Английская Википедия:Chinese characters of Empress Wu
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Expand Chinese Шаблон:Table Hanzi
The Chinese characters of Empress Wu, or the Zetian characters (Шаблон:Zh), are Chinese characters introduced by Empress Wu Zetian, the only empress regnant in the history of China, in order to demonstrate her power. The characters were not created by the Empress herself, but were suggested by an official named Zong Qinke, the son of one of her cousins, in December, 689 AD. The number of characters varies between 12, 17, 19, or 30. Her subjects were forced to use them during her reign, but they fell into disuse immediately after her death, so they help to determine dates of printed materials.
A few of the surviving characters are preserved in the written histories of Wu Zetian, and a few have found themselves incorporated into modern-day computer standards, classified as either variant or dialect-specific characters.
The form of the characters varies depending on where they are printed. For instance, Empress Wu's own name Шаблон:Lang zhào was replaced with one of two new characters created through her: Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang;[1] looking in the Kangxi Dictionary, one finds the description of the former, having two Шаблон:Lang ("eye") characters, being the proper character, rather than Шаблон:Lang míng ("bright").
History
Wu was China's only empress, and she exercised her power by introducing many reforms. In addition to changing the way people dressed, she wanted to change the words people used.
Empress Wu's written reforms resulted in new characters, which were not created from scratch, but borrowed elements of older characters.
Although the characters quickly fell into disuse after the end of Wu's reign, they were recorded in large dictionaries and a few have occasionally appeared as variant characters used in proper names. For instance, 圀 ('country', 'state') is used to write the name of daimyō Tokugawa Mitsukuni (Шаблон:Lang) in kanji. In this context, the character is given the kun'yomi reading kuni as a variant of orthodox characters Шаблон:Lang/Шаблон:Lang (in shinjitai and kyūjitai, respectively).
Anecdotes about the reign of Empress Wu and the creation of these characters can be read in the Old Book of Tang.
Examples
| Original character | Pinyin and meaning | New character | Large version | Unicode | Explanation of meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Шаблон:Lang | zhào "shine, illuminate, see exactly " | Шаблон:Linktext | Zetian character Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | The empress's name, Шаблон:Lang, here comprises Шаблон:Lang, or "the sun and the moon in the sky above". The Moon and Sun symbolize the harmony of yin and yang. |
| Шаблон:Linktext | Zetian variant of above character | Шаблон:Unihan | The above character is sometimes written this way, as seen in the Kangxi dictionary. Some believe this version came about as a result of a naming taboo. | ||
| Шаблон:Lang | tiān "Providence, heaven" | Шаблон:Linktext | First version of the Zetian character replacing Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | This character is based on the seal-script version of Шаблон:Lang. |
| Шаблон:Linktext | Second version of the Zetian character replacing Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | Version of the above character in which some lines are connected, as in handwritten script. | ||
| Шаблон:Lang | dì "earth" | Шаблон:Linktext | Zetian version of the character Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | The character for "Earth" is composed of a mountain, a water, and earth. |
| Шаблон:Lang | rì "sun, day" | Шаблон:Linktext | Zetian version of Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | Said to represent the three-legged crow Sun deity of Chinese mythology. |
| Шаблон:Lang | yuè "moon, month" | Шаблон:Linktext | Zetian version of Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | Said to represent the rabbit or toad-shaped Moon. |
| Шаблон:Linktext | Second version of the character Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | Also said to represent the rabbit or toad-shaped Moon. | ||
| Шаблон:Lang | xīng "star" | Шаблон:Linktext | The Zetian version of Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | An empty circle, used to represent the word for 'star', now used in Modern Chinese as a Chinese numeral, representing zero, or as a 'full stop'. |
| Шаблон:Lang | jūn "monarch" | Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“君”正字 | Шаблон:Unihan | Composed of the characters Шаблон:Lang, which symbolizes that the world is in a state of great fortune, due to the empress[2] |
| Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“君”一 | Шаблон:Unihan | More commonly used variant of the above due to being easier to write.[3] | ||
| Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“君”二 | Шаблон:Unihan | |||
| Шаблон:Lang | chén "vassal of the monarch" | Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“臣” | Шаблон:Unihan | "firstly loyalty" (Шаблон:Lang), represents the loyalty that a subject should have[4] |
| Шаблон:Lang | chú "eliminate, to be assigned to position" | Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“除” | Шаблон:Unihan | Шаблон:Lang, represents the fact that the Heaven has allowed the empress to rise up in order to get rid of the old, eradicate all tyranny and misgovernment and create a new world[5] |
| Шаблон:Lang | zài "forever, countless" | Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“载”一 | Шаблон:Unihan | |
| Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“载”二 | Шаблон:Unihan | |||
| Шаблон:Lang | chū "start, found" | Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“初” | Шаблон:Unihan | |
| Шаблон:Lang | nián "year" | Шаблон:Linktext | 則则天文字之“年”一 | Шаблон:Unihan | Шаблон:Lang (lit. by the thousands and tens of thousands), symbolizing that the empress's empire will last thousands of years. The Шаблон:Lang character is likely a variant of Шаблон:Lang, which means the same as Шаблон:Lang: ten thousand.[6] |
| Шаблон:Linktext | 則则天文字之“年”二 | Шаблон:Unihan | Simplification of the above, with one less stroke. | ||
| Шаблон:Lang | zhèng "fair, right" | Шаблон:Linktext | 則则天文字之“正" | Шаблон:Unihan | |
| Шаблон:Lang | rén "human, people" | Шаблон:Linktext | The Zetian version of Шаблон:Lang | Шаблон:Unihan | Consisting of the Chinese numeral "one" (Шаблон:Linktext) above the character for "life" (Шаблон:Linktext), the character carries a meaning that everyone only lives once. |
| Шаблон:Lang | guó "nation, country, nation-state" | Шаблон:Linktext | 则天文字之“国” | Шаблон:Unihan | Consisting of the Chinese numeral "eight" (Шаблон:Linktext), above the character for "direction" (Шаблон:Linktext), both within a "boundary" (or "mouth") (Шаблон:Linktext). |
See also
External links
- More detailed information on these characters (archive link)
References
- ↑ Archived at GhostarchiveШаблон:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineШаблон:Cbignore: Шаблон:Cite webШаблон:Cbignore
- ↑ 王三庆，论武后新字的创制与兴废兼论文字的正俗问题，成大中文学报. 2005-12, (13).
- ↑ 《新唐书·后妃传上·则天武皇后传》：“载初中，又享万象神宫，以太穆、文德二皇后配皇地祇，引周忠孝太后从配。作……、𠁈、……，十又二文。”
- ↑ 《字汇补》：“古文‘臣’字。”
- ↑ 《新唐书·后妃传上·则天武皇后传》：“载初中，又享万象神宫，以太穆、文德二皇后配皇地祇，引周忠孝太后从配。作……、𠀺、……，十又二文。”
- ↑ 赵与时《宾退录·五》：“武后改易新字，如以山水土为地，千千万万为年，永主久王为证，长正主为圣。”
