oldest preserved inscriptions are found upon bronze vessels and
implements, upon stone and brick tablets, on bones used in sacrifice and
divination, and on bronze coins vaguely referred to the Yin, Shang, and early Chou
Dynasties (B. C. 1100-2000), as already noted.
Such inscriptions are unsatisfactory because of their brevity, and, in the case of
coins, on account of the habit of abbreviation in order to save space and labor. This
last unfortunate characteristic renders the coin-inscriptions at once difficult to
decipher, and unreliable as complete specimens of early symbolism. It seems a
safe inference from the oldest inscriptions on bronze vessels and tablets that the
original Chinese writing was pictographic.
Pictographs, as found among these primitive symbols, may be divided into two
kinds, (1) those based upon the form of the object as q f f (now T)" picturing the

head or side-view of a "nail," or as 51^ and ^ the right and left hands (contracted
from ^ and ^ which show the five fingers), and (2) those suggested by some real or

imaginary characteristic of the object, as 3^ (now ^) " father," composed of a ver-

tical line attached to ^ (" right hand ") and signifying a "rod in the hand" as a sign

of authority, hence "father," who was tlie absolute ruler of the household or clan.
Wang Chun of Shantung, one of the greatest of modern Chinese scholars, whose
commentary is embodied in recent editions of the Shuo Wen, states in his preface

that writing began with pictures of things which appealed to the senses. These
developed into abstract ideas, and these in turn gave rise to indefinable particles
such as conjunctions and prepositions (classed by the Chinese under the general
terra of "empty symbols"). The same scholar gives numerous examples of this

"Chinese, following the Shuo Wen, consider this iis originally the picture of an insect's sting. This will not
account for the form 0> ^^^ ^^^ author of the Shuo Wen adds that when men made nails of metal and wood, these were
allied in form to a sting ("]")• I prefer to consider the nail as the original basis of the sign.
 CHALFANT : EARLY CHINESE WRITING 9

development, and while he introduces some absurdities, yet in the main makes a
plausible argument for his theory of the origin of the written language.

Many of these primitive pictographs are still in use, but so altered, owing to the
present changed style of penmanship, that they are not recognizable until they are
compared with the successive preceding forms. Take, for example, the modern
symbol for "elephant" (%). How little it resembles that animal! But note the
evolution of the symbol through extant earlier forms: ^<^<^<^<^<^- To
anyone accustomed to study orthographic changes, the proof is positive that ^ is only
the original pictographic "elephant," with position altered for convenience in
writing vertical lines. The same evolution may be discerned in the symbols for

most of the animals known to the Chinese, as dog, sheep, cow, horse, deer, tiger, fish,

snake, tortoise, toad, worm, bird, and swallow. The sign for " man " (Latin homo),

/^, is plainly a picture, derived thus, /^< /^</\<^> the legs being apparently the
only surviving members.
Plant life was also pictorially portrayed. ;:^ "wood" was originally ^ " tree,"

showing branches and roots. ;|;;^'Ms two trees and signifies "forest" or "grove."

^}. "herbs" was once ^'i/, depicting leaves and twigs. ^ "indicator" can be traced
back to ^ a " line-tree " or " hedge," marking the boundary of a field, being a
clump of bushes pictorially suggested.
Inanimate objects came in for a full share of pictorial representation. -^
"ship," in its modern form, is scarcely recognized as an ideogram, but trace it back
thus, •j^<^<as^iJC-, and we begin to detect its likeness to a Chinese junk, though
whether a side view, or that of a ship's compartments (m), niay be an unsettled
point.

^ (kin) " metal " still approximates its oldest forms, as, ^ ^ j^,
which prob-
ably refer to the process of smelting, being composed of two symbols for " fire " (^)
or "intense heat" under a cover," (/\ or P), very suggestive of molten metal in
the crucible.
Abstract ideas were also presented pictorially with considerable ingenuity. "East"
" "
being the "sun (©) rising behind a " tree " (^) thus, ^ (now written ^) " West ;

was suggested by a " bird on its nest" {^J, the transition of which into the modern
form was as follows '•*
: ,^> ^ > ^>^>\5- Bii'ds seek their nests at sunset, hence the
idea "West." "Determination" was ^ formed from "issue" (Ht. "sprout";!;),
and "heart" {^), hence "heart-sprout," "heart-issue," i. e., "purpose," "determi-
mination."
"Still older forms of this show interlaced branches of trees.
"Another old form is §»,.
 :

10 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

"To look" was light streaming from the eye, thus, (now written fl) based
upon a peculiar notion still held by the Chinese that when blind " no light comes
^
out of the eyes" (§& ^ /fj )^). "Large" was a man on another's shoulders a —
man above another — (/^
^
r*»
^ "1^ ^ ^' *^^® ^^^^ being the modern form). The popular
idea that ^ (" large ") is a " man "
(A) above the " average height " (shown by the
horizontal line) is hardly sustained by the oldest forms.
Elaborately wrought pictograms were attempted at a very early date, of which
two examples will suffice as illustrations
•
f^ "pao" (now, ^) denotes "valuable," "precious," ideas suggested by a

^jj,
"house" (f^) containing "jade beads" (f
or J), "shell" (^) and an
"earthern jar" (^), articles of value to primitive man."
^^
Fig. 3. " To cook " was perhaps the most complicated of all the ancient

symbol^ /or
symbols. It is now written •^,''^ which retains all the elements of the
cookiug- original idiogram. It is now pronounced feVari and signifies "stove,"
stove.
and is obsolete, a simpler symbol having taken its place. The analysis

is as follows : ($3 from \i^ and ^ " millet-bowl " and "jar"; H " oven-mouth " ; %%,

"wood-wood," i. e.,fuel; ^^ "two hands" ; D^ "fire," — all the essentials of cooking.

EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN SYMBOLS.

From comparison of the earlier and later forms of Chinese ideograms we ascer-

tain four ways in which the modern style was evolved.

1. Contraction of early complex forms.
2. Expansion of early simple forms.
3. Artificial alteration, to conform to the inflexible system of radicals and
phonetics.
4. Mechanical invention of new symbols, along conventional lines, by combin-
ing existing forms.

1. Contraction of Early Complex Forms.

This process is common to all languages, whether ideographic or alphabetic.

It grows out of the impatience of writers with unnecessarily complicated signs.

ii? (old form J^.) '"«^ " also," " but," has dwindled to JJ)-
'^^^e change was per-
haps thus, ]^>'^>^>^'i>f2>T!f.

"This symbol appears with many variations in old inscriptions, sometimes ornately distorted, as ^aS, ^$J, ^.
''Complex as this symbol is, it is placed among the five hundred and forty primitives in the Shuo Wen and must
be of great antiquity.
 .

CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 11

:^ ching, "a well," soon became 4^, discarding the well mouth and retaining
only the curb. It now appears as ^. The ancient division of land into nine plots,

thus, ^, had for its symbol #• This, from its resemblance to the symbol for
"well," gave rise to the expression "well-field" in common parlance. Doubtless
this had some influence in simplifying the sign for " well."

^^ si^, "retainer," became g] (modern 5\) by rejecting the significant sign 'W
(modern 't) " bind." It passed through the meaning of " petty-officer " to that of
the verbal sense "manage."

i^ hsin "heart," originally a picture of that organ, is now merely <0- •'

"^ hung " together," originally two pairs of hands united, became it.

f^ kung "fear" was at first " hands raised as in terror," but is now reduced to f\

(used only in combination). Many of the earliest extant forms had already been
contracted from more elaborate ideograms, now lost, thus rendering their original
significance difficult to determine.

2. Expansion of Early Simple Forms.

At an early stage in the development of the language, confusion arose out of the
coincidence in form of symbols having widely different meanings. Thus | shih

"ten" gradually became -}-, and coincided with an existing symbol -j- which meant
"at" or "here." The latter was accordingly expanded to -^ tsai by the addition
of .^ a sign of disputed significance. A like confusion arose between -j- " ten " and
-|- an early contraction of ^ kia (now ^) "finger-nail." The latter resumed its

more complex form.

^ teo " left-hand " ^^
and ^ i/"- " ''ig^^^^'hand " "^
seem to have been satisfactory
signs till after B. C. 1000, when they became respectively ^ (;^) and ^ (;;^). Why
the sign x (" labor ") should have been added to strengthen the idea of " left " is hard
to say, unless the left-hand was once used to such an extent as to make it the impor-
tant member for work, b "mouth" was added to emphasize "right-hand," pos-

sibly because that member was used in eating. Whatever may have been the
significance of these additions, the fact remains that the older symbols were thus
amended.
"
Another strange instance was that of l^ or ^ tso, " make," to which J\ " man
was added, thus, (|^ (modern {^) as if to indicate that man is the prime inventor."
"Some writers in describing these signs have reversed them. The right hand naturally points toward the left and
vice versa. This is plainly shovjn in the old forms for ^ and ^, viz., ^ and M
" The sign ^ is of very obscure origin. It resembles an inverted ax ((j) with stroke added. _ Possibly an ax or
adz in position of chopping. This is a mere conjecture.
12 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

3. Artificial Alteration of Old Symbols.

The earliest recorded attempt to artificially reduce the heterogeneous written
signs to a system was by one Chou (^|), of the eighth century, B. C, Avho became a
hterary authority in the state of Chou (Ji]). His very flowery system of writing has
since borne his name, being referred to in all Chinese works upon the history of the
language as "Chou Wen" (Chou-writing).^^
Following but of disputed date, was the catalogue of signs called Er Ya (^
this,

Jjl). The next great effort to classify the existing symbols was by the author of the
Shuo Wen, Hsii (^^), whose posthumous lexicon appeared A. D. 120, as already
stated. He classified all existing characters under 540 primitives, which gave rise

to the modern classification under 214 primitives ("radicals"). This conventional-

ization of the written language forced many incongruous symbols into classes with
which they had no etymological affinity. These isolated ideograms were artificially

changed that they might be classified for ease of lexicography. A marked instance
of this was the symbol ^ piao, to which reference has been made above. This was
originally the picture of a mulberry bush or other shrub used to mark the boundary
of a field. It depicts a bunch of sprouts. Later it took the general meaning of
"indicator" and to-day it is applied to any instrument which records or marks
degrees, as a watch, barometer, cyclometer, etc. This interesting sign now appears
under the "radical" or primitive ^ "cloak" in the anomolous form ^, seemingly
composed of a modified i "lord" and ;^ "cloak," neither of which signs have any-
thing to do with its original form or meaning.
^ wan ("myriad") is another case in point. It now is classified as if derived
from ^Y "plants," but this is an artificial modification, for the oldest forms are
^
and ^, picturing some prolific creature as the scorpion or frog.^^ The antennae of
the scorpion or fore-legs of the frog have been confounded with ff " plants."
(-\f-)

The modern character ;^, yii, "fish," happens to be itself a "radical," but has

been so altered as to appear to contain the symbol /n'* (modified form of ;^), " fire."

This is misleading, for the "fire " is only the fish's tail ; thus ^> |t>§ >^>S>^^-
The symbol for "swallow" (a bird) j^t is analogous to that for "fish," but
now is classified under the radical %^ " fire," contrary to its origin, the develop-

ment of the pictograph having taken place as

The above examples plainly show that the
follows :

^ ^m .iat-

radical and phonetic system was an

invention at a date long after the heterogeneously devised symbols had become
current in writing, and even the compounding of signs had come into vogue.
" This highly ornate style of writing was not generally adopte<1 on acconnt of the complexity of the symbols.
" Analogous to the Egyptian use of the sign " frog " for 100,000.
 chalfant: early chinese writing 13

4. Mechanical Invention of New Symbols.

This class of new characters forms by far the largest, comprising perhaps nine-
tenths of the forty-five thousand symbols known to Chinese lexicographers. Ten
thousand signs is an ample number to put to the credit of the Chinese language at the
beginning of the Christian Era. Tiiis roughly marks the date when the mechanical
multiplication of characters became excessive. The process was simple, that of com-
bining existing forms according to the conventional system of radicals and phonetics.
Indeed, for purposes of etymology three thousand symbols are all that need be ex-
amined, the artificial combination of signs having been begun as early as 500 B, C.
In every branch of industry new usages were requiring new names. This lack
was supplied by the simple, though often clumsy, union of two or more existing
signs, usually annexing a "radical" to suggest the nature or material of the new
thing. Most of these new characters were short-lived, and to-day the basis of the
written language, as used by scholars, is still the few thousand symbols of the class-
ical period (B. C. 500-200).

Erroneous Deductions from the Modern Style of Chinese Writing.

Mistakes in comparative orthography frequently occur by drawing conclusions
from the modern Chinese "square-character," which has so far departed from the
original pictographic style as to be an unsafe guide to the casual observer. Occa-
sionally symbols are found, which to-day approximate their originals more closely
than do the intermediate " seal characters."
A few examples may be cited of such pictographs as have passed from a prim-
itive angular style through the rounded form of the "seal character" into the
modern " square-character," in which form they coincide with the original shape.
Take the modern symbol \±J fien, "field." Formerly it was ©, but originally it
was H, a subdivided square farm. Q ivei, " enclosed area," was originally, as now,
a square, but w^as long written thus Q, when curved lines prevailed. But in gen-
eral it is unsafe to use the modern style of writing for philologic deductions.

The following will serve as examples of the misleading nature of modern forms :

The symbol ^ mu, " tree," might suggest a rooted tree projecting above the
ground, and, indeed, has been frequently so interpreted, but the original form,
^
or ^, shows a tree with branches and roots.

^flp'eng, "friend," looks as if it were twin moons (J^) or, as has been actually
inferred, the duplicated sign for " flesh." ^°
But in fact this symbol is a contraction
of a more complex form ^^, " a pair of birds," a happy symbol of " friendship."

""llj. "flesh," in combination usually appears as f[. Some have supposed 00 to have been ^^, "a pair of

shells," but I find no authority for such a derivation.

14 MEMOIRS OF TflE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

A certain writer has assumed the sign 3 to be the original of Q, "sun," and on
this erroneous liypothesis he makes the imaginary sign 3 to correspond to " the tri-
dent of the three seasons of Orion." Had he noticed that Q was once Oi such a
conclusion would have been impossible.
pi, "ought," a sign of duty or necessity, looks like " heart" (/O) cut by a
stroke. Imagination might work out a theory based upon the heart cut or pricked
by a sense of duty. "No such psychological process is even hinted at by the early
forms of this character, which are ^ >^< *^ "^ 6c X jM- '^'^^ ^^^^ °^ these enig-
matic forms ()^() is the "small seal" character of the Han Dynasty, which is the
nearest chronologically to the modern " square character " /J^v The two vertical
curved lines of the older form correspond to the right and left dots of the pres-
ent form, while the part ^ has now become ^, the central portion of tbe modern
symbol. The resemblance to " heart " is thus merely accidental. None of the old
'^^
forms have any suggestion of^, which is the old writing of /\^\ " heart."

Incongruity Between Form of Symbol and Meaning.

Let us now glance at another phenomenon of orthographic evolution, the enig-

matic form and sense of many Chinese symbols.
Certain modern forms have such a variety of unrelated and conflicting mean-
ings as to raise the suspicion that they present under one form a common resultant
from several different roots. Thus 4^ t'ai, " lofty, large," is defined in the Shuo
Wen as "slippery." A comparison of the old forms shows a divergence, as we go
back, toward two separate roots, viz., ^, which is three times the sign ^, "large,"
forming an intensive signifying " very great," and ^, composed of " clay " j£,
"hands" l^\ and "water" a very appropriate symbol for "slippery."
;|;,
The
modern symbol contains elements of both of these roots, though it retains only
the meanings derived from its root ^. It is safe to conclude that ^ t'ai is a com-
posite of both of the old symbols described.
The sign ^^^
jile means "harmonious," and also "a certain mythical tree."
These apparently incongruous definitions can be reconciled when we find among
the old forms ^, three hands together, i. e., " harmony." Again, we encounter *|*,

which is a symbol of vegetation and suggests the "tree," of which ^^ jiie is the
name. These both coalesced in J^^ and so give us the one symbol from the two widely
different roots.

'^tang, means "ought," "count," "considered," "to pawn," to "obstruct,"

"There is a striking analogy in some of tlie old forms of ij^ with those of ^(^ ek'io "omen," viz.,

W '/y 'll'l' 'M*'

supposed to be lines on tortoise shell used tor divination.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 15

etc., etc. The phenomena exhibited in its old forms lead us to suspect that it, too,

is an incongruous composite from more than one root.

Tlie character ^^ [Ghih) is the name of a river, and also means "to govern,"
" to control." The oldest forms show confusion of origin. |§ plainly designates a
river, i'|; being an old form for >^ "stream," but $«|^ fo),!^, ^^so occur as synonyms,
and are analogous to |^ (now o) " to govern "). A possible conclusion is that
these varied forms have coalesced in y^, which retains the several meanings of its

components.
Just as in other languages, the early juggling with orthographic signs has led to
puzzles in the shape of monographic signs which are the despair of the philologist,
unless he can recover the lost key.
A curious phase of this juggling with writing-signs appeared at an early date in
the development of the Chinese language. I refer to the habit of reversing or

inverting an existing sign to signify its opposite in meaning. This forms a distinct
class of mechanically devised symbols.
" "
The process may be illustrated thus : Having accepted an English word hard
as descriptive of unyielding substances, we might have adopted " drah " (the
reversed spelling of " hard ") as suitable for the opposite meaning " soft." Or, being

familiar with the meaning of "child," we might have reserved it to signify a child

of good conduct, and then have written " p^iqo " (letters inverted) to mean a " prodi-
gal son" who has turned normal conditions upside down. Such a conception
actually seized the ancients in China when they represented " unfilial " by <^ (now
written ^ fu), the inverted character ^ for " son " (now written ^ te'i). Another
instance is that of the now
which was formerly written ]^ and
obsolete sign ^ i

signified "to turn back." It is the reversed symbol ^ (^ shcn) for "body," and

hence was considered appropriate for the idea of "about face."

£2 (now twisted into ^) means " deficient," and in form it is the reverse of J[
cMng "exact," the latter being the older symbol. Again, having become familiar
with the sign
H (now altered to ^^^^ chile) as meaning "sever," depicting "cut
silk " (^), it was little short of an inspiration that led some scholar to adopt the
reverse ^ for the idea of "connect," a symbol now enlarged "H." to ^,j^

The effort to construct ideographs for the negatives "no," "not," "not yet,"

"without" and " do not," seems to have taxed the ingenuity of the ancient sign-

'2 We have in this form a survival of an old variant written ^5 composed of " silk," " knife "and " knot " equally

suggestive of "cutting." It is further curious to note, among the old forms of ^j^ ki, "to connect," several which seem
to be III with variations. This may he 4-^fei, " not," and " sever," which would beanother way of reversing the
^^,
meaning of the sign.
16 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

makers of China, as will be seen by noting the special list of negatives (see Plate
XXVIIL).
The most complicated of all these is the sign ^" Wu," -'minus," "without."
In its modern garb it suggests a likeness to iiiz hsile, " blood," and ^huo, " fire." In
fact, it is connected with neither of these, though for convenience it is classed under
the latter. Taking the old form ^ as a means of comparison, we find the upper part

( ^ ) cond^sed into j^, leaving the " two trees " ( ^^ as the origin of the
has been )

base of the modern symbol i>i\. The Shuo Wen defines it as "lost" probably from
the sign ct in many old forms, which has that meaning. The inference by the
commentators of the Shuo Wen is, " 'man' JL ) 'lost' (d) in the 'woods' (
{^^)
hence 'missing' 'minus.'" This is a far-fetched explanation and fails to account
for an essential part of the old symbol :^ ^.

The list of pictographs and ideograms represented in Plates I.-XXIX. is neither

complete nor strictly logical in arrangement. They have been selected somewhat at

random to illustrate the pictorial nature of the language. Many of the symbols
given will not be found in the current Chinese-English dictionaries, for the obvious
reason that these works are abridged, excluding many obsolete signs which, how-

ever, played an important part in the early development of the written language.
I have tried to give the original meanings (where ascertained), which often seem
remote from their modern significance. No attempt has been made to indicate the

old pronunciation, which forms a different branch of philology from that herein
discussed. I have followed, in the main, the Wade system of Romanization, with
a few changes which seem expedient in view of the poverty of sounds in the Peking
Dialect, upon which Sir Thomas Wade based his system.^* I have departed from
this system in distinguishing between the two initial sounds "ch" and "k," which
coalesce in Pekingese, and have introduced a few minor changes noted in the key.

Of the many systems of Romanization in vogue, that by Sir Thos. Wade is the
most widely known. It is the standard of pronunciation used l:)y the British Con-
sular Body, by the Chinese Customs and Postal Service, and by Dr. Herbert Giles
in his Anglo-Chinese Dictionary. It is also used largely by contributors to the
Journals of the Royal Asiatic Society. This has naturally given wide circulation
to Wade's system, and is sufficient reason for its adoption in this paper. The
changes introduced have been due partly to the author's choice, and partly to sug-
gestions made by others.
i"
See note at Plate XX VIII.
" A comparison of the dialectic variations in sounds — especially the old sonnds — will show the inadequacy of

Wade's Systera to indicate then).

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate

iif • — Seal
'^' '."*'
Modern § Form, Probable
Older Forms. Remarks.
e""°.
Sound.
Form. ^ A. D. Original.
^ jOO

Elephant,
Image,
hsiang.
^ tvi ^ in
Shuo WC'n

boscis and tusks.

" Large beast
:

Kiangnan, with long pro-

A picture."
lyory carving suggests 'image.'

Tiger,
h%. ;t
ni n#r^ o-
rf
Rude outline of a tiger.

Stag,
lu.
lib
ii ^ TrK- ^
, Horse,

Ox, cow.
iffi^
4 ^€ ^
,-

^ 4^ ^ $ 1-
Suggests a horned animal.

6
Kam,
sheep,
yanij.
^ ¥ ¥ T T Outline of ram, with horns
prominent.

Dog, cur,
kovL.

u A
(? f^H^^ ^ Animal with curled
Chinese cur of to-day).
tail (like

Fish,
yd.
/•IN
4 >3t3 'sg^

Toad,
W3 1 (^» #^ Original form is deduced
from the extant forms.

jy Tortoise,

Worm,
kuei.

11^ I* -^^Sfr
Original form is deduced
from the extant forms.

11 insect,
ch'uny.

Long-
tailed
^^ 4 ? t? t 1 Worm with convolutions.

12
bird, .*,
niao.
f ii<;
Pi ?X
Short-
13
tailed
bird,
chui.
ik
t Ai ft

^i*- "th rH".

#W#
^<y..
Swallow, Flying bird with forked
-.f
yen.
'A i^^^ tail.

Chinese Ideographs.
 , )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol IV. Plate II.

_: Seal
o Form Probable
A. D. Older Forms. Remarks.
Sound.
^'O""- ^ Original.
oi 100.

,. Pha>nix, Originally a picture of the

Jing.
®- iiv^ phd'ui.x, but
ami bird
now
radical.
a bird's head

^f.
Unicorn, Original is deduced from
chii.

f ^ extant forms.

^^
Rhin-
17 oceros,
/L
liai.
7L

^ ^
Pig.
18
luan.
5 ^ ;% ^fTK
Rude picture of a pig.

Wild 00 ^^ ^^ Sign suggesting a beast, with

19 beast,
shou. A if s t ^ -sr -C)
aninuU radical added later.

X Derived from No. 12, the

%
Raven,
20
M«U fc^ % % \t
raven being perhaps the most
common of long-tailed birds.

Rude picture of a rodent.

Qj Mouse,
shu.

>it
I ShnoWen: "General name for
burrowing vermin."

Man
22 (generic),
A A.
J] R7\^'^\)C "x
Equivalent
"Immo."
to the Latin

23
Man
(male);
mm.
\I7
^^j.^ ®% m ^ 48,
"Weedy- field" ^ and No.
"muscle," suggesting
man's labor.

* ^> ^ ^ ^
Woman, Human with bust

±
24- figure

^A prominent.

Mother,
25 dain,

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ f[
nent.
Woman with paps promi-

(Used also of animals.)

^ ^ ?f ^f^^^ *
Son,
26 cliild. Male infant.

ShuoWC-n: "Form of child's

27
Son,

^ H ^;l head."
(Synonym of last.

28
Unman
body,
ithi'n.
# H§i^ \
Chinese Ideographs.
'
Outline of
man" above
the body
it.
with
 '

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV, Plate III

_• Seal
Meaning
Modern .S Form, Probal)le
nnd "o
Older Forms. Remarks.
Form. A. D. Original.
Sound.
« 100.

m
29 Head,
hIiou .

1^^ v Outline of face

above.
with hair

30
Face,
i-^;) (e1, fe^ fe ' Original is
extant forms.
deduced from

31
Eye,
a ^3
© © ^// / Oblique eye (peculiar to the
ijhinese race).

32 Ear,

^ 4 ^ H § ^ % Outline of the human ear.

33
Nose,
pi.
^7

re II ft W§^ a Picture of
plionetic y^
the nose,
"pi" added
with
later.

Shuo W6n
34
Mouth,
k'ou.
n d tf V V which man eats and speaks.
.4 picture."
: "That with

35
Hai r,

€ 1
^ ^ ^X% ^ ^
Possibly depicts a hairy tail.

Hand,
36
shou.
f f t Five fingers.

37
Foot,
tnu.
^ ^
£ Sl^IL (?)
Contains No. 110
Descriptive sign, not pictorial.
"stop."

Shuo Wen "Cheek-hair."

:

„n Whiskers,

^
V?i7 ^
^ tt ^
Rude picture of whiskers.
Now
particle.
used only as a disjunctive

39
Waist,*
wish,
ym. m »^
J^ R (^ n AtA 0^ (See note.)

Hair
40
of tlie
head,
piao. # #% </>

i^f
Descriptive symbol com-
posed of two signs "long" and
'
' feathers."

41
Heart,
hsM. .^>
f •Vi^
w« y ^^i!?^ ^ "Iltart" showing ventricles.

Finger
42 nail,
kin.
T t \^
f ^4>f f T Usually used as cycle-sign,
being first of the " Ten Stems.'

Chinese Ideographs.
*The original here given is an actual form. Figure with arms akimbo, hence " waist." This sign was early adopted for "yao," meaning
" wish," and so tlie/ot/t radical was added to strengthen its old meaning " waist," thus f&.
 Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate IV

^^and"^
Modern | pjnn,
Older Forms. Probable
o Form. "2 A. D. Original.
Remarks.
1
Sound. «
jPQ

Finger
43 J."""'
inch,
ts'un. i i
^ Hh ^ -^ Fingers with short
suggesting "joint."
stroke

44
Claw,
talons,
chao.
A r\
rn ifi ^ ^ ^ Ss
Shuo Wen
ger and toe."
: "Nails of fin-

Wings, Pair of wing.s, or Igng fea-

45 i]

* Form,
yu.
^^ ! ?^ # tliere.

46 appear-
^
ance,
viao.
^ t
47 To gape,

u u Open mouth. No. 34.

k 'an.
u U Cf.

Sinew,
Overlapping muscles.
48 strength,
li.
^ ^ % % ^'i !i^^ ^
4n Eyebrows,
^J

M Q
'^ '^ fZ' '^
Eye with eye-brows.

Horn,
50 angle,
kiie, kiao.
ffl
ll
I (1^9 Earliest forms are inverted.

Tooth,
Probably shows the grinding
51 molar,
ya.
^ ^ ^ * § fi gi^ surface of a molar.

52
Front
teeth,
cA'i.
ah
111
.it Ud,

e o ^
Oil

u^Q Mouth showing teeth. Pho-

netic was added later.

Backbone,
63 cz Vertebrse.
Id.

X
Flesh, xb Sign suggesting a mass of
54
jou.
it?
? R ^ 9 tlesh.

Blood, Shuo Wen "Sacrificial

1 M
:

55
ksiie.
Jfe il blood in a dish."

Tongue protruding. Older

Tongue,
5g
site.
^ s "^ T iS
forms than these might suggest
the original.

Chinese Ideographs.
•Depicts the human form, especially the face (contracted to the sign for "nose"), which now coincides with ^ "pai" by further con-
traction. Its special significance is " individuality," "decorum."
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate V

ig Seal
Meaning Modern F„rm, Probable
and Form. -a Older Forms. Remarks.
a. D. Original.
Sound. W 100.

Worm,

? l^}% ^
57 winding, Closely allied to No. 11.
pa.

Right
58 hand, also.
yu.
^ ^^ ^
Cy. No. 66.

Grass-
59 hopper,
chuvg.
m ^ f$\
nnn "Multitude"
tracted)
(now
and "insects."
con-

Shuo wen "Eggs

9
: of all
CO ^}^S^'
man. p
^^ 1{ A ^i^^kf- (•)0
oviparous
means
creatures."
"testicles."
Also

Signfor man recumbent.

Corpse,
gj
shih.
P ? ^ ^ z^ ( Now
44lh radical of an in-
congruous group.

Feathers, Sign suggesting feathers.

^
'^
62 stripes,
ghan. ^ ^ Used only in combination.
Of. No. 40.

63
'^°^y'
Jei.
^ 4 *lt^*#^,^ Bird flying.

King-
P ^% ^ ^ ^ a: ^^ Descriptive sign from
64 fiither,
ts'ui.
f s H^l ^^ "feathers" and "cloak" re-
ferring to plumage.

k
Folded
65 hands,
ch'a. f ^ ^^ p)
Hands clasped.

Eight
66 hand,
yu.
a
ti^^ ^
Originally game as No. 58,
with No. 34 added.

Left
67 )iand. Sign for "labor" has been
;t i !^/l ^f/^ ^ added to this.

3^
Friend,
yu.
k pL
^ ^\ ^i ^ -^ ^^
Hands extended
greeting.
in friendly

^S«
Compan- Shuo Wen: "Phoenix."
69 ion,

m >1
Probably
though
only.
a
pair of birds,
many consider it one

70
Crowd,
chung. i
AW ^1 1^ T ?i?ia M " Tliree men,"
obscure sign was added.
to wliich an

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate VI.

,,
Meaning
• — Seal
^^^^ j p^^^^
Older Forms.
Probable
Remarlcs.
c^"". Form. "^
« A. D. Original.
Sound.
j(,0.

yj Sun, day,
a e 9 0-<J)- o Oo Sun, witli possibly a sun-
spot.
o,o.
Coinoides with Egyptian

Moon,
72 month, "Crescent." Qf. No. 131.
yiie.
>1

Stars,
\-3 O Three stars, to whicli a
73 a
hsing.
^1. o o phonetic has been added.

y^ Morning,
(an. a 8 Sun just above the horizon.

76
Crystal, a e o o Triple sun, as when re-
eking.
68 00 fracted by a prism.

t u%%t'%'^^
Spring, Sprouts and buds started by
76
ch 'un. the sun.
O
77
Bright,
ming.
m g
©f # # ®7 ©) @^ ©I Moon-lit window (or) sun
and moon.
Probably of double origin.

Heaven,
A sign of obscure meaning,
sky,
t'ien.
^ :t
S glraiSlJi^^'^l: i but probably symbolic of deity.

Eartli,
(as pro- "Eartb" i, and "^ sym-
ducer),
a. i4 i^ ifc ^ iS ^ I * if bol of
Mother-earth.
"female principle."

E.irth,

± ± 4;±±iix
soil, Supposed to te a sprout
80
ground, ground.
t'u. J_ springing out of tlie

K
81
Fire,
huo.
X ^A^ 'X i >A< ^ Rising flames.

82
Metal,
kin.
t t t /\A>.
±. -± ^ Ik il2 ^
Crucibles covered, or intense
heat covered,' as in smelting.

83
Burn,
fen.
ii X n
^ f»t XX )>,( iji,^
Trees burning.
are variants being "fire" with
plionetics.
Two last

84
Water,
shui.
^ >k
'.•i. «i ^Je fM ^ Ripples
cides with Egyptian
on water. Coin-
:;xO!!.-

Chinese Ideographs.
*The three last forms are variants based on "earth," "hill," and "water," of obvious significance.
 Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate VII.

Meaning
— Seal
Modern s Form Probable
and a Older Forms. Remarks.
Form. A. I). Original.
Sound.
M 100.

Rivulet."

85
River,
;ii
Stream thirty miles
ch'uan.
I I ({K
long.

<{^ "River."

86
Ice,
pivrj.
^ ^ ^li ^1
^K ^ ^ Cracks or wrinkles in ice.

o
^* ^
Water
vi7 Water issuing from a pool
87 spring,
ch'uan.
>X
« ft 1 ';i'
or vent.

88
Pool,
abj'ss,
yikm.
in
>K
I ft) •
))|(( ® diD #
Picture of a pool, to which
the nater radical has been
added.

89
Rain,
yil.
1^ Si yi\ (i^fi M » » '

• « •
Rain drops under arch of
heaven modified to resemble
^ "sky."

90 Cloud, Wavy clouds with sign S-.

yiin. ^ij

IF /^lltlfilt^ ^-^
^ "above," altered to |^ "rain."

TIninder, Symbolic of reverberation

f
q, \-n iS^ of thunder, ijam radical was
lei, lui.

e« added later.

Light-

A) ® * |i
92 ning.* ijfj Thunderbolt, to which
rain " has been added.
den
^,^ '

93
Hill,
ahan. d^ tU
i!J ^ \^ ^ik^ifli jAi ^
Three peaks.
(a coincidence).
Cf. Egyptian

94
Natural
mound,
A M IT or -^ >^ ^ Eminence
'hill." (Cf.
smaller
No. 93.)
than

Shuo WCn :
" Rock on a
ClitT,
r
95
har{.
r r /f P^
hill
dwell."
under which men may

96
Stone,
rock,
nil ill.
^ /5 /v /f
Perhaps r^K;k-8trata,or^fone
falling from a cliff.

97
Tree,
wood,
mu. ^ *
S^ t^
^ ;ii t
Shuo Wen: "From ^f* plant
with roots below.
all
Symbol for
wowlen things."

98
Or
lln. 4i i W n^i^-^ tl-
Interlaced
plified into
branches,
"two trees."
sim-

ClIINKSE TdEOGUAPH.S.
* This is also the original of ^^ ahen "deity." After much research I am inclined to consider these as depicting lightning, which
became the sign for "deity" from superstitious dread of lightning. Later Iho radicals ^ and lifg were respectively adiled to distinguish the

two meanings.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol IV Plate VIII.

-: Ssiil
Meaning Modern o Form, Probable
and Form. A. D. Older Forms Bemarks.
Sound.
^ Original.
K 100.

99
Flowers,
p'i.
ui ill) m for
SbiioWen: "General
Howers."
terra

Outer
liu.sk of

i i
100 grass or
From Vp "grass" and sign

grain, \.
A Ti
for husks peeled off".

* Thrifty
101 growth,
p'o. tk ^ % )t
Obsolete, except in combi-
nation.

ShuoWen: "Difficult, like

,„t, Diflicult,
cimn.
^ 'h

4 ^ f ^ t a sprout forcing its

through the ground."
way

^ Used only in combination.

103
^llf- ':H
^ y ( ieneral sign for plants.

104
Grass,
leaves,
te'ao. n +/-
H-ll^ ^^ n H-y
Later enlarged to
adding a phonetic.
S (^)^ by

Picture of a flower, con-

+f
t #
Flower,
105 AlA tracted to \)' and phonetic
hua.
-f-L
i $ t^ f 4-C added. Cf. No. 106.

4.t- y.**'
A gorgeous flower. Closely
Flower,
106 glory, +/ allied to No. 105, but consid-

T ^ T
ered a separate primitive by
huu.
T V-

/
/%IA U/IW Al'^
Shuo Wen.

107
tTo
issue,
ch'u. ^
M 1(6 ^"^^ ^ i ±
108
t Source,
of^
ihih. ^ \l IXi ^iL ^i ^ :li

log
To pro-
tllice,
bear,
sh&ng.
to
± 1 1 ^111^ t
A sprout further developed
than Nos. 107 and 108, as
having reached maturity.

Sprout impeded in its

110 '''^/;;'^°P'
± \l iH L^ oJ:: ^ growth, hence "stop." An-
alogous to Nos. 107 and 108.

Perhaps from "sprout"

111
Straight,
exact,
eh&ng. IE CE J 1 2 Z JiJi ^ and "upward." Normal
growth. See No. 287.

Luxuri- A thrifty plant. Related

112 ant,
$ ^ ^ to No. 109.

Chinese Ideographs.
* Resembles No. 100, but Shuo WOn considers it of separate origin.

t These two symbols had a common origin. No. 107 has retained its original sense, viz., " to si)rout," "issue." No. 108 has become a pos-
sessive sign like " of," derived from tlie idea " source." Both were originally "a sprout ffpip Ml? ground."
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol, IV. Plate IX

., . _: Seal
Modern J Form, Probable
Tnd Older Forms. Remarks.
o' J Form. "2 A. D. Original.
Sound.
^ jQ(,

Herb.s, General term for "herbs."

+ :^
113
hui.
^ tTr jffy
No distinguishing feature.

Luxnri-
114 ant, -\f Allied to No. 115, q. v.
yiny.
^A"

Jungle,
^ -^^ "Plants" and "large" re-
115 rude,
mang.
^ Ylf v> tt
^5r peated, modified to j^ "dog."

lie
lib
Leek.s,
1

kiu.
'
^
I % 1 1 Picture of growing leeks.

, , .. Bamboo,
chu.
^ ^;t rhrh 4"1^
>^ 4 ^^ Pendent bamboo leaves.

Growing
118 crops,
Ao.
^ I.
^ 5^ 1^ t^ sfi tt^ rl
One or more
with head and leaves.
stalks of grain,

Growing
rice or Kow of grain stalks with
heads. " Level," from
liy millet,
level,
chH.
t ft t^tttt^^lM?? ?!?
ripe
even height of grain.

Fruit,
120 result,
i ^^
Shuo Wen: "Depicts fruit

kao.
I S I I on a tree."

121
East,
luTiy.

i i Sun rising behind a tree.

1-.2
West,
hni.
i5;
vT)
^ 6 (^ ^ E. TL Shuo Wen: "Bird on nest
Not related to its
at sunset."
radical r^.

Land-
mark, Clump of mulberry or other
123
indicator,
pkio. 4 *.
^ ^ isv fv
bushes to
field.
mark bounds of a

Shelled
124
rice or
millet,
mi.
* * t f -H^ i^ •:.•:• • • •
Depicts shelled grain.
used of growing grain.
(Not

Thorn,

k * * ^-*
125
te't.

/^ * Thorns >—< on a tree.

Buck-
thorn, or
* *
126 jujube
tree,
tsao.
t ^ :*: * Thorn duplicated.

Chinese Ideograths.
' Shuo W6n puns on this "A vegetable of pefennial (kiu) growth, hence called '
kiu.' The forifl of the plant above the ground."
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV, Plate X.

_• Seal
Meaning Modern .u Form, Probable
ant) Older Forms. Remarks.
Form. "p A. D. Original.
Sonnd. « 100.

,„„ Chestnut, Chestnut burs on a

'^' \?7 <f^ tree.
It.
( Not related to its radical.

128
Mulberry
tree,
sang.
i IT
9>

0\ t: ^ Shuo Wi*n "The tree

whose leaves silkworms eat."
Leaves on a tree.
:

*
129
Year,

4 ^S^i^?^t These two signs are

mnn f closely related, but are ob-

scure in origin.
No. 129 mav be "crops"
and "thousand." No. 130
Season, i. may be "crops" and "son."
130
ki.

f
Evening, New moon at evening. Cf.
131
A,SI. 5^
? ^ ) 5 ])
No. 72.

Bivalve shell.
132
Sliell,
value,
pel. H t
'i^^u^^ Shuo
sea shell.
changed
Wdn
. .

shells as
:

.
" Picture of a
"Ancients ex-
money."

* Salt
F^arth-basins for evaporat-
133 ,u. I* ing
li salt.

Twist of silk, or possibly

134 Silk, mi. the larva of silk cocoon fa-

a ^ § i miliar to the ancient Chinese.

Silk
135 thread,
si'. 4
n n n Derived from No. 134.

iQR Vapor, rising

Sign suggesting
n. ~^
^ vapor.

joiT Steam,
k'i. 1 ^ i ^ '^ 9^^
M ©^ Sleam from
from sun Q.
fire !)^, or mist

/tN '-^M

^ ^ m
Signal, Smoke above " fire." .'An-

\1? cient method of signalling in

138 ticket,
p'iao.
7B Z& ^ China.

jggt Mirage,
k ao.
^ 1 r T T Undulating air.

"Man " bearing "torch."

140
Light,
flame,
kuantj.
;l
t 1!f f f!^ilft
Chinese Ideographs.
t (Variants show other roots
containing "sun" and "fire." )

•Chinese obtain salt by evaporation from large, square, shallow pools upon the alkali plains. This sign is either a picture of such pools
or basins, or possibly suggests a field with patches of alkali. A more complex symbol is now used instead of this,
t Shuo WCn : "Rising air tending to expand, bitt obstructed as it curls upward."
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XI.

_J egg]
Meaning
" .
mi
Modern
«
o t;-
J'orm, Probable
Older Forms. Remarks.
a A Form. ^ A. D. Original.
Sound. ^ j(jO.

141
Roof,
^ n n n p^n n
A house.
combination.
(Used only in

142
Enclos-
ure,
wei. a a W D n Now
netic added.
written [^ with pho-

143
Shed,
yen,.
r t r r r Buihling open on one side.

Hall with steps (or) throne.

,..
144
Palace,
,
kuvg.
'

t is^ i^a tl [^ f^
(Not "two mouths" under
"roof," as usually defined.)

a
© © g © ®r^
Window, Latticed window of varied
145
kiuny. design.

Park, 5< "Field" full of "trees."

146
yu. Now
phonetic.
altered, with ^ yu as

147 Pf ^'y-
nuan.
Shuo W6n : " Picture of a
pig in a pen."

Shuo Wen: "

j^g Prison,
a Pri.son. En-
yil.

1 closure for criminals."

(Shows cells and corridor.)

Map, Sign suggesting a map or

149 seal. diagram.
(Embodies No. 338.)

Treasury,
store-
-J—
r
150
house,
/t'u.
* Jm ff t "Cart" under a "shed."

151
Kitchen,
cA It.

m t
"Dish" and other objects,
with "hand" undera "shed."

Well,
152 cistern,
ching.
^ 44 ^ ^ w ^ 1^
Well with curb.

Bricls-
Layers of brick, with "clay"
153 wall,
yiian. iS3 li i? i^ ±B il i. added, to suggest the ma-
terial.

Shuo Wfn considers this a

1.54 ^^^'
^ ^ ir-^ contraction of }(;};., but
en uang.
X a :l
:r-i rather the original form.
it is

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol, IV. Plate XII.

.
— Seal
Meaning Modern § Form, Probable
and Older Forms. Remarks.
Form. ^ A. D. Original.
Sound.
^ 100

155
Dish,
m. m.
W y> ^ 21^ 'T
A common
shaped thus
ancient dish was
T.

156
Stemmed
dish,
tou.

*
o
2 1 Hi Actual form of the vessel as
seen in anexhumed specimen.

157
Sacrificial
vessel,
H.
1 1 w Vessel with viands or flow-
ers. Cf. No. 156.

Wine jar,

£t
Wine jar with sealed lid
158 pottery,
fou.
^ A ^ © ® © secured
China).
by cords (as now in

Willow
Shuo Wen "Picture of a
M
O
:
159 basket,
willow cooking vessel."
Ia (Distinguish from LJ k'an.)

160
Dipper,
tou.
^ ^ B^)H\^^ ^
Now used to designate " peck
measure." Of. No. 188. Orig-
inally a dipper.

Spoon,
161
n K K ^(?)
Rude outline of a spoon.

^ooCover,
I'o.
lid,

A /\ r^ rS Used only in combination.

'Fork,
163 ^ "wood" was added and
ya.

J * Y Y again discarded.

164 ^""«'
A knife blade.
ffto.

77
;??
^ S ) l>

165
Ne''
wamj.
R Vxx)
PI R /ii © fA\
Meshes of a net. Later
was added as phonetic.
x!3

166 ^^°?^>
-iX- *. 'OA
^^^ ^ Suggests a draped garment.

167
tCap,
)=/ n Fl fs\

168 ^>"'
tvng. J
z;^
tt t T =? °° Jo Side view, or head, of nail.

Chinese Ideographs.
*Now used for "slave girl" by a lewd metonomy.
fShuo W6n : "Small cap. Headgear of the aborigines. " Now supplanted by ittS "raao," a later mechanical form.
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol IV, Plate XIII

Probable
'%
Older Forms. Remarks.
tjonnfl Form. A. D. Original.
Sound. «
jQQ_

Door, Two-leaved door with bolts

169 gate,
men.
n n ?^ ^i f1 H M N ^El
ind turning posts as now in
China.

170
Ship,
boat,
cliou.
4 4 ^ :0S c::i.-^ ^ Either a sliip with sail, or
deck of boat showing compart-
ments.

e^9
,j^ To cook,
ts'uan.
:H
i (il fil *i i Cooking outfit.

jy^ Wine jar,

yu.
ii @# ^t is
A kind of amphora.
now an horary sign.
This

173
Alcohol,
chiu. ^® i I @ ? Si i
Jar containing
(clear liquor) signified by
''water."
alcohol
r^

174
Broom,
sweep,
chou.
r t
ttllt t^
Hand grasping broom. Not
related to its radical.
(

Anciently, a cap or turban

jyc Kerchief,
kin. 't^
'I'
fl\ ^ T ivorn by aged persons.

j-o'Curtain, r-7

n n 'Jsed
Supposed to be a table cover.
only in combination.

Perhaps from "curtain"

i7~ Market,
shih.
^ t fti ^fi ^ )fl i^l f ill
md '"wood";
n Chinese markets.
a booth, as now

Woven
+
178
stuffs,
to difluse,
pu.
^ 1^ ^ /M ^ ^- f ilv M i!)
Suggests interlaced threads.
Jriginally applied to silk.

179
Reed
mat,
(St.
+*•
i\ ^^ s WH ^ m
Suggests plaited work.
adverb "how," "now."
Now

Ml*
Enibroid-
180 ery,
chill. fm rR ^ 3?
Embroidered design.

181
Small
table,
ki.
W a n ^7 n TT.n
Table with
curved legs.
straight or

182
Recep-
tacle,
fang.
C L-
c &= 3 g An obscure form allied to
j^ "square" and I^I "coffer."

Chinese Ideogkaphs.
 '

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XIV.

Meaning
Modern o Form, Probable
„''"^, Form, '% Older Forms. Remarks.
A. D. Original.
bound.
« 100.

/K/K Winnowing basket held in

183
Corn-
fan,
ki.
/t>

7\
fe*
K WTT
Y9^
r^
t
ip^
is)
y-^
bands,
Bamboo
added.
as to-day
radical
in (:hina.
has been

184 ^i?'*'-
m VI7
ffl © ®S ffl ffl
Land subdivided.

18.5 ™''
rang.
t B i fi i t#* ShuoWfin: "Palace." An
imposing edifice.

Portico,
186 pavilion, ^ ^ 1^$;?; Artistic pavilion on pillars,
t'imfi.

^ )i"l ;% (as now in China).

A
t
Granary, Large round wicker bins
187

^ ^
txUiiig.
under roof, (as now in China).
/O 1 i 15

188
r'int,

^ +
^^f; ^ ^
A measureholding 12,000
Of. No. 160.
grains of millet.
Old exhumed shcng Q->. :

? ?f
Corn-
189
+ Depicts the implement.

*
fan,
pfin. Closely allied to No. 183.

Um-
190 brella,
mn.
A
^ Depicts an
ribs or decorations.
umbrella with

,ni Window,
hu.
^ f F i? / J? I fi |3
1
Half of "door." (See No.
69 )
added.
Variants have " wood
.
'

"""'''
192
chue.
J 4 J Form of Chinese fish-hook.

,no Mound,
foil.
P ik^i Incongruous
piled earth.
symbol for

194
Cave,
'/^ •.-^

n n n Depicts mouth of cave.

195 Window,
eh'uang.
P «
'7?
fj^ Q ^<s>(ffl) iiUy
Latticed
same
window.
as No. 14.').
Origin-

^ § H
Tile,
Perhaps overlapped tiles.
196 pottery, 51 ^9 w^^/^
m. 5l ^?
Shuo Won: "(leneral
for kiln-burned ware."
name

Chine.se Ideographs.
 Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XV.

„ . - Seal
MeniimK Modern S Form, Probable
Older Forms. Remarks.
anil P'orm. ^ A. I). Original.
Sound. r^ 100.

197
Tliongs,
o Knotted thongs. ShuoWen:
" Leather .straps."
t
* Liito,
3^ £
198
k'iii.

7 ®ti^'t?f Lute with b or 7 strings.

jggt Organ,
hxuio.
^ >x M
^ U o )sr( Mouth-organ with 16 or 23
pipes.

e ©a
Grain- ShuoWSn: " At first a hole
200 mortar,
<3 t3 in the ground later, hollow
kiu. \g/lH/ wood and stone.
;

Form of the
vessel with grain inside."

201
Kiln,
ku.
i^
>='?
t^ ^ Obsolete
compartmentsof a
symbol.

act origin is disputed.)

kiln.
Depicts
(Ex-

tt
Writing
202 brush,

t t r Chinese pen or brush held in

M
yu. the hand. Cf. No. 174.

203To*rite, Pen making marks. De-

cmn.
t ^/ ^T
rived from No. 202.
ShuoWcn: "Penmanship."

P:iper
204 kite,
yiinn.
,hTJ
i
I It Bird-shaped kite peculiar to
China.

Axe,
20.5 adz, Shuo Wen: "To chop
kin
/f 'f Pc frJ'/J f/frV ^(^ wood." It may depict chips.

Cart,
206 chariot,
CD
I m 1 Cart with shaft for horses
ch'c.
-I- ® (D ® as anciently in China.
tthreaal,

Span of

^^#tt^
horses,
207 ride,
Derived from 206.
sheiiff,
ch'ing.

2Qgt Turban,
pien.
^
;ft

^ R ^^^4 1^^
Shuo nWf " Chou dynasty
:

crown, (Slled piVn."

i Seal,
209

"T"
knot,
chie.
P ^
Af
M?^ fTT
^
210
^'''•''

yin. ep P
^ ^ ^ %
(f^.

^^ ^x <<',
5i\ Hand (claw) affixing a seal.

Chinese Ideographs.
* Form of the lute. Lower part was modified to " metal " as phonetic, which has been contracted to '^ kin.
-^
t Originally the form of the instrument, surviving in lower part of the modern symbol. To this "hand" and "bamboo" were added.
The variant which has "bamboo " and a phonetic " hsiao."
is xj
tThe ornaments below the turban .seem to have been altered to f''\ "bands."
I P Chie " knot " is closely allied to thi.s. Shuo Wt'n defines it as "Scaling knot," referring to the ancient custom of n.sing clay seals and
cords. I suspect this depicts a seal of tliat sort rather tlian a signet of metal.
 Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV, Plate XVI
.
Seal
Meaning
and
Modern g Form, Probable
-0 Older Forms. Remarks.
Form. A. D. Original.
Sound.
100.

211
I?ow,
kuny.

^ ? ^ 1 § u ^
Bow, with or without string.

2J2
Arrow,
shih.
^ ^ itn t
Feathered arrow.

2^3 Halberd,
kuo.

\ \
* ^ il'i til t-
Ancient
heads,
show hole
exhumed
broDze-hallierd-

for tassel.
in China,

Battle
214 axe,
wu, irwu. A \ rt >i'iM 1 f This symbol is now used as
an horary sign.

2J5T0 guard,
SHU.
A \
i- i ^t f /I .:^ 1i ^ ^^
Soldier (man)witL halberd.

¥+T?Tf
•Shield,
216
kan.

f ¥ 1^ (ieneral term for weapoas.

tSpear,
217 lance,

\ \
k t 1
"Man"
21a Helmet,
)i 6 met.
with head in hel-
Also means "pocket,"
tou.

^ A
"keep."

To draw
a bow, Bow and man, or hand and
219
lead,
yin.

Three-
?!
?
?i til « n^ «;
bow.

P''°"g'^'l Halberd or lance 15 feet

220
balberd,
niao. f f
^ i) $ J long, used by charioteers.

"Halberd" and "stop."

222 Military, ^4 Shuo Wen: "To lock hal-
'A «l Tj; a4 -$ berds is wu."

WOn " Two hands

4 u-^ M ^
Shuo

^
Warn, :

ik <
222 grasping halberd. Warn."
ktai.
^^

223 JArmy,
kiun.
^(^^t}i;;<^^ 11
Chariot in camp.

Soldier,
2r4 weapons,
ping.
/v
^^
-2^^
v^ tT ^ /i^ IW /y« '^ ^Ta 1^?^
"Man" with "spear" in
"liands," or "hands' gra.sp-
ing "axe."

Chinese Ideographs.
* In some connections this means "spear." The traditional shape of ancient shield is ^ the frame coinciding with -P. I suspect that
the symbol also depicts a two-pronged spear.
t By analogy with No. 213, this sh ijld depict a laiica without hand guard. It now means "arrow" and "shoot," and appears only in

combination.
i The six last forms are two variants in groups of three fqrm^ e^ch, The first is " people" in " camp." Thj .second is of obscure origin.
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol, iv Plate XVII.

^^"\"^ Moder,. t Fo?m, Probable

«""", -a Older Forms. Semarks.
Form. A. D. Original.
Sound.
^ jQO_

VH^4-f ^4^ 4
To slioot "JIand" drawing a " bow "
225 arrows,
sha.
% i gradually changed to "body"
and "inch."

#
Target, Perhaps "arrow" hitting
226 Marquis,
A
I g H^^flil^iCt rA which "man"
target, to was
ftou. added.

227 Destroy,
fa. ^i A /If ;^ If M 1;^ (]> at Same
"Man" and
root as No. 215.
"halberd."

228 Frontier,
kmnff. ra n [^
HM /-I iM R "Camp" or "guard-house,"
suggesting frontier.

Troops,
"Men"
229 traveller,
iii.
/^
)^^'AA t^ t^i? Ivf IhhI fe " banner."
marching under a

Flag,
230 banner,
k'i.

Camp, •x-x
^7 t?N TP tF :fei TV V of
Depicts floating banner with
" axe "
"axe"
beneatli. (Significance
obscure.

"Fire" and "camp," with

23J >^
ying.
•^ 111 l#^ 1^ /si ffl
tents (?).

* Shield,
232
tuM, ahun.
i i
d /t\ (?)
Symbol
'eyes."
of protection for

oQo Emperor,
huang.
vi7 ^
tl ^1^
± 2C
50 «

^^
<E. 3E.
^
i <^ From "self" and "king,"
'self ruler," "sole ruler."

234
K'"g'
waug.
± 5 ii^S J I
Possibly a string
beads, still worn in
sign of authority.
of jade
China as

Rank, "Knife" and two "jade"

235 objects. Refers to buttons
class,
pan. i)£ f^i i)i i;|I i;|i i}i worn to distingjuish rank.

236
t Cora-
plete,
I'ing. i i i ^?l iA "Officer" (No. 237) and

Officer,

i f i
237
Sir,
scholar,
shih.
7^1 ±1 ^ i
Origin
allied to
obscure.
^ "great."
Perhaps

Chief,
238 great,
kii. i 1 1 1 £ ^a)
Origin
No. 239.
obscure. Suggests

Chinese Ideogkaphs.
*Shuo W6n :
" Shield. Likeness of that with which one protects the body and eyes." The resemblance to a shield is not clear,

t By some chance this has been classed by Chinese lexicography^? ijnder jt. "earth " instead of under ^ "officer."
•"9?
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XVII I.

^^""j"?
^ Seal
Modern § F"orm, Probable
and Older Forms.
Sound.
j~.
'^"™- ^ A. D. Original.
Remarks.
M 100.

* Prime
239 Minister,
ch'en. E ^B^^^\i (?)
Resembles No. 31 and No.
2.S8. Possibly depicts
insignia of office.
some

Supposed to be a burning
240
Lord,
dm.
± i lamp, hence "lord" by me-
tonomy. Suggests No. 234.

241
Father,
fu.
X %
^ 19, /^ ^ 4 / 1^ f^ K
"Hand"
"scepter."
or class.
holding "rod" or
Master of iaraily

Retainer,
to con- Seems to be from "bind'
242
trol,
si'.
5]
V3
5l |^t4f^?^l^ f«^
and summon

Ruler,
243 queen,
hou.
^ a /^ f5
Reverse of No. 242.
liaps "summon."
Per-

^
^ i^t/^A^^
"Great" and "man," or
244 Master,
fu.
k *,^ "great" doubled, i. e., "very
great."

245
'^" r"ie.
ym.
f fl f Ai^ A
" Iland " holding
ter." Like No. 241.
"scep-

Scribe, " Hand"holding a "sty-

24G history,
sliih.
i p ^ t^^^^^t^^ ik lu-i." See Fig. 1. (Ancient
stylus had ring at end.

t List,
247 record,
ch'ei. mn Wtl 4tttt tt^ f tttt 4tW>
Law,

T -^m
I

^
I I

248
cata-
logue,
tien.
/\. t^ )^ qTiTp
I^

7"^
I • I
Bamboo "records" upon
"Uble."
a

249
City (as
an official O O b O V,OiK50 a "Enclosure" and "seal"
seat).
e p suggesting official residence.
CJ. No. 142 and No. 209.

250
City ( as a
fortress),
ch'&ng. i-k
i iifl 4^ ft $4 ^:
^4
Composed of Nos. 252, 212,
214. No. 252 has been con-
tracted to "earth," i. e.,
earth-filled wall.

251
Capi tal
City,
king. ?^
t •^ -^ :^
)H ¥ "s:
^
^ City
now
gate
in Cliina).
with tower (as

? Court
ro>o
252
de
city gate,
or? ©p Gate-court with towers over
gates at either sides.
kuo.
0. rfy
Chinepe iDEOGKArnS.
*The Chinese notion that this depicts a corpulent man is unsatisfactory.
t Bamboo slips tied with a thong. Shuo Wfn says that the slips were of unequal length. Royal degrees were thus filed.
tShuo WC-n "The records of Wu Ti [The Five Rulers B. C. 2597-22.55] were given an honored place upon a stand.
:
'

§ This is now app/ied to a temple over an arch just inside a city gate.
 , ) ,

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol, IV. Plate XIX.

_! Seal
Meaning ,, ,

and
^',"'^'""" g Form, Probable
Older Forms. Remarks.
Sound.
Form. ^ A. D. Original.
M 100.

Oldest forms are :

" Popu-
253
Nation,
kuo. n (P (*)
ll 1^ ^ 0^ o) lace," or, "populace" and
"king." Later, "populace,"
"enclosed," r/. No. 254.

^^ huo.
«\ < '^ ^ ^ of ure."
"Halberd" and "enclos-
Symbolic of
tion over the people.
protec-

"Together" and "fire"

i
255Pop"la''e,
shu. i4 /^
I* /I /I ii f /I•
'M
under a "shed." Symbolic
of domestic life.

W
Political
2.56 district,
chou. >+i
Jil
\^^ j^H ^\ \\\ u ]^\
District

daries.
between

)
rivers.
(Streams were natural boun-

^
Audience
257 hall,
t 'in'g. i \i^^m^\^ •^
"Officer" (No. 237) on a
"seat."
"seal"
Some forms liave
addetl.

Judge
258
of
A)ipeal,
ts'an. 13
\^
fc3 o 11
(o\ >±f -^ ^5
"East" and " speak, " i. e.
Decree from East Palace, the
seat of judgment.

"Above" and "speak."

f ^^ ^i e B
I>ecree,
259 9 (^ Divine or imperial
decree.
chih.
EI
© ( Not related to its radical.

To inform
260 " 1"P^- u w "Mouth" and "officer,"
nor,
ch'eng. 2 f i. '., speecli before a superior.

na-, * Scepter,
knei.
± 4^ (^

Just
262 public,
kung. ^A^
yv ^6^
-^o^ %^ JOi ^a^ ^ J^ o ;oc
Symbol of equal division.
" Cut " and an object.

263
Protect,
pao.
1*. A m /Itr i Til # ^^
(<! Perhaps "man" rescuing
"child" from attack of beast
(claw). Cf. No. 334.

Tribe,
204 clan,

k (fJ ^fi ^A f>k 1^,

of
In form this
No. 265.
vided."
is
"Streams
the reverse
di-

Perpet-
^ Water flowing from a pool
265 ual,
fling. ^^ ^K
IJl f >J^ § tt * f .« or spring, hence "constant,"
"perpetual."

t Family,
266 home,
kia.
i-H
III ^ (^^(l\it\fk Origin obscure.

Chinese Ideographs.
'**This may be the carved lines upon a jade scepter. Such an ancient scepter was seen by the author. It was a foot long and two inches
wide of the shape pictured above, and engraved all over witli conventional lines.
tThis may come from different roots. Since the Ilan Dynasty (circa B. C. 100) it has taken the sole form of "pig" under "roof."
Earlier forms show various objects under roof. The most reasonable is " three persons under roof" —
a very early form —
which I liave taken
as the probable original.
 ) ) ) )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XX.

Meaning
" »r j " -w
, Modern a i<orm, Probable
and
""" Older Forms. Kemarks.
Sound.
Form. ^ A. D. Original.
fd 100.

267
Look,
see,
kien.
^ 7lL
fxtr Light issuing from the eye.
(In accord with peculiar no-
tion among the Chinese.

Reverse, Reversed body, hence to

i
2(.o

r " turn back," obsolete, cf. No.

28.

269
Self,

^ i & ^ i^ i^ ^ "Nose'
Chinaman
(see No. 33). (A
points to his nose to
indicate self

270 excited,
Fear,

hing. n it
n r^' ^^ ^^ (
Hands
Used only
raised as in terror.
in combination.

271
To return,
hui. 15] a © o Shuo Wen: "To revolve."
E^robably a whirlpool, hence
"to return."

271, Pendant,
ch 'ui.

# ± aK
ix ± ij^
i ^ l|^
A pendant
taria.
flower, e. g., wis-

273
Eminent,
yao.
4
JL
±
7^ *^U4it ±1
"Earth," piled up, hence
"high." Later, sign for
"platform" wasadded.

T
" Two men seated upon tlie
274 f'^'
ISO.
^ A ±
^ f '£ °£ h-l /^. ground"
in China.
—a common posture

Value,
"shell" (objects of value)
275 precious,
pao.
/-S

tt^l^i under a "roof."

ideograph.
(A good

^ ^
V U .^?X^
*Speech Symbolizes words issuing
2/6
yen.
U *3
f J. from the mouth, hence speech.

* Sound,
Probably No. 276i "speech" )
with "one" added to denote
277 note.
yin.
13
g
I V/ V^ >X/
§ I "single
"note."
utterance" hence

Blend, Blended or united lines.

278 unite,
kiao. k. X
'S ^tt^ti^1^(h t Symbolic of union. Of. Nos.
279 and 338.

Mark, Blended lines as in writing.

279 sign,
teen. A x
^ ^ti^pfti^^ ^ Probably of same origin as
No. 278.

280
To
pa.
cut,
/V /v
?\ )( X JL JC A Signifies bisection. Coin-
cides with sign for "eight,"
which may have separate root.

Chinese Ideographs.
* A Though the modern forms differ widely, the old forms prove them to be closely related. Shuo AVtm
very interesting pair of symbols.
considers No. 277 as derived from No. 276 by adding the sign for "one." This should signify a simple utterance instead of a successwn of st)unds
as in speech. Shuo W6n's further exposition of the relation of thought in the heart to utterance is only confusing, for it must be based upon
the doubtful assumption that No. 277 once had the sign for " heart" underneath.
 i,

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXI.

^ Seal
Meaning Modern S Form, Probable
and Older Forms. Remarks.
Form. ^ A. D. Original.
Sound. p5 JOO.

To From "knife" (No. 104)

281 divide,
Jen. ^i-
/^
^M T i^\ J^i and "cut" (No. 280).

Like, Two men of eqmd height.

282 equal,
pi. J:t >t fl(\ It li M ?? t^ AA
Lines were added to strengthen
the idea.

Level
TI VJU YY -I r- uu Two shields on a level.
283 even,
4 'tew.
H T No. 284.
Cf.

Coord 7A71 Two " men " on "level "

284 nate,
piny.
J] f ?i H fT r^
(No. 283). On even footing.

285 ^,'"''"'
hsiao.
^J^ '1^
)[ '^ n Hc n Stick cut (No. 280) in two,
hence "short" "small."

Large, Probably "man" on

286 great,
ta.
k M;
fr ::i^
^ ;!: ffn * ;^ 5)
"man's" shoulders, or
taller than the average.
man

287
Up,
above,
shang. ± —
i i 1
- ^ . • Object above a line.

—1—
288
Down,
below,
hsia. A
— 7 T "F - ^ • • Object betow a line.

^ Middle, Object or point midway be-

289
chuny.
t I 4* [j] t^
^ Cf*
fl' ^ ^ tween "up" and "down."

t Perpen- Shuo W6n : "Up and down

290 dicular, equal," as if the halves di-
kun. / verged from a central point.
/

Possibly "a single bamboo

One leaf" {cf. No. 117) now ex-
291 piece,
ko
1- ) fl /I) ^ -(^ panded to
ijj
and /lij with
i)honetic.

Twist, Either "hands" twisting a

292 twine,
kiu.

Form,
J-l
)

? s " rope," or twining vine with

"leaves."

"Man"
293
individu-
ality,
kiai. t A )?. )1^ M ft t ^ R 280).
personality.
and "cut" (No.
Suggesting distinctive

294 Together,
kuny. 4f /v
StK^^^r'^A K Four hands united.

Chinese Ideographs.
*The usual explanation of this symbol
an object cut in the middle. This fails to account for the more complex old forms. The most an-
is
cient coins have these complex forms, which is strange, in view of the habit of contracting symbols on coins, unless the extra strokes were deemed
essential to the meaning. Such I believe was the case, and the idea of a point between " up" and " down " will explain all the extant forms_
t Tlie original was likely a solid line representing a staff or other vertical object. Shuo Wfin's definition is inappropriate, but incidentally
accords with the basic idea of No. 289, suggested above.
 ) ) )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol IV. Plate XXII.

« • - Seal
^^"'"S Modern § Form, Probable
„»"'' - Older Form.
Form. A. D. Original. Bemarks.
Sound.
« 100.

Two rooms, or two men in

'^^^
Hang. \^ ffl f^hm cand^Aiiifl 1^ a liouse. (obscure origin.

296
*^""''^'
iiang.
\^ A M Fffl FFl 1^ /^
One linng, i. e., one ounce.

^^'
t Thirty,
„Q7 genera-
tion,
shih.
^ + ttt
i^^:^ t^ xt^l HI ttt
Triple sign for ten, i. e.,
thirty. A generation is thirty
years by Chinese reckoning.

t Substi- "
tute, Man " and "spear, " re-

i\ A ^^
298 genera- ferring to change of watgh.
ri^ '^1^ (Of. No8. 21.5, 227.)
tion, ii( il'i
tai.

299
Peace,
ngan,
'an.
^ (?1 ^^h ^m <k
One woman
(An essential
peace in Cbina.
in a house.
condition of

Fear,
Man standing upon a height
300
k P
]\^ \i}
>1 (hill),
Shuo WCn.
inspires fear. (So

V ± *i
Purpo.se, "Issue" (No. 107) and
determi-
•f ik ii "heart" (No. 41). ShuoW^n:

^
301
nation, ii. "That which issues from the
chill.
heart."

Now,
8 "Sun" or "day" and "ex-
302 this, so,
shih.
£ ^-
CE.
act" (No. Ill), hence "now."
(So also Shuo W^n)

Noon,
+ A Probably a vertical line
303
^f t trli /t\ /tiHTifi fti
through roof-gable toward
zenith, hence "noon."

304
Half,
pan
^f
+
'i
)^i
f 11/ Vf f^ ^vc.
(?)
"Cut" (No. 280) and an
obscure sign of varied form.

305
High, a o y^ Tower over city gate. Al-
kao 1-57 re]
lied to No. 251, 2.52.

lol
Condole "Two men" and "bow."
oQg witli Refers ancient custom of
to
bereaved,
iiao. ^ <? $ $ t 1.
guarding the dead against wild
beasts.

"Hand" and "halberd"

307
I, me,

M t ^X^l^^f^ ^ ^i^l'
(No. 213), vaguely suggesting
man's egoism.

308
Bawl,
Wit.
1 t ^^ ^° a ;^'
"Large" (No. 2.S6) and
" mouth." Mouth wide open
as in shouting or bawling.

Chinese Ideogkaphs.
*When the sign "Hang" (No. 295) was adopted for "ounce" (No. 296), from similarity of sound, the numeral "one" was added to
avoid confusion with the original sense of "Iiang" (No. 295). Later the new form supplemente<l the old, and now is used for l)oth "ounce'
and "two."
t These synonyms for "generation" differ in their original meanings. No. 297 emphasizes the rfumd'on of a generation," while No. 298
implies succession, being originally "change of watch," hence " sul)stitute," < "instead," <[ "succession," <[ "generation."
 1

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXI 1

,,
Meaning
. - Seal
j^j^^^ g p^^^,^ Probable
Older Forms. Remarks.
e"^"".
Sound.
Form. ^ A. D. Original.
^ joo_

309
Curved,
bent,
k'ii. \t e M M W ^ ^ ^ A bent or knotty piece of
vood.

"Child" (No. 26) in-

^^"?'''"^'
A
310
i i verted. Abnormal child,
hence " unfilial."

Steps, Shuo W^n : "Short steps,

311 walk, as man's successive three
?i
chHh.
1 ? ^ steps."

To run,
"Steps" (No. 311) and
312
cjio.

i 4_
t t
"stop" (No. 110) suggesting
leaps in running.

313
Follow,
ts'ung.
-fit 1 f 1^^
"Man beliind
'running" (No. 312).
man" and

314
Follow,
ts'uiuj. /^ A M Art
Man
of No. 313.
behind man. Variant

To move Outline of man walking.

315 on, Shuo W6n "To
5. keep go-
yin. i. ?. ^a ^ ing."
:

^
316
To

To
walk,
t80U.

ptep,
go, 4-
it
^i; ilil 01
walking.
"Bend "and "stop"a.s
Descriptive form
of the pictorial sign No. 315.
in

317 go,
Foot-prints or motion of
It one walking.
lisiiig.
It >.^ 7^
"Stop" (No. 110) and
njo A step.
jh "foot" (No. 37). The lat-

^ rt) ^ 'X Sj s
terhas been contracted to an
incongruous sign.

"Man" "running" (No.

Qjq To escort, 312) with a torch in hand,
sung.
'ih r^ fi^ t# it^ w^ iif§ (If /. e., torch

ing a bride).
bearer (as escort-

± ^^AiA
To stand. > Probably "man" standing
320
V i: on the ground.

M ^MDMii
Two
321 abreast, Two men side by side.
ping.
5Zx t-^
Origin, "Spring" (No. 87) under
322 source,
yiian. yl
r fe /i ;^ ''/?. fjii /I
a
'
'
"cliff" (No. 95), hence,
source."

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXIV.

Meaning ^^^^^^ % ^^^^ Probable

and Older Forms.
Form. •« A. D. Original. Remarks.
Sound.
M 100.

"Dish" (No. 156) full of

Plenty, viandsr '. e., "grain" (No.

2 1
323 rich,
fetifj.
•a
1. i MMi^^ f\ %
124) and "herbs," offered
with "hands." (Likecornu-
copia).

324
* Large,
lofty,
t'ai. M.
^v
^ rtil\rlift^l^f^
± Also
f^.

325
t'ai.
^ A
i ±ik 1^ f^^± ^
Enunci-
ate "Twist" (No. 292) and
326 word, a c " moutli '
referring to motion

^ ^ % 5, '

sentence,
kit.
? v.
^ ^A of lips in speaking.

327
Enclose,
wrap,
poo.
'1 'V
^CO Sign suggesting a wrapper.

^^$ ^
Fcvtus wrapped in the
g28 To wrap womb, with "child" added
up, ]X10.
n 'i
(9 ^ -4j as suggestive sign.
329.)
( Cf. No.

Depicts half-formed foetus

329
Embryo,
t iQ^n'n^^H 2
Originally same
before birth.
as Ci i-

Tender,
Seven months' foetus. De-
330 young,
yao. k k i ^ S veloped from No. 329.

Very
331 small,
fine, yu. a n 66 §S
No. 330 intensified by du-
plication.

Enfold,
u ^ Shuo Wen: "Tongue."
332 letter,
han.
® (S ^ Possibly tongue in the mouth.
Cf. No. 56.

333 t Dwell,
ku.
^ P
/?
A
$1iiaS ^f^
-;
Man standing in a house.

nm^
Protect,

334 .''^'^I'.'
deposit,
ts'un. # ^ u jg t^^
Hand
263.
over child.
Shuo wen: "Anxiety."
Cf. No.

I ±^
Sheperd-
335 ess,
kiang.

^ ?
^
f
"Sheep" and "woman.'
" Sheep-woman."

tTo -&-
336 '*^'""'S'
connect, n. 3^ ^1^ di^
String of shells.
kuan. 8^ 5<;? ;^

Chinese Ideoguaph,s.
* For full explanation see page 14.
t The evolution of the modern form may be thus : ($•< ^</5< fi < fi < S. This theory is strengthened by the survival of a variant fi.
i The ancient custom of stringing shells as money may accpunt fqf the tnv4iU4i!!il 'mlfit "f stringing coins in China.
 ) )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV Plate XXV.

«" ^^"^
Meaning „ ,
Modern .H Form, Probable
and Older Forms. Ke marks.
Sound
oouna. Form. 1 A. D. Ori<irinal.
^ jQ^j

•Longevity,
337 age, Shuo Wen: "Enduring,
shoii.
following."

Blend,
338 diagram,
yao.

Singe,
X
X X
X n
1 li *j
^
Blended
Nos. 278, 279,
lines.
q. v.
Eelated to

339 scorch,
chiao. i ^^ ^
One or more birds over
Also tortoise over fire.
fire.

Hands opposed, or strug-

340 W^1"K^^
Cheng.
f /Tv
^ ii^l^ i gling for a staii'or spear.

Shuo Wen: "Split wood.

341 fSplinter, From
p'ien.
/t n K >H
half of tree."

342
Sweet,
kan. ^ * (5) (^ © (i){i)(iii2r t!^
Possibly palatable (sweet)
food retained in the mouth.

Origin

? f fH^^tS^I
obscure. Refers to
Bitter,
343 (?) melancholy of autumn.
hsin.

344 To use,
yunfl. JH Ifl
;ft fflmi:^^)iijiiiii(t] m Significance obscure.

^
f#f 4
Ghost or other strange
Strange, IP xTx figure. Allied to No. 354.
345 unlike,
A,^ flf^

346
Lift,
raise,
ki.
®
w Hands lifting a weight.

Supposed by Chinese to be
Opposed,
347 perverse,
ch'uan.
^ij: n f^ :f^
two men lying back to back (a
guess).

Spread
Q<o out, sort
out,
jne7i. ^ ^ ;fv 1 ^^ -^-
^
Depicts
spread.
beast's claw out-

Together,
349 market,
chi.
^ 11 A T/a
^ 1^
Three birds on a tree.
contracted.
(Now

% I^^Y
^r^
350
'^^y"'"''
+f
( af
Chinese Ideographs.
-^jTi
¥ Some prolific creature like
the frog or scorpion.
related to its radical.
(Not

* A very complex symbol of many forms. It .seems to be composed of ^ lao "old," :^<iyung "perpetual" and O
k'ou, mouth. The
significance of the two first is apparent, but that of "mouth " is obscure.
t Mechanically derived from the sign for " tree" (No. 97), J^qt tl^e reverse of " bed" (No.. 154), as often hastily inferred.
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXVI.

" Modem " Form, Probable

J
and Older Forms. Remarks.
Sound.
Form. ^ A. I). Original.
« 100.

351
Diety,
gods,
shell. # Tn
t feH
^t''F^9f|)l^'i.^ll5 1^ (0
(See note under No. 92.)
Symbols found with or with-
out sign for "heavenly influ-
j^ence" (No. 353) as radical.
Light- Used both a« noun (deity)
ning and adjective (divine, spirit-

^\^k\ki^%%\%f>^k
I

(?),
3.52 (original ro tl^ (?) J ual).

of No. 351, ^t
?. "•

* Heaven-
ly influ-
353 ence,
edict,
,sV.
/J\
;n
JK 1> M /t^ «i ///
/!(

354 I^f"'""'

K%%t ^'
Form
"myiitery"
3!5.
of man
affixed.
with sign for
c5. No.

Ancestral
355 temple,
tsung.
A w jmi li^ 1^
"E<iifire" with "heavenly
influence" within.

t^iti^A A
Symbol of sacrifice (grave,
Sacrifice,
piled cakes, or vessel) to which
Tx
356 ancestor,
tsu. 7A nifi Jiifi^i "heavenly
added.
influence" was

Shuo Wen: "One who pi-

367 ^'!'*''
^ <^
ously treats his father and
nsiao.

^l> mother. From 'old' and 'son,'

The son supports the aged."

Thank
358
°'^*'.""«'
enjoy,
hsiang.
^ e s$ ttt^t Covered jar used in thank
offerings.
Originally same as No. 359.

To o W6n

tt^ttt s
per- Shuo rightly considers
359 vade, -6- the same as No. 35S.
Mng.
^ e $
this
(Variant § still used.)

360 ^T""'
cliao. 1^ yi. j/^l' ,>\v fii ^p t* ')l'l- '1(0
Supposed to be lines on tor-
toise-shell, used in divination.

To divine,
361 h h r i h ^ Perhaps related to No. 360.
pu.
h 15

To en-
quire by "Mouth" and "to divine"
362 divina-
tion,
chan.
v5 V
^ 4^ © i'
(No. 361). Sometimes en-
closed in sign of obscure mean-
ing.

Sacrificial
363 tankard,
yu.
i fi ^ (i) i W^ ^ [3=
Depicts tankard, with No.
361 added.

t Incense-
•364 tripod,
ting. 14 k § IIWW Chinese Ideographs.
Shell (No. 132) with legs.

*Shuo W6n: "That which comes from Heaven as revealing fortune or misfortune to men. From .n and ||', sim, moon and stars descending.
Pertains to astrological scrutiny into divine affairs." The horizontal lines may be the sign for "above" (No. 287), or a special sign for Heaven.
The vertical lines depict the descending influences.

t Common form of the tripod is ^^, which may be from the original use of a homed shell for holding incense, as for instance ^^.
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXVIl.

M n ! £r
°
"^ ^^
„ 1 Modem u Form,
Older Forms.
Probable
Form. ^- A. D Original. Remarks.
Si""'',
fecund.
jQo.

365
*Sacrifi-
cial bowl,
^
U
^ Shuo Wfin calls this a ves-

i.
I n sel for ancestral worship.

Celestial, Mystic symbol composed of

3GC
superior,
k'ien,
kan. ft tMuiMrf? IT
elements pertaining to heaven,
sun, air, or fire, and meteoric
influence.

Earthly,
367 inferior,
k'un. it ±^1^
±f, ±^ ±^ m
f '^
"Earth" and "God" (No.
351) contracted, i. e., "earth-
deity." Opposite of No. 366.

"Heavenly influence"

308
Tutelary-
deity,
H ;Tx
li li i))^ -ni^ ||< fl
(No. 353) over nature (trees
and earth
"Earth-lord."
). Shuo Wen :

t To di- ,f /K
vine by Shuo W6n: "Mystic
369 witch- AH changes in nature as detected
craft, by the use of May-weed."
shih.
;In ft

370 ^P'"'-
ch ang.

*/
1^
rT « ^ V Weird sign for a ghost.

Venerate, At.^ >'i;^ - .y^v cial

"Hands" offering "sacri-
jar" before a "mound"
371
honor-
able,
tsun. D-
i © 1 >W |S ^^ 5§
If^
grave).
( ( Last has been dis-

carded, and "hands" changed

to sign for "inch.")

Tripod
A Descriptive and pictorial
S72
"^^^
<="P'
rank,
chiie.
1 as!^ (?)
signs relating to use of the
libation cup "chiie."

Large
o
373
measure,

li,
urn,
hi.
\3
\?7
C7
^^fisaxt^ Depicts large tripod with
handles, used in temples.

(Variant, The two signs at sides are

374 of last), V3
"bow"
li.

5^7
v?7
®^ the handles, altered to
(No. 211).

To "Hand," "flesh" and

#
sacri-
375 fice,
chi.

Active
or male
Tx
JR

e
^>^^ ^;.Ti I^ 1 1| ti ^ "jar"
is now
altered.
in a " temple." Last
discarded and "jar"

o„/, ShuoWCn: "High, light.

principle,
yang.
PI I ^1 il^ftl^f^l f Superior forces of nature."

Passive
377 or female

# A and
Precise significance of this
No. 376 is not clear.
principle,
yin. PI
-1.
+ r-C
^i ^t ^t pi t -Ny^
They refer to geomantic con-
dition, hill, sun, cloud, etc.

Shuo W6n: "To judge.

m 1"^^^%^^^
Supreme
378 Ruler,
ti.
t + Title of the universal ruler."
( Used of emperor and deity.

Chinese Ideographs.
*Thig complex and apparently incongruous symbol is one of the most ancient in the language. It is descriptive rather than pictorial, being
composed of four elementary signs suggestive of sacrifice, to wit Suine's heud (No. 18), slielkJ-ffrain (No. 124), silk\jio. 134) and "hands,"
:

the last .significant of " offering" and characteristic of many old symbols relating to sacrifice. Some of the forms are in ancient script which
obscures the signs depicted. The form of the vessel is ^^ as seen in recovered specimens.
fThis complex sign is supposed to suggest the gestures and cries of a witch. May-weed, in bundles of 64 stalks, is still used by Chinese in
divination.
 ,

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV Plate XXVI II

^Zl"^ Modern j FoTm,

Older Forms
Probable
Eemarks.
Form. -^ A. D. Original.
Sound.
pq 100.

379
Ob-
structed
growth,
^^ }{^ X Tree with top cut off. Ob-
soleteform related to No. 380.

380
*Nnt
pu.

Refuse,
'

^^
a
^ mi^MU J^
Derived from No. 379, which
suggests negation.

No. 380 intensified by add-

381 not,
/on. V3
^ M^ ^ ing "mouth." W6n-li or
literary form of No. 380.

Have "The end" < "none" <

382 not,
mu.
^ ))'@
(('5^ I I H § ^ft I?)
"no more" < "have not."
Also means "drown."

ogq t Do not,
^ *t t Derived
(No. 24).
from "woman"

Shuo W^n

V^ ^
considers this to

384
No,
h '7
4) ^ f^ # ^
be an ancient flag with three
pennants used for signalling
"no."

Something tied with cords.

Unyield- Shuo W6n "Unyielding.
* « ##* f
:

385 ing not. From

? tracted."
'
thongs ' [No. 197] con-
:5

Things (bows?) back

f ^ii^^^^p^
Opposed, to
386 not,
fei. ^^ *P
^^
back, hence "opposed."

ggy Not yet,

^ i s % t^P^n^t * Shuo W6n:

ceaf and branch."
lance not clear.
"Tree in full
Signifi-

388 do
Without

7no.
not, -»!?•

V"V
W r^ ^ "Sun"
"leaves"
obscured
< shady < dark <
invisible < without.
by

389
t None,
minus.
m X Ji.j *A=li -RJ^-
fi^ ^ vlv ShuoWfin: "Lost."

Chinese Ideographs.
*The Chinese, following Shuo W6n, consider this to be inverted J chth, "at," which they interpret as a bird flying to earth. This is
far-fetched, and in fact No. 380 is not the inversion of the character for "at." I prefer to consider it as derived from No. 379, an ancient sign
now discarded.
t Shuo W6n : "Stop. Figure of woman with line across it as if prohibiting illicit conduct."
i A very obscure symbol. Chinese scholars have made many conjectures, but none satisfactory.
I venture an additional guess, to wit, that

we must look No. 207 for the key. The upper part of this (No. 389) exactly corresponds to the chariot-shaft and yokes of No. 207. May it
to
not be a span of horses separated from the cart? Hence "lacking" "without." To this the signs "lost" and "trees" have been added.
 Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV Plate XXIX.

Meaning
^ Seal
Modern h Form, Probable
and T3 Older Forms. Remarks.
Form. A. D. Original.
Sound.
« 100.

390
One,
—— - / \ \ ^ ^ One line, or one weapon.

391
Two,
J=.
—
- // w 1 ^4 11
Two lines, or two weapons.

392
Three,
^ — ._ = /// \^ III 1
Three lines.

393
Four,
\B a <^ GD'R^ ^(J t= nil
Four lines, gradually con-
nected in cursory style.

394
Five,
22 — X SXX X z 1 mil 1 ,2
Five
cated.
lines, variously indi-

Six
/v
i^ ^/O A ^J.T /fV Probably six lines united.

—
^ ^ t ^ >^>t^i
Probably seven lines
396 *^,T''
en I. -t -^ united.

397 *^'S''^'
pa. /\ /v ?\ )( X K <1 P"?
i!!^' =i=
p^
Eight lines united.

398
Nine,
kiu.
iL L 1? \^ A \^^v Bv Probably nine lines united.

399 ^^'
shih.
+ + tU If t 1
Two
five
contracted
united.
signs for

400 Twenty,
if + tt ft- tf ft
'
1 1

Two tens.

401
Thirty,
shin, so. ^ + tft t^ m^t^ llf
Three tens.

Hundred,
402 many,
pei.
i sb ^ i©"^!^ ®
Kesenibles
"head" and "nose."
nificance disputed.
signs for
Sig-

Thous-
403 and,
ch^ien. f f ? R-?t^^^1- ^. Possibly "hundred-tens"
(origin obscure).

Chinese Ideogkaphs.
*The respective signs Xi= belong to a distinct system of numerals still used for commercial purposes, which combines figures above

five. The vertical line is a contraction of ^ "five" to which "one," " two" and "three" are added to indicate "six," " seven" and "eight."
The regular system combines after "ten."
tThis sign is undoubtedly two fives contracted. Originally X or some like form, as in the Roman numeral X which is a duplicated \/.
 chalfant: early chinese writing 17

Values of Latin Letters in the System of Romanized Chinese Used in This

Treatise, Being That Known as Wade's System with Slight Modifications.

a, before ng or final, like "a" in "ball."

an, as in "pan," the vowel tending toward Italian "a."

ai, as long "i" in "like."
ao, as "ow" in "cow."
e, an obscure sound resembling ii.

en, as in "then," tending toward "an."

6, short "e" (not used by Wade),
ei, long "a" (a) resolving into e.

i, as e when final, or t when followed by "n" or "ng," *

ih, as i.

i, an obscure vowel like "e" in "able." (Note used by Wade.)

ia, as "ya" with broad sound of "a."
iao, as "yow."
ie, semi-diphthong with the "e" slightly audible like e-e.

iu, like "ew" in "few."

o, o followed by slight breathing like "o-eh."
ou, o resolving into n.

6, like German 6. (Not used by Wade.)

u, like "oo" in "fool," or like the word "woo."
ii, approximate French sound of "u."
un, like " wen."
ua, " "wa" in "water."
uai, " " wi" in "wise."

ui, " the word " we."

uo, " "woa" in the exclamation "whoa" (hwoa).
uei, " " way."
yu, " the word "you."
ch, " English "j" or soft "g."
ch', " " "ch."
hsi, " " hyee" or "see" (two classes of sounds not distinguished by Wade),
j, " French "j " with trace of " r."

p, nearly like "b."

p', hke "p."
t, nearly like "d."
t', like "t."
18 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

II. NOTES UPON THE "SHUO WEN."

As already stated, this great work was published about 120 A. D., and has been
repeatedly reedited by later scholars, preserving, however, what purports to be the

original text. This dictionary, being etymological in aim, gives the author's opinion
as to the' primitive meaning of a word, often with a surmise as to its derivation, and
occasionally a suggestion as to pronunciation. In its present form this lexicon defines
some ten thousand symbols based upon five hundred and forty ^ "classifiers."

By reference to the appended list of these so-called "classifiers," several peculiari-

ties will be noticed. In the first place they seem to have been selected upon no
logical plan, and are entirely too numerous. This latter fault in the system soon
manifested itself, for subsequent lexicographers successively reduced the number until
the reign of Kanghsi, when the greatest of all (Jhinese dictionaries appeared under
the royal patronage, and classified some 45,000 symliols under 214 determinatives
(which are usually called "Radicals"). Of these, 206 were retained out of the
original 540, and eight others were added,, viz., 8th (o-), 56th (-^), 69th (/j), 71st

m 88th iX), 90th (^), 138th (pO, 186th (^).

Secondly they fail to include as classifiers certain ancient symbols as ^, and
^, Jj,
;!(, which found early use in composition. These four have since been recognized
as sufficiently important to be used as radicals. The same cannot be claimed for
the other five new radicals, for the small groups under each could easily have been
distributed among the already recognized classes, e. g., .x, under /^ or i-^n where
most of its class naturally belong ; -^ under -^ ;
y^ under )\, or )l,.

The "Shuo Wen " recognizes six classes or kinds of symbols, defined as follows :

'h M pictographs, as X "tree," Q "sun."

4a $> indicators, as ^ "earth piled up," " high."

composites, as |ft "sacrificial vase."
a /S-'
" son "
^f 5±' inversions, as ^ and ^, and " unfilial."

^^ 7^, phonetic signs, as " flower " being merely phonetic).

^^ ('f.^

i?ij% substitutes (metaphors), as ^

{^) "fattier" ("hand" holding "rod").
While representative symbols may sometimes apply to more than one class, yet
the conception is on the whole quite happy. The definitions and derivations in

the Shuo W6n do not always appeal to the student as reasonable, and suggest, what
is probably the truth, that many of them are mere guesses on the part of the author.
It is possible, however, that the author had access to data and sources of informa-
tion now lost, and therefore may be right in some cases where his opinion would
"The number of these "pl^s^Kjerg" ranges from 534 to 544, according to the method of computation.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXX.

Meaning Meaning
Shuo W(^n, Modern Shuo W6n, Modern
and Bemarks. and Bemarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

— One, 1st Radical.

See No. 390.
J
^^^^'
2d Radical.

b ^
Undulating air,
^^ ^^ ^gg

? 4 T'l'ist.
k lu.
See No. 292.

y^ Nail, sting? g Jungle, Old synonym of

T jj^ igg
^ ^ kuii. No. 112.

Grasp,

^ -fc
^^',^"' See No. 396.

^ fi ki.

^
^ t Ten-feet,
cAanji.
rp^^
,^^„^j

1 ¥
Luxuriant,
eho.

— Three,
saw.
gge ^^ 392.
6 \
Lamp-flame,
(]ot,
ehu.
„, _
3d Radical.
,. ,

1
1 '!^i^J„''' See No. 287.
M ^ Cinnabar,
tan.

^ ^
Concealed,
mien.
fi
a Pellet, pill,
wan.

Bending to the
^'"'
See No. 380. right, 4th Radical.
Tn pu. ;
Js f" p'ie.

Horary

^ n
sign,

s. 1-3 A. M.,
ch'ou. R But, rather,
nai.

Following,

^^ ii ^^' See No. 94.

^ X enduring,
kiu.

South the source

s ^ of fire,
ping.

Original form"of
1 -t
To issue, of,
chih. See No. 108.

A sacrifice, No. 356, but To heap up, Belated to No.

^ Fl tsu, ch'ie. now a conjunc-

tion ch'ie. f 1 tut. 193.

l[ K Foundations,
ki.
r ,r
Bowing,

Chinese Ideographs. -

[Note. —The numbers in this series (PI. XXX— XLIX inc.) refer to the numbers of the ideographs in Plates I-XXIX.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXXI.

Meaning Meaning
Shiio WOn, Modern Shuo Wen, Modern Remarks.
and Rema rks. and
Classifier. Form. Cla&sifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

Bending to the Hunch-back,

\ V left,

fu.
* S "K'y,
H'O.

x\(-i-), 8tli
See under 48tli

p
T r, 1 1
Neck, strong. Radical not
Ijeit hand, d i- i a „ is
,
'
Riiuical. see laing. a Shuo Wfn
n.
also No. 67.
ft clas.sifier.

See No. 2G8. Horary sign,

To turn back, 9-11 A. M.,

#, h S"; t hai.

Diverging
Blend,

M ru.
stream,
p'ai.
See No. 264.

^ ^ kiao.
See No. 278.

5th Radical. Armpits,

L Crooked,
i.
* include, also.

Sacrificial jar,
^i"®'
g j^ ggg
See No. 398. enjoy blessings,
f? h. ,

km.
h^ng, hsiang.
ggg

Bird of

^ t unknown
ya.
sort,
^"^'kilg^''^'
See No. 2.51.

Granary, Synonym

U L Secluded,
yin. \i7 lin. 187.
of No.

Hook, Radical. Man

i J
A: tie.
6tli
See No. 192.
1
^ (generic),
jen, yin.
9th Radical.
See No. 22.

me, To a-ssemble,

A
I,

? f yii. /.v chi.

Two, 7tli Radical. To follow,

-=- Er. See No. 391. AA ta'ung. See No. 314.
flfl

Stratum of ^ See No. 70.

T
l'''"^'
cloud, at, -TK
? yii.
iH cnung.

Come,
^ Mist, cloud,
cy. No. 90.
i Ud.

? yitn.
/Tl
Dawn,
'^y.*'"'

« if clung.
See No. 1.52.

fA k<m.

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXXII
Meaning Meaning
Shiio W6n, Modern Sluio wen, Modern
and Kemarks. and Remarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sonnd.

Flowers, glory, Old variant of An interjection,

hua. No. 106.
1^ hsi.

f
<^,'?"'''y'
See No. 187.
* Six,
tia.
See No. 395.

10th EadicaL
;l ./""".' Variant of No.
''"^tS^"' See No. 294.
i\ jCTi, 1/iH.
22
f^
^^t^ Radical.

R /Li
Elder brother,
lisiung.
n J
Frontier, desert,
kiuntj.
228.
.

Variant of No.

f^
Precede,
hsien. tt^ * List, record,
'(g<^ '
„ „ „._
See No. 247.

??
5/e. Obscure,
Am.
e A- Delicate, fine.
Jan.
Possibly related
to No. 35.

Said to depict the

t Able, conquer.

S i Millions,
1^^ small rafters ot
a roof.

% 0:5 Ehinoceros,
hgi_
See ^^
,-
No. 17.

n R Cap, Variant of
167.
No.

Hare, R„de f\— Cap,

§
picture of
''"•
the animaL
~~ \=7 See No. 167.
jt Fl
I

ft 1 Hairpin, clasp.

R .^
To flay,
kiui.

X A Enter, inside,
jtt, yu.
nthRadical.
n r^
Curtain,
table cover, "^^^^^
^o
Radical.
176

t
?^
Hidden, Shade, dark,
\t wang.
lost,
ming.

m TO Two,
liang.
See No. 295.
:^ VJc
Ice,
ping.
15th
See No.
Radical.
86.

yv Cut, eight, 12th Badical

n Small 16th Radical.

table,

iS jja. See No. 397.

A. ki. gee No. 181,

Chinese Ideogbaphs,
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV Plate XXXIII.

Meaning Meaning
Shuo wen, Modern Sliiio W6n, Modern
and Kemarks. and Bemarkg.
classifier. Form. classifier. Form.
Sound. Souud.

c, , , ^, Component part
No, not,
Short feathers,

^ ^^
ggg

R '^
^f 'J^os. 12 and 384_
shu. Wit.
;i. 20.

u M To gape,
k'an.
17th Radical.
See No. 47.
^x t Spoon, ladle,
pi.
21st Radical.
See No. 161.

Now used only

u /a
Willow basket,
See No. 159.

n it
Back to back,
pei, po.
for "north."
Adopted from
coincidence of
sound.

a li
Unlucky, bad,
hxiunff.
L c Receptacle,
fang.
22d Radical.
See No. 182.

A sort of Obsolete, exact Covered recep- 23d Radical.

W ii utensil,
ts'u.
form of vessel
now unknown.
^ u tacle, coffer.
hu.
Allied to No.
182.

To issue, -4- Ten, 24tli Radical-

^ ill eh'u.
See No. 107.
shih. See No. 399.

Knife, ISth Radical.

See No. 164.
a Fleeing,

77 hio.
ft hsiian.

9>
The small stroke See No. 401.
Cutting-edge, Thirty, Also old form
indicates the

h ;?7 jin, yin.

knife-edge.
ftt -ttf ofNo. 297.

To notch a A "notched
stick, stick" and ch ^
Noon, ggg No. 303.

Vn ^^ kH. "knife."
wu.

Tendon, Radical:
19tli Half,

* ^ strength,
li.
See No. 48. V- ¥ pan.
See No. 304.

United
Winnowing gge No. 189.

Is, 4 strength,
concord,
hsie.
Obsolete.

? t fan,
pan.

Wrap. To divine, 25th Radical

^ pao.
See No. 327. [-
h pu. See No. 361.

To dip with Sea], knot, 26th Radical.

^^
^ a ladle,
cho, ghuo.
^ P Me. See No. 209.

® fe To enfold,
pw.
See No. 328.

Chinese Ideographs.
ik
')? To rule,
k'ing, chi.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXXIV.

Meaning Meaning
Shuo W6n, Modern Shuo Wfin, Modern
and Remarks. and Remarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

Horary sign,

¥ To pull,
Obsolete syno-
5-7 A. M., nym of No.
^^ ^1 ^i p'ien.
219.

^^ ^r*

A
^ggs,
hum.

round
ggg No. 60.

^ A United,
jiie.
An allied sign of
different ori-
gin signifies a
mythical tree.

Connected,
Obsolete syno-
wine-jar,
nym of No.
fl ;t chih. X3l cho.
294.

M Seal, signet, g^^ -^^ glO. To descend,

? £p yin.
Si t • p'iao.

Fear, danger,

s yl
g^^ j^o. 300.
a Mouth,
k'ou.
30th RadicaL
See No. 34.

Overhanging
jTth RadicaL

r r ^""' v:3 But, only,

See No. 95.
nan.

K chih.

Thick, Inversion of No. Sign of permis-

htm. 359.

f ^ sion, may,
k'o.

A lllic"'
28th RadicaL To control,
See No. 242.
o h1 =1 si'.

i A
UnfilJal,
tit.
ggg No. 310.

/^ >g
^"'^''
hou.
See No. 243.

^ i
Go, depart.

4 ^
Ancient,
ku.

High, heap. Stones piled up.

Twist, phrase, See No. 326.
06 lei, Im. Cf. No. 273.

* -^ kii.

Single, only, Scribe, gge No. 246,

6 i chuan.

1 '^ shih.

^ ^ Right hand,
2/«.
29th RadicaL
See No. 58.
m op Cry of terror,
Iisuan.
Two mouths.
Obsolete.

R fy^
Hands clasped
as in greeting,
kung.
„
See
,
also
Radical.
,.
o5th
.
,

(^ \^
Slow of
na.
8i)eech,

Chinese Ideographs,
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV, Plate XXXV

Meaning Meaning
Shuo Wen, Modem and Remarks.
Shuo WSn, Modern
and Remarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

4:
^:7
To gore,
publish,
kao.
From "ox," and
a complex sign
now contracted.
© \3J
Lattice window,
kiung.
g^^ ^ ^^

*7
V3
Backbone,
lit.
See No. 53.
± Earth, clay,
I'u.
32d Radical.
See No. 80.

Cry of pain, Complete, full,

g^^
1
hao.
ff 4 t mg.
j^^, 236.

Rank, order.
/ Pendant,
p'tn. /^ A i en ui.
g^^ j^^ 272.

"Mouth" re-
To wail, cry, peated, and See also under
Redoubt,
"dog." Orig- 189th Radical.
'^ k'u.
yung.
Of. No. 250.
?l inally "howl."

From " yellow "

and "earth,"
To speak, , ,,

i
Loess earth,
referringg to
yUn, yuan.
I kin.
color of the
clay.

Happy, glad, Piled up, high, Qf

V+ hd.
it yao.
•'
jjjj 273.
V3

-. Obsolete. Also
^^"y-. old variant of Officer, scholar, 33d Radical.
tid chi, ch I.
No. 91. ~\~ tt ahih. See No. 237.

_ Obsolete. Shuo
,
Beast of burden
1 ,
T" „ 9th of the Ten

4
;v6n guesses it , , ,,
(sound to be a horse's
Great^full,
J^-
gj^^^^ g j^^_
unknown). Yvfid.
236.

i
t \27
Desire, covet,
ahei, si.

f # Kettle,
Am.
Original was a
picture of the
utensil.

o Q Enclosure,
n-ei.
31st Radical.
See No. 142.

t V3
Single, one,
i.
Evidently de-
rived from last.

e5 \TE?

Top
Fo;""-

of the head
See No. 393.

f 5.
Joyous,
chii, chu.

S vi?
(or) fietus in
womb,
lisin.
Obsolete,

^ X ^chr' 34th Radical.

^
Furnace-flue,

\i7
window,*
ch'uang, ts'ung.
-^ ,?"^i. 35th Radical.

Chinese Ideographs.
 '

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXXVl.

Meaning Meaning
Shiio WOn, Modern Shno Wfn, Modern
and Remarks. and Remarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

9 9
Evening,
hsi.
36tli Radical.
See No. 131.
^ *
Respectful,
Chan, Chun.
obsolete.

? 9 ,
-
Origin obscure.

n .-s
Roof, house,
mien.
40th Radical.
See No. 141.

ii ± Large,
to.
37th BadicaL
See No. 286.
t Store-room,
chu.

Originally a

t Large, Alternate form Cobra, that,

A la. of last.

^ t another,
t'o.
cobra with in-
flated hood.

Master,

1^ k /«.
See No. 244.

(s\ t
Palace,
kung.
See No. 144.

Knee-pan,

^ ^ Pleasing,
yao.

t t horary sign,
3-5 P. M.,
yin.

A contracted
Release, Dream,
form of this is

tr kao, hao. 'it mhig.

now used.
H^
Finger-joint,
41st Radical.

$ ^ Go and
t'ao.
come,

^ ^
inch,
ts'un.
See No. 43.

k To kowtow,
"'«•
Man with head
inclined.
K 'h
Small,
hsiao.
42d Radical.
See No. 285.

Bugbear,

f t bandit,
nie.

m
Collect, hoard,
shii.

t * Aflluent,

It i
Crooked,
deformed,
wang.
43d Radical.

^ #
Outspread
wings,
sui, hsin.

? F Corpse,
sJiih.
44th Radical.
See No. 61.

^ k Woman,
nu.
agth
See No.
Radical.
24.

h K Foot-measure,
chHh.

Male
^ child, 39th Radical.

^ a
Tail, end,

^ <»»• See No. 26. xmi.

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXXVII,

Meaning Meaning
Shuo Wen, Modern Modern
- - ' — ana Kemarks. Form.
and Remarks.
Classifier. Form. classifier.
Sound. Sound.

Shuo W^n oi ^ n ^
"That on which ^'\°^> ^""^ >
:

M the foot rests,"

U.
action
duct.
^ con-
p e. ^f!^' 49tli Radical.

Horary sign,
Sprout,

t ^ ch'ie.
45tii
See No. 103.
RadicaL
? e,
9-11 A. M., See No. 329.

Worm, clap
e
\^ lU
Hill, mountain,
shan
46th Radical.
See No. 93.
^ hands.
pa.
See No. 57.

Obsolete except Head-kerchief, SOtli Radical

r r
Mountain peak,
*^

^
V in
tion.
com b n a- 1

^ t kin. See No. 175.

W M Mountain range, „,
Mn.
,
Obsolete.
,

(tl
>1^
Pervade,
tsa.

High rugged Market, See No. 177.

peak, shih.
wei.
(^ ^
River, 47th Radical. White silk,
;il ch 'uan. See No. 85. po, pel.

I
Brooklet,
kiuin.
Obsolete.
Cf. No. 85.
i 4l
Ragged,
pi.
Obsolete.

Stream 30 miles
Obsolete.
y Shield, weapon, 51st Radical.

l\
{{
lone
W' Cf. No. 85. T kan. See No. 216.

— 1 ^T" Uvel, even,

(« Nest on a tree,
Ifepicts birds in g^^ j.„ 283.
a nest over the k ten.
ch'ao, tg'ao.
sign for tree. ?f

I Labor,^work,
^^^^ ^^^.^^^
g £ Young, tender,
"„(,_
52d RacUcal.
See No. 330.

I „f, . Cf. 8th classifier Small,

^ See No. 331.

1
Leit-hanu, fine,

± ,
'

ical.
,
under 4th Rad-
.,, ,. ,

tt ^4> yu.

r
Shed, cover,
''t t^^''
±:
Divination,
magic,
vm.
Cf. No. 369.
r yan, yen.

XX XX
II IX Very skilful,
chan.
Obsolete.

Chinese Ideogkaphs.
m ^ Change, age,
king.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol, IV. Plate XXXVIIL

Meaning
Shuo Wdn, Modern Shuo WCn, Modern
Classifier. Form.
^^nj"^ Remarks.
Classifier. Form.
and Remarks.
q j
Sound.

f*
« Unicorn,
chai.

To move
Allied to No.

54th Radical.
3.

u 4
^''wiif
^^,.^'

Heart,
'
60th

61st
Radical.
See No. 311.

Radical.

^ k
on,
•C'
yin. See No. 315.
H^ Asm. See No. 41.

To go steadily, Think,

?£ ^ slow,
ch'ien, eh'an.
f consider,
si'.

55th RadicaL

f^ n kung.
See also under
29th Radical.
Doubtful,
80, jui.

Lance,
56th Radical is Halberd, 62d Radical.
i t.
not
\V6n
a Shuo
classifier.
* i kim. See No. 213.

Bow (weapon), 57th

a
Radical.

? ? kung. See No. 211. A Battle-axe,

yo, yUe.

From "bow" and 5th of the Ten

Bow-string, Battle-axe, Stems. Re-
"silk" con-
^t rt fi wu, mou.
1?
lisien. lates to earth.
tracted.
See No. 214.

Twang of 1 lorary
Not same as No.

^ ?
a bow,
han.
Obsolete.

rf A 7-9
sign.
p. M.,
As«.
215.

f? ??
Strong,
k'iang.
'Bow"
cated.
dupli-

R % See No. 307.

Younger
Window, 63d Radical.

I, 1
brother,
ti.
p ^ hu. See No. 191.

IT
3 Swine snout,
ki.
58th
Cf.
Radical.
No. 18.
f 4
Hand,
shou.
64th Radical.
See No. 36.

%) k
Carved wood,
lu.
Supposed
pict
lines.
to de-
carved
4
A\
1
Hand,
shou.
Obsolete variant
of last.

^ ^^
Stripes,
feathers,
shan.
59th Radical.
h
Substance,
ts'ai.

Writing, sign, Variant of No.

tf )^ toen. 279.
n 5t
^'Z'''
chih.
65th Radical.

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XXXIX.

Sluio W6n, Modern Wen, Meaning

^^^nd"^ Remarks.
Sliuo Modern
Form. and Kemarks.
Classifier.
^^^^^_
Classifier. Form.
Sound.

Tap,ja,,,

^ i 66thRadical.
^ !&
'^
To change, easy,

M *i
Release,
fang.

« t=7 Dawn,
ch'&n.

8
i{ k Teach, to cause,
kiao.
ee gb7
Quartz crystal. See No. 75.
clang.

t t Sign, mark,
wcH.
67th Radical.
See No. 27U.
t^ Q ^^' 73d Radical.

68th Radical.

i^ ^
rt-
Dipper, I
peck,
'""•
g^^
Cy.
jg^
j,,„

No. 188. '

M l^ ^'°°Yii
'^"''
^'^^ ^°- 309-

69th Radical To congregate,

,^^> is not a Sliuo
*'"• hui.
It W6n classifier. 9

c 70th Radical.
^l'«'«' Related to No.

^ t jang.
jgg
^ >1
Moon, month,
yue.
74thRadical.
See No. 72.

r., , 71st Radical

Vacant, Have, hold. Hand grasping

i ""*•
j^
W6n
„„j ^ y,,,,^
classifier.
^ 4 y«. an object.

Reverse of 76th
vl/

n
Indigestion,

£ ki. Radical, q. v.
rn ;iv
Tree, wood,
mu.
75th Radical.
See No. 97.

e g
Sun, day,
ji, i.
72d Radical.
See No. 71.
s ;fv
Root, origin,
pin.'

Not horary

e ^ Sunrise,'
tan.
See No. 74.

A
yet,
sign 1-3 P. M.,
wa.
See No. 387.

J: Bind,

4 ^p™®' tie,
See No. 259.
CD C3
a
m shu, su.

e a Just now, this, Thorn,

ggg No. 302.

^ t>'-i. See No. 125.

m B^ Bright, clear, g^g jj^, 77

CD -7^
^""IrnV""'' S?^ No, 121.

Chinese Ipsogkaphs,
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV, Plate XL

Meaning leaning
SIiuo W^n, Modem and ^huo Wfn, Modern
Classifier. Form. Remarks. Remarks.
Sound.
Classifier. Form. „ j
Sound.

*
Grass-husk, This, here. From "man'
See No. 100.
jk J:t ts'i. and "stop."

Thrifty
Step,
growth, See No. 101. See No. 318.
pu.
!¥- p'o.
)T(

B 41
Grove,
tin.
See No. 98.

fi ^,5
Bad,
tai.
78th Radical.

M[ m^ Flowers,
p'i.
See No. 99.

"men"
Possibly
M 5t
Dead,
si'.
die, From
and "bad."
"man"

^ ^
^K
Cruel,
kie.
impaled on
branches of a
"tree."
fi^
^=t
To bore a
clinn.
hole,

Pendant fniit, Depicts fruit on ^ A long spear,

kill,
79th

"hand"
Radical.
"Man" and
sug-
ri
han. a tree.

^ .<Au. gesting
ing.
kill-

Pursuit, trade, Kill,

1^ sha.

"Tree" and

a Varnish,
ch'L
"water,"
" tree-sap."
i. c,

t f Do
vm.
not, 80th Radical.
See No. 383.

To bind, Obsolete. Equal, 81st Radical.

hun, kuii.
^^ J:k: pi. See No. 282.

76th Radical.
Yawn, weary, Keversed form
Animal

n X deficient,
k'ien.
of 1st classifier
under
Radical.
71st
s
like a
hare.
ch'ue.
Obsolete.

Spittle, Obsolete. See

Hai r,
yX ch'ien, yen. also under 85th
Radical.
^ 4 See No. 3.5.

u 1^
Drink,
yin. Obsolete.
St
4 Fur,
Is'ui.

^ Stop,
ehih.
77th Radical.
See No. 110.
5 ^ ^•'"^Am""'' 83d Radical.

Exact,
See No. fll. Vapor, 84th Radical.
ll chini/.
-J// k'i. See No. 13G.

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XLI,

Shuo W6n, Meaning Meaning

Modern Shuo W§n, Modern
and Remarks. and Remarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

m
Claw,
Water, 85th RadicaL 87th RadicaL
talons,

s *./
shui. See I^o. 84.
;^ cAao.
See No. 44.

88th Radical is

'.^\ A<.
Perpelual,
yung.
g^^ j^^ ggg
X Father,
not
Wfin
a Shuo
classifier.

^ X
u ^]]^^'
ch ut.
Obsolete plural.
*^

X
X To blend,
yao.
89th Radical.

Spittle, See also under XX White Depicts textile

.'llli i& ch'ien, yen. 76th radical.

XX AX.
cloth. fabric.
lete.
Obso-

Water-spring, g^^ j^o. 90th Radical

in t cA «aji.
87. Bed,
ch'uang.
is
W§n
not a Shuo
classifier.

Mingled
waters, Obsolete. Splinter, 91st Radical.

i Asim, ch'iian.
K )t
p'ien See No. 341.

l^ X Fire,
Amo.
86th
See No.
BadicaL
81.
^ f
Tooth,
ya.
92d Radical.
See No. 51.

To roast, "Flesh" over

uy Cow, ox,' 93d Radical.

^ chih. "fire."
^ niu. See No. 5.

Flame, hot, "Fire" dupli- The yak,

% ^ yen. cated.
f
^ yen.
cated.
7^ V
^.i
Dog,
k'iian.
94th
See No.
Radical.
7.

Raven, Skyblue,

» wu.
gge No. 20.

t t dark,
hsiian.
95th Radical.

The bear, -1. Lead,

Depicts a banner
haluntj. 'r$^ command,
as sign of rank.
shuai.

To cook,
Obsolete.
'1^ stove,
te'uan.
No. 171.
See
—t- i Jadestone,
yil.
96th
Cy.
Radical.
No. 234.

The swallow, g^^ j^^ j^

— ± King,
wanfj.
See No. 234.

Chinese Ipeographs,
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XLII.

Meaning Meaning
Shno W6n, Modern Shuo Wfin, Modern
and Remarks. and Bemarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

"T""^
Jade ornament, Occurs only in V37 Adjacent fields,
5i- obsolete.
kite. proper names. VI7

^ ¥ Lute, violin,
k'in.
See No. 198.
^ <« Weedy
chih.
land, Occurs in No. 23.

A ;lX
^elon, 97tji Radical.
I
Strange, ggg j^^_
^^r,_

Gourd, Blessed, Allied to No.

358.
fji. 'Au. ^\^ fu.
ll\

§> S.
Tile,
wa.
98tli Radical.
See No. 196.
i Paint, draw,
hua.

* ^
t
Flexible thongs, obsolete.
Isun.
£ /t.
A roll of cloth,
p'l.
103d Radical.

104th Radical.

if
Sweet,
kan.
99tli Radical.
See No. 342.
r t Sick,'
„,-.
"Man"
"bed."
No. 154.
on a
Cf.

o/ 100th Radical.
Back to back,

4 Produce,
sUng. See No. 109.
lit /<- opposed,
po.
105tli Radical.

^ in
Use,
yung.
lOlst Radical.
See No. 344.
X ^^
Water soaking 10th
into the ground,
kuei.
ing
stem, relat-
to
and water.
north

Field, 102d Radical. White loeth Radical.

'

See No. 184. Depicts white

(17 t'ien.
ti) vi; ^
LU of the eye.

^ Demon's head, r<f 354

1! /L.
Form,
mao.
gee No. 46.

Fingernail, Dark gray,

(^ ggg jj,, 42. vi7 drab,
'f kia.

f tsao.

T, , , , "Hundred "du-
Deity, horary Two hundred,
^^,5^^,^^, y^.
^1^ "^ sign, 3-5 p. M., See No. 352.
ii ^§ ^ solete.
shSn.

M7 Human male,
Rawhide,
jQ7^jj Radical.

1 P nan.
g^g jj^ 23.
P4
Chinese Ideograph.^.
;t p I.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XLIII,

Meaning Meaning
Shuo Wen, Modern
Remarks.
Shuo wen. Modem and
Classifier. Form. „ """, Classifier. Form. Remarks.
•
bound. Sound.

'71^ M Dish, 108th RadicaL

See No. 155.
??
Bald, bare,
I' It.

Eye, 109th Radical. Rare, seldom.

i mu. See No. 3L
li
nX
Eye-brows, Investigate,

f mei.
See No. 49.
*l ki.

Shield,
See No. 232. Cave, 116th Radical.

fk 4 tun, shun.

f^ 'k /(.sw«. See No. 194.

1 i
To look up,
hsie.
Obsolete.

4 Set up, stand,

li.
117th Radical.
See No. 320.

i
1
Behead (?), Obsolete.

ti M Two abrea,st,
ping.
g^g jjo. 321.

Timid, Crime,

J
Bird's eyes.
kii. misfortune,
-fi. T
To look right
118th Radical.
ee 91 and left,
kil.
Two eyes.
^i
Bamboo,
See No. 117.

Lance, 110th Radical. Sinew,

^ f mao. See No. 220. kin.

A rrow, 111th Radical. Winnowing

n '^ sink. See No. 212.

7T
f fan,
ki.
See No. 183.

/s ^ Stone,
shift.
112th Radical.
See No. 96.

ft ^ Shelled grain,
„„•
119th Radical.
See No. 124.

n *,f
Heaven's
influence,
si.
113th Radical.
See No. 353.
m A grain
measure,
hui.
Obsolete.

Foot-print,
^*? track, 114th Radical. Silk, 120th Radical.
P\ jou. mi. See No. 134.

Growing crops, 115th Radical.

See No. 118. Connect, bind,
4; /ifi, htio.
hsi.

Chinkse Idkographs.
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XLIV.

Shuo W6n, Meaning Meaning

Modern Sliuo W^n, Modem
and Remarks. and Bemarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

White silk
lace, Cy. No. 134. Bamboo brush
I m f '
Obsolete.

Silk thread, „
f&
si.
„
See No. 135.
^ >i,i*
Flesh,
jou.
130th Radical.
See No. 54.

Natu.1 abil- OS S5
i &.
Pottery, jar,
foil.
121st Radical.
See No. 158.
fe
6t: ity, able,

"^"i'-
^^^^
bear.
^-^^ ^^^

Prime Min-
131st Radical.

PI [^
Net,
wang.
122d Radical.
See No. 165.
g S ister,
ch'Sn.
See No. 239.

Sheep, goat, 123d Chin,

¥ ¥ yang. See No.

Radical.
6.
Q s i.

^ Odor

m
of goats, Kecline, rest,

# If
rancid,
shan.
A flock of goats. BA wd, ngo.

Moral,
Long feathers,
yii.
124tli Radical.
See No. 45.
a Si
worthy,
hsien.

Constant flight, Nose, self, 132d Radical.

See No. 269.
to practice,
ti i tgi.

hsi.

Head, Obsolete form of

^^^'
fa""""'''
^25tli Radical.
© ^ shou. No. 29.

Now

^
a conjunc-

^
(

tion.) See No. Unto, towards, ,„_, ., ,. ,

Whiskers,
&•. 38. I chih.
133d Radical.

Spring up.
cause,
luan.
Sprout with
roots. (Not
from last. e & Mortar,
kiu.
134th Radical.
See No. 200.

Kiln,

i P|-. 127th Radical. ts* ^ kii.

See No. 201.

Offer, lift up, Perhaps related

Ear, 128tli Radical. ^^
^ 6r. See No. 32. r. yil- to No. 346.

^ f Stylus, pen,
2/«.
129th Radical.
See No. 202. * 4
Tongue,
sId.
135th Radical.
See No. 56.

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XLV.

Meaning Meaning
Sliuo WCn, Modern Slum Wen, Modern Remarks.
and Remarks. and
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sonnd.

n
Oppose<l,
perverse, 136tli Radical. I- Tiirer ' Same as last. See

^4 ch'tian.
1\
L No. 2.

Tangled
til brush, Sacrificial

n thicket,
shun. 2^ ^f7
vase,
hsi.
Obsolete.

Boat,
137tli Radical.

^ 4 ship,
chou.
See No. 170.
Itun.
Tiger rampant,
yen, hsien. vusoieie.

138th Radical Worm,

Root,

t ken.
is
Wen
not a Shiio
classifier.
$ A insect,
ch'ung.
142d Radical.
See No. 11.

"Worm" du-
Color,
lust,
shei, she.
139tli Radical.
« ii
Reptiles,
k'un.
plicated,
gesting a
class
mals.
of
sug-
fari^er
ani-

"Worm" or "in-

119 H Grass, plants,

leaves,
Is'ao.
140tli Radical.
See No. 104.
Insects
(generic),
eh'ung.
sect"
cated, suggest-
ing large num-
bers.
tripli-

ts
^
Illicit,
kou.
!l^ k Blood,
hide.
143d
See No.
Radical.
55.

f
'^°
Clover,
mu.
f ' 144th Radical.
SeeNo.317.
13
]\ ^f hZ}.

Herbs
(generic),
maii(j.

Goat's
Obsolete variant
of No. 11.5.

* Cloak,
i.
145th Radical.
See No. 166.

horns,
Skin
Origin obscure. garments,

#1
huan.
X kHa.

Flowers, A cover,
glory,
See No. 106. rB7 lid, 146th Radical.

T
AA
hua.
(^ hsia.

Horned owl, "Horns" (not West,

huan. "grass") over
"bird." i\ ^5 hsi.
See No. 122.

y^^J
Sprouts,
ju. ^ See, look, i47tii Radical.

f *-'«"•
See No. 267.

kJ
„.
T'ger,
Att.
141st Radical.
Variant of
No. 2. m Look,
yao.
Obsolete,

Chinese Ideographs,
 )

Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol, IV. Plate XLVI.

Meaning Meaning
Shuo Wfin, Modern Shuo W6n, Modern
and Remarks. and Bemarkg.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

Horn,
To string, con-
148th Radical. Contracted form
(k -®-
ll
kiao, kiie. See No. 60.
f C: of No. 336.

^
^
a
Speech,
yen.
149tli Radical.
See No. i76.
^ ^
Red,
ch'ih.
155th Radical.
"Great" and
"fire."

it
Dispute,
king.
"Words"
"Words."
vs

^ ±
A.
To go, walk,
'sou.
156th Radical.
See No. 316.

^ ^'""'^Ar*^'"^'
150th Radical.
£ ;i
Foot,
<si^
157th Radical.
See No. 37.

# Laughter,
Kue, kiu.
obsolete.

^ 1
Body,
sh&n.
158th Radical.
See No. 28.

Stemmed dish, 151st Radical. Chariot, cart, 159th Radical.

i g tou. See No. 156. Ii f cA'^. See No. 206.

Why, how, Bitter, 160th Radical

See No. 343.
^
hsin.
s. k'L
f
Plenty, rich, Prince,

2.
fing.
See No. 323.

p jef
pi.

m
Adversaries in

^ 1^ shih.
152d
CJ. No
Radical.
18.
^1
court, debate.
pien, p'ien.

Variant of last. Morning,

i t shih. See No. 18.

4 horary sign,
ch'Sn.
161st Radical

Pig, pork, To run, 162d Radical.

Synonym
1^ flf I 'un.
of last.
i. ^A eho. See No. 312.

Elephant, O City, 163d Radical.

1 hsiang. See No. 1.

& i. See No. 249.

(Meaning and
Unicorn, 153d Usedonlyin
^ f chai.
Radical.
See No. 10.
t^
sound un-
known.

Amphora,
combination,

ri
horary sign, 5-7 164th Radical.

^ Shell, value,
j)ei.
154th Radical.
See No. 132. i p. M., See No. 172.

Chinese Ideographs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XLVII.

WCn, iModem Meaning Meaning

Sliiio
and Rernnrks.
Slino Wen, Modern
Form. and Remarks.
Classifier. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

^LS, Old wine, ripe, Derived from Cloud,

1 ch'iu. last. ta^ yiln.
See No. 90.

7?
Red>clear>skv"f*^.?t^dical
'
'"b' tB a
color>blue-

M ^ To 165th Radical. ^ ""^ ('-'i

sort out,
pien. See jS'o. 348.
Jl curious succes-
^.""f.^"' sion of mean-
"* '"»• ings).

Village, third
of a mile,
li.
166th Radical.
t # Not right, not,
fei.
175th Radical.
See No. 380.

Heavy, Face, 176th Radical.

chung.
5 See No. 30.

Metal, 167th Radical.

ii f km. See No. 82.

? I
Leather,
i(?, kei.
177th Radical.

Long, 168th Radical. Leather thongs, 178th Radical.

ch'ang. a wei. See No. 197.
7£f

n n
Door,
man.
169th Radical.
See No. 169.
i
Leeks,
kiu.
179th Radical.
See No. 116.

Mound, 170th Radical. Sound, note,

See No. 193.
180th Radical.

f
fou.

+ yin. See No. 277.

Depression l)e-
tween moimds. Obsolete. Head, book-leaf,
jg^^^ Radical.

n fou, f II.

S
171st Radical.

t Overtake,
lot.
Depicts
"hand" grasp-
ing "tail."
i
Ought,
Itsii.

Short-tailed

a birds,
chui.'
172d
See No.
Radical.
13.
1© At
Urgent,
p'in.

Birds chattering, "Bird" dupli

wrangle, cated.
ch 'ou. i$L 182d Radical.
^2JJ,'''
Si.

m tit
Flock of birds,
tm,

K"'"-
Iso.
' Obsolete.

<ft 1^
To
fei.
fly, 183d Radical.
See No. 63.

173d Radical.
i^ li y- See No. 89.
t t Foo<l, oat,
shih.
184th Radical.

Chinese Idkogkaphs.
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate XLVIII-

Meaning Meaning
Shuo Wfn, Modern Shuo Wfin, Modern
and Remarks. and Remarks.
Classifier. Form. Classifier. Form.
Sound. Sound.

m 185th Radical. Long-tailed igeth Radical.

Head,
shou. See No. 20. 1
"7
bird (generic).
niao.
See No. 12.

Incense, 186tli Radical

Salt, rude, 197th Radical.
fragrant, is not a Shuo
See No. 133.
V3 hsUing. Wen classifier.
I'll
lu,_

Salt, Synonym
Horse, 187tli Radical. of last.

^ iTtp
ma. See No. 4.

mr
^1
iZZL
yen.

Bone, Deer, stag, 198th Radical.

188tli Radical. lie

? /it ;^_ See No. 3.

High, 189tli Radical. Fleet, timid, Herd of deer.

kao. See No. 305. ^. Is'u.
fol V^
Space between
a4
inner and outer

1^
Redoubt,
kuo.
city gates.
Modern form
has "city"
5^ :5?
Wheat,
«iai, met.
i99tii Radical.

added.

Human hair, 190tll Radical. Hemp, fla.\,

200th Radical.
^^ # piao. See No. 40. /t^l^
ma.

191st Radical.

n P5
Wrangle,
tou.
Depicts
"liands" con-
tending.
^17
/ >
Yellow,
hvMng.
201st Radical.

Tall millet,
192d
t
Ghost, spirits,
ch'ang.
Radical.
See No. 370.
4 growing,
shu.
202d Radical.

o w Large incense
jgg^ Radical.

m m ^jn'ff' See No. 373. ft^ 203d Radical.

To embroider, 204th Radical.

IS 5|i5
Variant of last.

m /4^
t cidh. See No. 180.

Demon, 194th Radical. Toad, 205th Radical.

kuei. See No. 354. min, meng. See No. 9.

Small incense

-iA^
^
ii<»
Fish,
yu.
195th Radical.
See No. 8.

n i^^
t".!'*^'
wnjf.
joeth Radical.
See No. 304.

^ Large
(generic),
fish
intensive of
obsolete.
last, I^^um-
207th Radical.
;* yu.

Chinese Ideographs,
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol IV Plate XLIX.

Shiio W6n, Modern Meaning Meaning

and Shuo W6n, Modern Bemarks.
Classifier. Form. Bemarks. and
Sound. Classifier. Form.
Sound.

(J Rat, mouse, 208th. Radical. Dragon,

^
shu. See No. 21.

II t lung. 212th Radical.

^ Nose,
pi.
209th Radical.
See No. 33.
/7 Tortoise, 213th Radical.

^ 1 ?:9 iii
kuet. See No. 10.

Growing

^ ^ millet,
chH.
210th Radical.
See No. 119.
Fife, organ,
yiie. 214th Radical.

w. Front 211th Radical.

m
teeth,
ch'ih. See No. 52.

Chinese Ideographs.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 19

seem to be groundless. It is unsafe to place absolute confidence in all of the

etymologies of the Shuo Wen, but on the other hand, it is a great error to treat it,

as has been done by some, as throughout unreliable. Even the compilers of the
Kanghsi Dictionary had their doubts about many of the conclusions of the Shuo
Wen, as will appear by a perusal of that work. Still upon the whole it seems to
have merited the approval of that able corps of scholars.

There are in existence more than one version of the Shuo Wen, which show pro-
nounced variations in the text. This divergence in readings is probably due to the
several versions having been derived from early independent transcriptions of the
original manuscript. What is needed is a revision of the text, after careful com-
parison of the extant versions, by a corps of Chinese and foreign scholars, along the
lines of textual criticism. To cite an example of divergence in readings, the defini-

tion of a certain ancient measure is variously given in two versions, the discrepancy
being so great iis to leave the reader unable to determine the intended dimensions.
Some error in copying is likely the cause of this variation, but just when and where
it occurred is the question.
There are also instances where the definition is irreconcilable with subsequent
meanings of a symbol. This leads the student to suspect that an early copyist has
substituted another character for the one intended. This kind of error is easily

made in a language in which the addition or omission of a single stroke may ma-
terially alter the significance of a symbol.
Another source of error may be in the imperfections of the original manuscript,

for it is a matter of tradition that the Shuo Wen was published after the death of
the author, thus embodying in the text some inadvertent errors which a review by
the author might have eliminated.
The Chinese commentators of the Shuo Wen have themselves made some in-

genious surmises in their efforts to reconcile textual contradictions, and in many

instances are free to admit that there must be errors of long standing in the extant

versions. Combine the ability of the European textual critic with the accumulated
knowledge of the Chinese antiquarian, and some of the knotty questions might find
a solution.
In Plates XXX. to XLIX., inclusive, I have given a list of the five hundi-ed and
forty "classifiers," which in the opinion of the author of the Shuo Wen is the basis of
the later written language. To the form given in the Shuo Wen I have appended the
equivalent modern form together with the English definition and the pronuncia-
tion. These symbols have been arranged so as to fall under the successive radicals
as now accepted by modern lexicographers.
20 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

III. THE ROYAL EDICT CONFIRMING THE DOMAIN OF SAN.'^'

Upon the following pages is shown a fac-simile of this edict, as given by Juan Yiian
in his work on Old Inscriptions, together with a transliteration into the modern char-
acter, and an attempt Juan Yiian this remarkable text
at translation.^ According to

of three hundred and fifty-seven symbols was engraved upon a brass tripod originally
in the collection of the Hsii (^^) family of Yang Chow (^|>H) but later (A. D. 1803)

in the collection of one Hung (j*^), presumably of the same city. It is accepted as
genuine by the scholar Juan Yiian, who seems to have been a discriminating student of
old inscriptions. He suggests that the Edict may date back to the reign of Wu Wang
^i (I^- 0. 1122). The style of this inscription is in semi-cursive character with
but few carefully executed symbols. Contractions and variations are numerou.s, as
will appear by compai'ing the symbols which occur more than once.
Some of the symbols show an arrangement of their component parts (juite dif-
ferent from that of their present form, such as ^ for ±nt ; ^ for ^ A for ^^.
;

Others are still in the pictographic state, such as: J) (^), "moon" ;
^ (|^),

" hoi-se ";

^ (-f ),
" son "
;
^ (Q),
" eye "
; f (2.),
" stemmed dish " (here a man's
name); ^ (,^), "ca[)ital city," showing the tower over the city gate; ^ (^),
" well," with the mouth in place and a fairly good pair of doors in
still ; p^ (p^),
" gate."

The symbol ^
"public" occurs thrice in such strange forms (^
i ^) that it ^
raises a question as to its derivation from ^ iclj unless^ (old formof ?('o) has become
mere scroll-work in the old cursive style.

The text may be regarded as rightly belonging to the early date ascribed to it,

and I see no reason for suspecting it as a forgery.

We know from history that Wu Wang established the Chou Dynasty )|], B. C.

1122; that he set nine ministers over his realm, one of whom was San I-sheng

The instrument is executed in the form of an indenture, with description of

land and names of adjacent landholders as in modern Chinese deeds. The unusual
feature is the oath taken by the king and the go-betweens to secure the rights of the
clan or family of San. An incidental proof of antiquity is the form of the date,
which sliows the cycle-signs in use for days of the month'^ instead of the later usage
'^ For coDvenience this may lie flesi<;iiated " The San Edict."
" This is but a tentative translation, for a minute study of local geography ami history is necessary to throw light
upon many points otherwise obscure.
*8The first year of the 26th cycle coincides with B. C. 1137. This was designated by ^ ^. B. C. 112. was
2 Op- Here we find L, Op, which is the fifty-second year of the cycle and falls outside the reign of Wu Wang
(B. C. 1122-1115). Either the assnmed reign is incorrect, or else the date- mark applies to a day and not to a year.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 21

to designate years. This peculiarity, together with the general style of writing,
suggest a period at or near that of the "tortoise-shell" inscriptions referred to here-
after. The inscription was presumably on the body of the tripod, and in case it

covered the entire surface, the vessel must have been at least three feet in circum-
ference. So heavy a bronze object would be hard to destroy, and this may account
for its having survived the ravages of time.
The habit of inscribing bronze vessels and implements was in vogue among the
Chinese at a very early date. Inscriptions upon sacrificial vessels are usually in
conventional language, affording no valuable historical data. Halberd-heads often
have a single symbol engraved or embossed upon the butt, such as that for halberd,
war, army, lightyiing. Others have two or more characters giving names of cities,

which may be trade-marks. Numerals and dates frequently occur on swords, hal-
berds, and cross-bow triggers, which are supposed to be check-marks made by the
inspector of arms. Old bronze hatchets and chisels sometimes have marks cut into
the surface, probably for the purpose of identifying ownership. In general, very
few Chinese inscriptions of ancient date afford any information of moment.
In view of this, the San Edict stands almost alone as an inscription furnishing
definite information, unless we except the Standard Weights and Measures of
Ch'in Shih Huang-ti (B..C. 240-230), upon which was inscribed the edict for uni-
formity with the reign and year. Should it be proved that the date affixed to
the San Edict is a cycle year-sign, then it must be later than the reign of Wu Wang,
and its purport would be the confirmation of title to a domain presumably acquired
at an earlier date.

In passing it may be noted that the Chinese cycle consists of a period of sixty
years. Each year has a distinguishing title called the "year sign," which is com-
posed of two characters selected from the twenty-two signs known as the Ten Stems
and Twelve Branches. CJhinese chronology is based upon the succession of the
cycles. The first year of the first cycle coincides with the year 2637 B. C, com-
puted from known dates in Chinese history.
There is, however, some doubt as to the exact period when the cycle-system was
adopted for fixing the succession of years, and there is much to warrant the suppo-
sition that the cycle-signs were in use for days long before they became current as
,

year-signs. The late Dr. Edkins was of the opinion that these twenty-two symbols
were chronological signs imported from Babylonia at a very early time. Just what
his proofs were I am unable to state.
22 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

TRANSLATION.
Confirmation of the vast territory ^' San-I,** being tiie domain now enjoyed by the said San. Beginning at the Hsien
and T'ao Rivers, thence south to the Ta Kn River, a land-marl; ;^' thence down stream by two land marks to a row of

willows ; again down the T'ao and Hsien rivers to Yii Ch'a'^ and (?) Mei ;'^ thence west, bonnded by Po'' Ch'eng
(city) to an apple tree ; thence

» « a 1. »i
A !<f
— X'' ?r

* * *" a r ^ -Vh ^ I/'t M.

f 1 M -M t.

it n f^ "^ e* t }f I '^^ f
M i* 4 i gj!

f i4 \B

29
1^ here means "territory," an unusual sense, now obsolete (c/. Kanghsi). ,

3" " I " (S) is "judicial district " (now a county), so San-I is the jurisdiction of San.
" " Landmark " (-^ ) piao, was originally a bush or tree marking farm lands. Kangsbi illustrates it :
" To set a tree

as a piao " {JL ^ fy =«.). Here the symbol is a pictograph (^). It seems to have also a verbal meaning.
2 "^
5 )=K and (7) |2|^. Probably local names. The symbol ^ has not been deciphered.
'Old form of ii po. The only geographical name cited under this by Kanghsi is " Marsh in Yii Chon.'
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 23

along waste lands,'* bounded by a road, through [said lands] up a cliff by a pool ; thence across So Mei Ling and
Kang-So '» along a path, and thence by the former road to the highway ;
thence east, bounded by Ts'i's eastward line,

turning to the right to a boundary road ; thence south

2m
5s 4 ^ ^ t 9^
* f k J r
ii iH J r r
A i£
•/J
f
J
J iVv
it 4 ^^
700 t*)
1 f 7
4 *) it

ii * f ^r '

r^

yk f If. }k PI

>* if t fk ^^

1 135

""Wastelands"'^
'•"Wasteland B":^^ A^. This is a guess. The expression is obscure. Ji may mean "dry grass " and be allied
to ^ "thistle." Both clyiracters
c have other meanings that are inapplicable here. 'S^ (^) resembles ^ (a.)
ai, "artemisia." Full form for ^ 's^- Here contracted.
^'
4^ pR P'^ (So Mei Ling) and gji]
;^^ (Kang So) are probably local names of ridges,
24: MEMOIKS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

hounded by the Ki Lai'^ road ; theuce west to the line o( Hung Mu's land to the Government Land Plot, '' and from
a poplar tree on the left of the road up to said Government Plot eastward, along a road as boundary, to a landmark ;

turning westward along and down Kang past three landmarks, and thence south to the highway down by Chou'*

^ "~
£ 1^ il

m )^ jt ^^ *^

ii \m >^ ^ I
1^ - J*. li J

'*-!?? %^ ^^^ \m) is obscure. I take it as a local name.

"Government land- plot (^ P, W) refers to the ancient government reservation of 100 Mow (acres) out of every

900. Land was divided into nine plots, thus ^. The reservation was in the center and was described by the sign
it, which soon coalesced with the symbol for " well"
'*The significance of the terms "Chou" and "Kang" (see next page) is uncertain. The former is usually a

"judicial district," hut here it seems to have special meaning, e. g., personal name.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 25

aad Kang, asoending So (a ridge) aad dowo to a thicket aud two land-marks, across the holdings of the Yu Si'' and
honorable elders,*" Fang Wu-fu," Hsi Kung," Hsiang, Ton, across Yii K'ao, Lu Chfing, clan of Shih, the private gate-

way (?) of Yu Hsiang, across Ts'i Yuan, across Yii, ^S (unidentified name), Huai, Superintendent of Works Hu Hsiao,

(?) Feng Fu, ^ f X.

'5 ^s i i

ii r^ $ k""

m m ^ ^^

X X i^ X
«"

"Yn-81 (;^ a]) "•petty officers," "retainers." These officers comprised inspectors and superintendents of many
departments under a feudal lord.

'"I venture to translate i ^£ (i-tau) as "honorable elders," analogous to -^ j^j^ of like meaning. /fj[

usually means "ancestor." The expression "i-tau" may possibly be a name.

*'
^ ^ (wu-fu) is cited by Kanghsi as a recognized title, hnt not deflaed. Itonght to mean "knight " or "man
at arms." Here it is likely a title, -^y^ (fivng) means " release," but ought to stand for a man's name. Kanghsi
cites no case of such usage, and Juan Yiian substitutes another symbol without textual authority.
''*' ^""ff 'S
" West Palace " and naually refers to the Harem. Here it may be a personal name, or it may
*^i5 S
signify that the following-named persons were eunuchs, who as a class have great power at Court.
*' Unidentified symbols not found in Kangsi.
26 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

Hung, and also Superintendent of Punishments K'ao Wei, in all fifteen officers. These immediately adjacent to San's
domain are : Inspector of Land Pi Chou, Inspector of Cavalry Tan, Chief Herdsman and Superintendent of Works Tun
Kiiin, Tsai Te fu, and hordering on the lands of San and the imperial** domain,** Wu Tuan-fu, Kiao (?)
*'
Fn . . .
**

^ f
1 >l (f> ^ J< -^

f^
•5- r,
111
-f^ <$! !'.'<
=

/>
^ ^' ^
y^
^i ^ ¥ I *^
:^ m^ 4^ %
HK
"5

1 n9
i\\
\

**This and the preceding descriptive term are perplexing. '^ KB (kiug-ti'en) means " to bound land " as else-

where in this indenture. The preceding expression, Hdao tsi, is an obsolete term of self-depreciation used by an
emperor, literally meaning "little child."
*'The symbol !^ is quite distinct, but is not found in Kanghsi.

**The unknown sign ^i^ is descriptive like \A on page 28 and may be the same. Both are followed by the i)os

sessive j^ and thus modify the following word.

 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 27

Officer (?)" Chou-King (| >H y,), Yu Ts'ung (?) *« Wei {'^ O), San's retainers to the number of ten. Now the
King, in the Ninth Moon, Ch'en-Kia" I-Mao,™ makes oath before [his] Honorable Elders and Select Bannermen,''
saying, "We confer upon the Clan of San this land-token," securing [the land] to the Clan of San in good faith, else

let ns suffer

t '3 L"^ =]

* m 5P 5) <?f

t ^4 t >i t. -?9^

^ ni k ""i -/'X
;ka

'O ^ ^§. j^ ^^

^ \i7
n A- ;|^ T
^
^

Iff + J^
*' fe is obscure, Juan Yiian makes it ^ which seems far-fetched.
'A properly formed symbol, but not in Kanghsi.
''This seems to be a reversed horary couplet like several found in the "tortoise-shell " inscriptions (see infra).
The sign-f" may be either ^^ kia or j(^ tmi "at." If an horary sign, the two (eh 'en kia) may mean "forenoon."
™ " I-mao " (L ^0 refers to the day of the month, and not to the year as in the cycle system (adopted later).
5'
"Select." Kanghsi quotes early use of W )mian as substitute for j^ hgUan "select." ^^ Hi "troops,"

"bannermen."
*^® ^ i takt to be "land-token," referring to ths tripod inscribed with this indenture, and conferred as a
" token " of title to the domain.
28 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

a thonsand penalties a thousand fold,"" . . . Honorable Elders and Select Bannermen in turn make oath to
(or) by Hsi Kung, Hsiang Wu Fu saying :
" We insure to the Clan of San possession of the lands irrigated (?) ^* and
walled, else let us suffer a thonsand penalties a thousand [fold]." ^ Hsi Kuug and Hsiang Wu-fn upon thus taking
oath affix '' the seal.^

\1 w A<i
f
t ^ "^ f ti

X (?)

ti t
^
54

^ 15

^i7 ^ f

s'The sign 'ff (ch'uen) "delivered" with ^, mej^ns "a thonsand times inflicted," i. e., "a thousand fold." In
the second oath this sign has been accidentally omitted either by the original engraver or copyist.
"The sign fjlW is unquestionably j^ and is composed of "water" and "connect." It is not in Kanghsi, but
might mean " water-system " or " irrigate. " ^^ is contracted form of }|4 te'inny " wall." The two expressions each
containing \±) (t'ien) "field " may be names of localities.
5':^ (hsiang) "elephant" > " ivory " > " carve "> "delineate." Here it probably means "affix."

°^)§ (t'u) "seal," "diagram." No seal is shown in this copy of the edict. Possibly a "map" of the domain
accompanied the edict.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 29

Tlie Great King, with Ton, *'

in the New Palace, East Audience Hall. . on the left ^* the Royal Secretary, with
the Minister of Agriculture between/'

Jh : ^
X
i"i
|i
'

1
5
IQ
^
-
(?)
a
57

g
t ,
U
^ : t
IQ

V7
t
IS
''

^ { *

" Probably the go-between, as yet in China in all such transactions. This name appears on page 25 as one of the

retainers of San.

*' Tradition makes the rifflii hand the ancient seat of honor, hence properly that of the Ki7ig. A trace of this usage
is in the Chinese army, where the right-wing (;^ '^) takes the precedence. Modern custom makes the lefl the seat of
honor.
*'I make the last symbol in the edict as above shown, " Minister of Agriculture." Old form of W should be

%[' which closely resembles " Also

^f*. Modern form is
^ (nung) "farmer." Kanglisi says : title of officer over

agriculture " ^>?.DJ^"g'^j. Juan Yuan makes it Z|^ without orthographic evidence. In either case the expression is

not grammatical.
30 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

IV. ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS UPON BONE AND TORTOISE SHELL.

A remarkable find of antiquities occurred in 1899 near Wei Hui Fu (Honan Prov-
ince) upon the site of the ancient city Chao Kuo ('h'eng (^>] ^^tjii,)- There were
reported to have been exhumed three thousand fragments. The vendors went first to

Peking, but finding that city disturbed by the approaching Boxer Uprising, they
brought their curios to the city of Weihsien (Shantung) and left a portion of the find in

Fig. 4. FiQ. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 9.

/ma Y

*
K^

Figs. 4-9. Inscribed bone arrow-heads foand near Wei Hui Fu (Honan Province). Figs. 4-6 are in the Museum
of the Koyal Asiatic Society at Shanghai, and Figs. 7-9 are in the Bergen collection (Shantung, China). (Slightly re-
duced in size.) The style of writing is very archaic, most of the symbols being as yet undeciphered.

the hands of a local merchant. This Chinese gentleman, being a friend of the writer,
made known the presence of these unique curiosities, and loaned them to him for

inspection. The balance of the find had been taken to Shanghai (or elsewhere) and
sold to a mandarin (Tao-tai) Liu T'ie-Yiin (j|ij ^^ -g*). This Chinese scholar pub-
lished a book in his own language, illustrated with eight hundred phototypes taken
 )

CHALFANT: EAKLY CHINESE WRITING

from ink-rubbings of the specimens in his possession. Meanwhile some four hun-
dred fragments were purchased by the writer for the Museum of the Royal Asiatic
Society, Shanghai. A year later (1904-5) the remaining eighteen hundred frag-

FlG. 10. Fro. 11.

Fig. 10 is a fine specimen of ancient inscribed tortoise-shell, most of the symbols of whicli are intelligible, but the

translation difficult owing to the incompleteness of the inscription. (Actual size.)

Fig. 11. In.scribed bone fragment. The upper right two lines read :
^£ ]__^^T fJi i't\ £, I^. (Technical lan-
guage of divination containing date of inquiry.)
Originals of Figs. 10-11 in the Conling-Chalfant Colleoticvi, Shantung, China. (Actual size.

ments were located, and, after some difficulty, were procured and are now preserved
as private collections. It is unfortunate that the finders did not undertake to match
the fragments before disposing of them, for it is an almost impossible task to do this

now, on account of the dispersal of the pieces.

While it is a tradition among the C-hinese that tortoises and sacrificial bones were
once used in divination, yet, according to Liu T'ie-Yiin, no one prior to himself had
published any account of the discovery of such objects. He further records his
opinion that the style of writing is old^r than that of any extant inscription.
32 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

It is possible that this archaic style of writing survived among soothsayers long
after it ceased to be in current use. Whatever be the date of the inscriptions, tliey

Fio. 12. FfG. 13.

Fig. 12. Inscribed tortoise-shell (almost complete). The part missing is indicated by dotted lines. This was
pieced together from several fragments. The foar sentences are alike in tenor. Upper right reails: i'^ N/S<i'»1''ttlf — •

Date (£. ^) and enqniry as to extent of progeny. The two left-aide sentenees contain ^ " not," and + "Incky."
(Actual size.)
Fig. 13. Inscribed tortoise-shell fragment. (Actual size.)
(Originals of Figs. 12-13 in the Couling-Chalfant collection.)

are undoubtedly written in a very primitive form of symbols, many of which are
actual pictographs. Only a few illustrations are here given to show the general
 : ) )

CHALFANT: EAKLY CHINESE WRITING 38

style of the writing used. More than hundred signs have been noted, the most
six
of which are (as yet) undeciphered. Some of the most striking pictographs are the
following

^ (.!| "horse");
^ (?);
| (dragon?); <^ (?);
^ ("man"? or ^
"heaven"?);
^ and fs' (stag?); "^ and -t^ (bird?);
^ (scorpion?); I' (rat?)

or (tiger?); '^, ^^, =k^,

^^ ;^ (symbols relating to plant-Hfe) ;
^ (?) ;

Fig. 14.
(Obv.) ( Rev. (Text in the Modern Character.)

'< f«g |n
j^
^^ 9P
I?)

^^^Ay.^^
X "1 ^

s
iC 1

'\

I?)
1

/i^

il^'

Fig. 14. Inscribed bone, with lower end missing. The obverse has three separate sentences differing only in the
dates. Tlie rendering is :
" [Date] divination. I ask the Serpent-father to enquire." It appears that at least four
enquiries are recorded, inasmuch as the sign ^
at the bottom begins what was probably the same formula with a new
date. Liu T'ie Yiin interprets "Serpent-father" as a mystic title of the soothsayer. The reverse records a date

(•i ^.) and undeciphered signs. Tliis fragment shows discoloration from fire. (Actual size.
(Original in R. A. Soo. Museum, Shanghai.)

(^^? "capital city"); ^ (.^ "chariot");

^ (halberd); <^ (bow); _^(bal-
ances );
g (i^
't^ (^
wine-jar); (?) reverence); <lj {d\ "hill"); gg("field");

^ (i|"horn"); )J(g"moon");
*A common old form inverted.
g (jj] "park ").
34 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM

Fia. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 17.

Figs. 15-17. Inscribed tortoise-shell fragments. .( Actual size,

That these are pictures, even the most skeptical observer will admit. Their pre-
cise significance is hard to determine. Some of these pictographs occur more than
once, but often without sufficient context to warrant a conclusion as to meaning.
I suspect that some signs like ^ kiie, \J} t'ien, ^ ki, n>l> hsin, jc^ nii, 'J shih, ^ ching,
have astrologic significance, being names of stars and constellations.

Enquiries for divination seem to have been made concerning parents, sons,

daughters, animals, crops, and -utensils. One inscription seems to read fjj ± g
"Ask selection of Prime Minister." Should this prove correct it suggests consulta-

tion of the oracle by royalty. A Chinese scholar mentions a tradition that the

Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20.

^^i^*"*''^

Figs. 18-20. Fragments with certain striking symbols, e. g., ^ (a curious coincidence in form with our modern
dollar-sign). Here it is ^ (fu) " not." Occurs also as $,#,$, (Actual size.)
(The original? ot Figs. 15-18 ^re m tUe Conling-Chalfant collection. Figs. 19 and 20 are in the Bergen collection.
 CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 35

oracle of Wen Wang (circa 1200 B. C.) was at Chao Kuo Ch'eng, where the bones
were discovered. There is no adequate proof, however, that these inscriptions
belong to so early a date.
The cycle-signs (the so-called Ten Stems [f f] and Twelve Branches [f— com- ^
bined in pairs) occur frequently, but as the combinations exceed in number the
sixty pairs of signs allotted to the cycle, I infer that they do not conform to the use
of these signs as designating years, and are intended to signify the days of the sea-
son, or of some period less than a year."^ In several cases these pairs of characters
occur in reversed order, as yp ^ (Shen Kuei) for -^ ip, and, more frequently singly,
as T, \^, ^, £• .

At present but little can be said about this unique group of fragmentary inscrip-
tions, the deciphei'ing of which will necessitate a careful study of the traditional
methods and vocabulary of astrology and soothsaying as practiced in China. While
the Chinese have many works written upon these subjects, still it requires special
training in the technical terminology of divination to rightly understand them.
" See appended list of these signs ( Plate L. ). ^
Memoirs Carnegie Museum, Vol. IV. Plate L.

rt>
ore?

C
P5
Regular old forms
^ ^ f| ^t* /^ &
4n
^ 63
f 1 ^
Tsi Ch'ou Yin Mao Ch'en SI Wu Wei Shen Yu Hsu Hai

3"

CO
^ 2 / > ip ^ e. if * P 1^
—
1
A -

+ •+ t
-}- Kia
^F +
A f^ 8 u ¥
\ ' L *S i
<, ? ^ ^

;f j5^ <!(> ;(c ? J

^ Ping
>% n n 'n n n n
it f^ ^ ^ ^^ i
a O •a p Q o
O Ting T *a a

^ P ^l'
M ^ W
^ ^
nc ^'^-
A hF >f •1
>f 11 i
1^ PI 5 A^ t^.% f
E Ki
£. *E 5 2 e E E 5
r

^ 5,;a ^^ il( f r
* *^ *
f^ Keng
M #t
*
t ^ ^ ^,rt
J~
S Hsin
T f f f f f f
^ i& # $ ;k ? ?
"i *^*^"
i I •i I I
P( ^^ ^,^ 1^

?Sc Kug! ^< •^ X X X X ^

?^ a ^l> xc V
Comparison of the Date-marks found upon the Tortoise-sliells with tlie Year-signs of the t'ycle. Tlie year-signs are successive comhinations of the
ten symhols on the left with the twelve at the top by a method which yields sixty pairs of signs to designate each year of the cycle.
* Couplets not belonging to the cycle-series. Alternate fortns are placed side by side.
 .

Ti

^^
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
tThi^ooki^DUEonthe last date stamped below.

iT 21 1947
mmin [JUN171955.1U
OCT 21 1947
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1 Nov'49 Cr
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REC'D LD

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