{"id":315,"date":"2026-07-24T15:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/semio.idg-staging.com\/en\/?p=315"},"modified":"2026-07-24T23:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T23:23:08","slug":"sign-conceptions-in-chinese-cultural-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/semio.idg-staging.com\/en\/sign-conceptions-in-chinese-cultural-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Sign Conceptions in Chinese Cultural History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The title\u201cSign conceptions in China\u201dmav touch Oil the following possible topics\uff1a(1) traditional ways of thinking in China and act ions with semiotic implications\uff1bf2)traditional Chinese discussions on l; (3) the present-day descripti<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

       (\u4e2d\u56fd\u6587\u5316\u53f2\u4e0a\u7684\u8bb0\u53f7\u6982\u5ff5\u7cfb\u7edf\u6982\u89c8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Youzheng Li (\u674e\u5e7c\u84b8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u8f7d\u4e8e:\u300a\u5173\u4e8e\u81ea\u7136\u548c\u6587\u5316\u7684\u8bb0\u53f7\u7406\u8bba\u57fa\u7840\u7684\u624b\u518c\u300b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u5fb7\u6587\u4e66\u540d\uff1a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ein Handbuch ZU den zeichentheoretischen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grundlagen yon Natur und Kultur<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u82f1\u6587\u4e66\u540d\uff1a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Handbook on the Sign-Theoretic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foundations of Nature and Culture<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u7f16\u8005\uff1aRoland Posner\uff0cKlaus Robering\uff0cThomas A\uff0eSebeok<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u51fa\u7248\u793e\uff1aWalter de Gruyter\u2018Berlin\u00b7New York, 1998<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Contents<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sign conceptions in China \uff08the original titile\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 1\uff0eIntroduction\uff08\u5bfc\u8bba\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 2\uff0eLanguage \uff08\u8bed\u8a00\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2\uff0e1\uff0eThe sound system and phonetics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2\uff0e2\uff0eThe transformations of the graphic forms of Chinese characters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2\uff0e3\uff0eStructure and formation of the characters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2\uff0e4\uff0eGrammar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 3\uff0eLogic \uff08\u903b\u8f91\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3\uff0e1\uff0eDebates on the relationship between names and reality<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3\uff0e2\uff0eArgumentation and inference<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 4.  Philosophy \uff08\u54f2\u5b66\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4\uff0e1\uff0eCosmological schematism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4\uff0e2\uff0eBasic categories of cosmic ontology<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4\uff0e3\uff0eEthical noumenal categories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4\uff0e4 The epistemology of Chinese Buddhism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 5\uff0eMyths and relig ions \uff08\u795e\u8bdd\u548c\u5b97\u6559\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5\uff0e1 Myths\uff0enatural gods and worship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5\uff0e2\uff0eTotern worship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5\uff0e3\uff0eSorcery and divinat ion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5\uff0e4.  Some social effects of the native relig ions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 6.  Society and politics \uff08\u793e\u4f1a\u548c\u653f\u6cbb\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6\uff0e1\uff0eThe significance of appellatives<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6\uff0e2\uff0ePolitical effects of auspicious symbols<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6\uff0e3\uff0eSocial strata and symbols<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6\uff0e4\uff0eRituals and customs in daily life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 7.  Literature and historiography \uff08\u6587\u5b66\u548c\u53f2\u5b66\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7\uff0e1\uff0eLiterature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7\uff0e2\uff0eHistoriography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 8\uff0eThe fine arts \uff08\u827a\u672f\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8\uff0e1\uff0ePainting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8\uff0e2\uff0eCalligraphy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8\uff0e3\uff0eThe theory of homological relations between poetry and painting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8 4\uff0eSculpture and frescos<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 9\uff0eArchitecture and gardens \uff08\u5efa\u7b51\u548c\u56ed\u6797\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9\uff0e1\uff0eThe typology of Chinese architecture<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9\uff0e2\uff0eBuildings as symbols of social<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    hierarchies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9\uff0e3\uff0eTemples as synthetical symbol systems<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9\uff0e4\uff0eArtistic gardens<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9\uff0e5\uff0eThe symbolism of old city walls<\/p>\n\n\n\n

l 0\uff0eThe performing arts \uff08\u8868\u6f14\u827a\u672f\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    10\uff0e1\uff0eMusic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    10. 2\uff0eDance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1o. 3\uff0eMartial arts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1o. 4 Traditional Chinese Opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.  Selected references \uff08\u53c2\u8003\u8d44\u6599\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    11\uff0e1\uff0eSource books in Chinese<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1 1\uff0e2\uff0eTranslations from Chinese Sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1 1\uff0e3\uff0eBooks in Western Languages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        **************<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\uff0e Introduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title\u201cSign conceptions in China\u201dmav touch Oil the following possible topics\uff1a(1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

traditional ways of thinking in China and act ions with semiotic  implications\uff1bf2)traditional Chinese discussions on l; (3) the present-day descriptions of 1 and 2; (4) present-day discussions on 1\uff0c2 and 3 in terms of modern semiotlc knowledge\uff0eWhile 4 is important it is not the object of the present discusslon\uff0eCompared with Western intellectual history\uff0c2 was mostly given in an unsystematic and tractured way using pre-scientific terminology, so it is difficult to present 2 directly\uff0eHowever 1 is  indeed an unparalleled source of  sign conceptions\uff0cand China thus qualifies as an empire of signs in human history\uff0eThis article is therefore intended to fall Into category 3\uff0eBriefly\uff0cthis is a topographicaJ description of what traditional Chinese culture has contributed\uff0cboth directly  and  indirectly\uff0cin connection with signs and sign systems\uff0eUnfortunately, such important subjects as traditional Chinese sciences and technology\uff0cthe cultural histories of the frontier areas and contemporary Chinese society and culture cannot be handled here\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\uff0eLanguage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\uff0e1\uff0eThe sound system and phonetics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phonetic evolution of the Chinese language can be broadly divided into four periods\uff1athe ancient (before 58 l A\uff0eD\uff0e)\uff0cthe medieval (581\u20141271 A\uff0eD\uff0e)\uff0ethe early modern (1271\u20141911 A\uff0eD\uff0e) and the modern (from 1 9 1 1 onward)\uff0eThe phonetic structures have changed from one period to another\uff0eThe traditional Chinese phonology established 1500 years ago remains applicable in analyzing modern Chinese phonetic systems\uff0eIt takes a special system consisting of three kinds of components called respectively\u201csheng\u201d(almost equivalent to the initial consonant)\uff0c\u201cyun\u201d(approximately equivalent to the simple or compound vowel) and\u201cdiao\u201d(similar to the tone)\uff0eThus the sound of a Chinese character consists of an initial consonant\uff0ca VoweI and a tone\uff0eThe tone system has four types called\u201cfour tones\u201d(high and level\uff1brising\uff1bfalling-rising\uff1bfalling)\uff0eThe three components function in differentiating the parts of speech and meanings\uff0eTherefore\uff0cthe sound of a character is the acoustic  form of its morpheme\uff0cand its meaning is determined by a compound of three phonological components\uff0eFurthermore\uff0cone character represents one syllable rather than one phoneme\uff0cand one syllable with a tone represents one or more morphemes\uff0eModern Chinese contains more than four hundred syllables\uff1bwith tones added\uff0cthe number of all syllables rises to about 1300\uff0eThere are 21 consonants and 39 vowels\uff0cthe numbers of both being  less than they were in ancient China\uff0eThe earliest Chinese phonological  lexicons are Qie Yun<\/em> (written by Lu Fa Yan during the Sui dynasty) and Guang Yun <\/em>(written during the N\uff0eSung dynasty)\uff0eThey classified all the then available characters into 206 sections according to 206 phonological types\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\uff0e2\uff0eThe transformations of the graphic forms of Chinese characters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The history of the vocabulary systems of Chinese characters can be traced back 3000 years\uff0eThe modern system of characters was established two thousand years ago in the Ch<\/em>\u2019<\/em>in<\/em> (Qin<\/em>) dynasty\uff0eA history of the transformation of graphic forms of Chinese characters can be divided into three periods\uff1a(1) the period of Jiaguwen<\/em> (the oracle bones and tortoise scripts in the Shang period) and Jinwen<\/em> (scripts on bronze objects in the Chou period)\uff1b(2)the period of Lishu (official scripts current in the Han dynasty)\uff1b(3) the period of Kaishu (more regular scripts originated in the Northern dynasties\uff1bthis system has been transmitted through to our times)\uff0eThe Jiaguwen and the Jinwen are already well-formed characters but t heir forms are still close to pictures\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\uff0e3\uff0eStructure and formation of the characters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A character is a compound of form\uff0csound and meaning\uff0eThe form of a character consists of a few related strokes and a structure formed through them\uff0eFive basic stroke types combine to give over twenty main stroke types\uff0cwhich In turn form about 60000 characters through their various possible combinations (concerning the syntactic description of line drawings and characters by means of graph grammars)\uff0eDue to the radical differences between spoken and written language\uff0cthe traditional Chinese written material has kept its independent identity and value\uff0eA classical theory of motivating principles for character construction called\u201cSix Shu<\/em>\u201dwas firstly raised under the Han dynasty\uff0eLater\uff0cSix Shu<\/em> was reduced to four principles for the structure of characters, namely (1) imitating the form of the represented object\uff1b(2) pointing at the nature of or at the relations between objects (most items of this category are abstract words)\uff1b(3)combining a meaningful part of one old characterwith that of another\uff1b(4)a picto-phonetic principle\uff0caccording to which the newly formed character consists of an old ideogram and an old phonogram\uff0eGenerally speaking\uff0cin the course of transformations the Chinese characters tended to become Iess pictographic and more ideographic at first\uff0cand later less ideographic and more phonographic\uff0eNevertheless\uff0cin Han times most Chinese characters became pictophonetic\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\uff0e4\uff0eGrammar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are five linguistic levels in the Chinese linguistic  hierarchy\uff0eWord order and empty (function) words are  the means by which the lower linguistic units can form the higher units\uff0eThey are\uff1amorpheme, word, word group\uff0csentence and composite sentence\uff0eThe number of empty words\uff0ei\uff0ee\uff0e,of words serving as fuction units, is about 400\uff0eIt should be pointed out that most set phrases are four-character groups\uff0eThey not only signify compound meanings but also imply rich poetic and musicaI connotations\uff0eSemantically, the Chinese set phrases abound with graphic beauty\u3001rhythmic  charms and histolicaI associations, considerably enriching the expressive potential of Chinese as a literary  language\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0eLogic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient China\uff0ea discipline of logic in its modern sense did not exist; nevertheless there were Iively discussions on the relations between name\uff0cconcept and referent and the proper ways of reasoning among philosophers\uff0cBuddhist scholars and literary critics\uff0eOn the whole\uff0cmost of these discussions were connected with ethical and political considerations\uff0eAfter Indian Buddhism entered China\uff0cthe Indian classical<\/p>\n\n\n\n

logic\u201cYin-Ming<\/em>\u201dwas also introduced\uff0ebut its influence was 1imited to the field of Buddhist scholarship\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0e1\uff0eDebates on the relationship between names and reality<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0e1\uff0e1\uff0eThe theory of name-rectification in the Confucian School<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principle of name-rectification was raised earlier than other logical problems in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\uff0eThe major representatives of this trend of thought were Confucius(55 l-479<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 B\uff0ec\uff0e)\uff0cMencius (1ate 4th century B\uff0eC\uff0e) and Hsun Tzu (298-235 B\uff0eC\uff0e1\uff0eIn this ethically semantic discussion the first principle was\u201cconformity between name and reality\u201d\uff0eConfucius\u2019two maxims were\uff1a\u201cto rectify errors and incorrectness in factual iudgments\u201dand to\u201crectify improper names and claims in social and ethical orders\u201d\uff0eAs a great summarizer of ethic-semantic thoughts, Hsun Tzu  raised the important principle that\u201cnames are made in order to denote real things\u201d\uff0eHe particularly emphasized relations between the individual and the universal and distinctions between such concepts as\u201csimilarity\u201d,\u201cdifference\u201d\uff0c\u201csingle\u201dand\u201ccommon\u201d\uff0eHis most important contribution is the doctrine on the classification of names\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0e1. 2\uff0eThe School of Names (dialecticians)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese dialecticians played a considerable role in Chinese intellectual life between the fifth and the third centuries B\uff0eC\uff0eThe most famous among them were Hui-Shi (370-310 B\uff0eC\uff0e) and Kung-Sun Lung (325- 250 B\uff0eC\uff0e)\uff0eThey changed the earlier topic of name rectification to more serious semantic analysis\uff0eHui\u2014Shi\u2019s central claim was that\u201cequality of similarity and difierence\u201d(\u201cmountain is on the same 1evel with marsh\u201d) proves the relativity of difference in space and time of things\uff0eAnalogously\uff0e\u201cdog is similar to sheep\u201d\uff0cfor each of them is an animal with four feet\uff0eBesides\uff0che pointed out that  the perceptual fire and heat are different<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 from the conceptual ones, for the former is individual and the 1atter is general rnames are disconnected from physical shapes\u201d1), Kung-Sun was famous for claiming that\u201cproperty is different from its substance\u201d(or \u201chardness and whiteness of a stone can be separated\u201d)\uff0eHis discussions cover the wide range from the concept of class, the difference between intension and extension\uff0cthe norms of judging to the forms of reasoning\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0e1\uff0e3\uff0eThe Mohist School of dialecticians<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The logic of Mohist and the later Mohist schools was the most systematic, influential<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and important one among various ancient systems of Chinese logical thought, and it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

paid attention to the practical aspects of logical reflection as well\uff0eThe classic Mohist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canon by Motzu (480-390 B\uff0eC\uff0e) raised six tasks of logic\uff1adistinguishing between right<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 and wrong, social order and disorder, similarity and difierence\uff0cname and reality\uff0cbenefit and harm\uff0cand removing doubts\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0e1\uff0e4\uff0eThe Taoist logic of unnamableness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Taoist school and its original founder Lao TZu (about 600 B\uff0eC\uff0e) said that\u201cTao\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(\u2018the great way\u2019) is unnamable since the namable involves physical things\uff0eAnother<\/p>\n\n\n\n

founder of this school\uff0cChung Tzu (369-286  B\uff0eC\uff0e) applied the Tao principle to political ethics\uff0csharply criticizing  the Confucian name-rectification theory and advocating the do-nothing principle of Tao\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0e1\uff0e5\uff0eThe relations between word and meaning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ou-Yang Jian (died 300 A\uff0eD\uff0e)raised the proposition that words can completely express the meanings which correspond to things that exist in their own right\uff0cwhile the great Neo-Taoist scholar Wang Bi (226\u2014249 A\uff0eD\uff0e) of the same period took the opposite position\uff0cnamely that words cannot completely express ideas\uff0eHe developed an extensive doctrine of the relations between words\uff0cideas and symbols, concluding that\u201conce symbols have been grasped\uff0cwords can be forgotten(\u2026)\uff0cand once meanings have been grasped\uff0csymbols can be forgotten\u201d\uff0eSo words and meanings are of a closely related nature\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\uff0e2\uff0eArgumentation and inference<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study of logical inference was the weak point in traditional Chinese philosophy. However\uff0cthe Mohists did present some elementary forms of deduction and induction\uff0eNot interested in logical inferences as such\uff0cthe Confucian school focused on the debating skills of moral discusslons\uff0cwhich were qualified by analogical interences in terms of metaphors and fables\uff0eThe Neo-Confucian master Chu Hsi (1130-1 200 A\uff0eD\uff0e) later raised a more epistemoIogical Inference principle\uff0cnamely that\u201cLi\u201d(\u2018the principle\u201d) is single while things are multiple\uff0cbut Li 1s known through examining things\uff1btruth 1s thus reached by understanding phenomena. A more subjective way of reasoning was maintained by another Neo\uff0eConfucian master\uff0cWang Yang Ming(1472\u4e001528 A\uff0eD)\uff0eHe insisted that Li or the essence of thinis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

existed only in our mind\uff1bLi is expressed in millions ot things but only contained in one\u2019s mind\uff0eThus one must\u201cdisclose one\u2019s own mind to reach truth\u201d\uff0cand the practical way to reach this aim is to cultivate one\u2019s conscousness and to Increase one\u2019s potential\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0ePhilosophy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The language of traditional Chinese philosophy abounds with symbolic expressions\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Important concepts are compounds of concrete Images and abstract notions\uff0cwhich are liable to lead to logical ambiguities as well as to produce emotional and volitional effects\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e1\uff0e Cosmological schematism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e1\uff0eI\uff0eThe conception of five elements<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As early as the ll th century B\uff0eC\uff0ethere existed a prlmitive cosmological view that the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

universe or the world consisted of five basic elements(metal\uff0cwood\uff0cwater\uff0cfire and earth)\uff0eParallel to these five elements\uff0cmany other five-component orders were invented for, say, almanacs\uff0cmedicine\uff0castrology and ethics\uff0eThe number 5 played a key role in the Chinese intellectual history of classification\uff0eDuring the Warring States period\uff0cTsou Yan (305\u2014240 B\uff0eC\uff0e) began to combine the five-elements conception with the Yin-Yan<\/em>g notion\uff0cmaintaining that the five elements produce each other and also overcome each other in a fixed sequence\uff0eBased on this theory\uff0che built up a philosophy of history, claiming that there were five basic powers which determined the pattern of transformation oi dynasties\uff0e   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e1\uff0e2\uff0eThe Yin-Yang<\/em> School and the system of divinatory symbols in the I King<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Yi Jing)   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recourse to bipolarity was a fundamental method of ancient Chinese reasoning\uff0eThe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

two poles were regularly called\u201cYin\u201d(as expressed by the female\uff0cthe moon) and\u201cYang\u201d (as expressed by the male\uff0cthe sun)\uff0eIt was said that all things in the universe were produced or derived from a mixture or combination of the two origins\uff0eThe I King<\/em> for Book of Change) evolved from the primitive Yin-Yang<\/em> notion and ancient divinatory practices\uff0eIt contains a philosophical\uff0ccosmological and social schematism which was later extrapolated to almost all areas of human lire\uff0eYin and Yang are represented by the lines\u201c\u4e00\u201dand\u201c\u4e00\u4e00\u2019\u2019respectively and called\u201cyao\u201d (\u2018change\u2019)\uff0eThe two kinds of Yaos can form eight basic symbols called\u201ctrigrams\u201d\uff0esignifying the change of things\uff0eFor each trigram there are\uff1aa name\uff0ca picture (symbol)\uff0ca basic property and many (up to over 1000) symbolic images(emblems) with corresponding connotations\uff0eFurthermore\uff0cby combining any two of these eight tngrams into diagrams consisting ot Six (divided and undivided) 1ines, a total of sixty-four hexagrams (called\u201cDa-Cheng diagrams\u201d) can be obtained\uff0eArranged in this  way, the text of the Book of Change contains 64 hexagrams\uff0c64  sentences of hexagrams and 384 sentences of yaos\uff0eOnly later were some hermeneuticaI appendices added to the original text of the book with the aim of using it to interpret political and ethical phenomena\uff0e   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e1\uff0e3\uff0eThe Diagram of the Supreme UItimate(Tai-Ji)\uff0cemblemology and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    numerology<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Neo-Confucians of the Northern Sung dynasty established other systematic cosmological doctrines based on the Book of Change\uff0ctwo chief scholars of which are Shao Yung(10ll\u20141077) and Zhou Dun Yi (1017-1073)\uff0eIn The Diagram of What Antedates Heaven<\/em>\uff0cShao built up an emblemological and numerological system according to which all things are both produced and undergo change\uff0eHe combined Yin-Yao and Yang-Yao according to a numerological scheme in order to form a complete emblemological system and consequently show the processes of change in things regardless of the specific meaning of the original emblems of hexagrams\uff0eZhou also composed his own cosmic diagram called\u201cthe Supreme Uitimate\u201dwithout the numerological explanations added\uff0eHis cosmic evolution scheme follows this order\uff1athe Ultimateless – the Supreme Ultimate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  *movement- Yang – heaven <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 *auiescence- Yin – earth   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \u2192 the tive elements\u2192 the four seasons\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e2\uff0e Basic categories of cosmic ontology<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e2\uff0e1\uff0e\u201cTao\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTao\u201das an ultimate ontological category has the literal meaning of\u2018road toward the final truth\u2019\uff0eIt is also understood to be the source or origin of the universe and the law of cosmic circular change\uff0eLao-Thu said that \u201cTao\u201dimplies two senses\uff1a\u2018being\u2019and\u2018non-being\u2019\uff0e\u201cNon\u201d here means\u2018namelessness\u2019and\u2018shapelessness\u2019rather than\u2018voidness\u2019\uff0eIt can also be understood as\u2018unlimited and eternal motion\u2019\uff0eHowever\uff0cthe Neo-Taoist Wang Bi took\u201cnon-being\u201dinstead as\u2018nothingness\u2019, in which he saw the ultimate root of all beings\uff0eTao as non-being cannot be described by any emblem – the word\u201croad\u201dincluded – because it is shapeless\uff0cnameless\uff0cuncertain\uff0cand equivalent to zero\uff0eUnlike his Taoist contemporaries\uff0cthe Neo-Confucianist Chu Hsi had a more substantial conception of Tao, taking it as both the origin and the basis of cosmological and ethical laws\uff0eIn his system\uff0eTao is tantamount to Li (\u2018the principle\u2019) and Tai-Ji as the final root of the universe and society\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e2\uff0e2\uff0e\u201cLi\u201d(\u2018the principle\u2019) and\u201cQi\u201d(\u2018air\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li and Qi are two central categories that were first raised by early Neo-Confucianism in the Sung dynasty, under the influence of Zen and Hua-Yan Buddhism, and were 1ater systematically developed by Chu Hsi\uff0eFor him Li is not much different from Tao as an abiding noumenon\uff0eLi as oneness antedates Oi as the root of things\uff0cwhile Li as plurality is reflected in everything\uff0cjust as one moon can be reflected  in thousands of rivers\uff0eLi was furthermore combined with heaven\uff0cand a new term\u201cHeaven-Li\u201dwas coined with the stronger senses of\u2018source\u2019and\u2018supervision\u2019\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e3\uff0e Ethical noumenaI categories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e3\uff0e1\uff0e\u201cRen\u201d(\u2018benevolence\u2019) and\u201cYi\u201d(\u2018righteousness\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two basic concepts, introduced by Confucius and Mencius respectively, are the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

highest virtues of Confucian ethics\uff0cbeing more important and influential than all other ethical concepts\uff0eTheir meanings have been greatly enriched by innumerable historical tales as moral types and models\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e3\uff0e2\uff0e\u201cHsing\u201d(\u2018human nature\u2019) and the mind<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another school of Neo-Confucianism was represented by Lu Jiu-Yun (1139-1193) and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wang Yang Ming\uff0cwho considered the concepts of mind and human nature the highest ethical and cosmological categories\uff0eIn fact\uff0cthe mind was said to be the very source and origin of all natural and moral phenomena\uff0eTherefore cultivation of one\u2019s mind was naturally a way to reach Li or truth\uff0eWang further maintained that the mind is Li and action is knowledge\uff1bin the psychological world conduct and knowledge are united and become one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e4\uff0eThe epistemology of Chinese Buddhism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian Buddhism was first introduced into China under the Han dynasty\uff0cand many<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese Buddhist schools were established after this period\uff0eChinese Buddhism experienced its prime under the Tang dynasty\uff0eAmong the many schools were several with philosophical contributions\uff0csuch as the Tian-Tai sect\uff0cthe San-Lun sect\uff0cthe Wei-Shi sect\uff0cthe Hua-Yan sect and Zen\uff0eAmong them Tian-Tai\uff0cHua-Yan and Zen are three Buddhist sects relatively native to China\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e4\uff0e1\uff0eThe Tian-Tai sect<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sect was established bv Chih-Kai (538-597) in the Tian-Tai mountains\uff0cmaintaining two central doctrines\uff1a(1)One mind can see three genuine aspects of things (the void\uff0cthe illusory and the neutral) at once\uff0eThese three aspects are three truths merged together\uff0e(2) The whole universe exists in one mind and its intentional activity\uff0eThe philosophical argumentation of this sect was full of analogies\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e4\uff0e2\uff0eThe Hua-Yan sect (\u2018flowery splendor\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fa Zhang(643-7 1 2)established this sect, attempting to unify a11 Buddhist teachings into one theoretical and practical system\uff0eHe raised the principle of unhindered interpenetration of the universaI into the particular and ot the particular into other particulars\uff0eThese ldeas were further developed by the followers of this sect\uff0cwho thus produced the most elaborate doctrine in Chinese Buddhism\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e4\uff0e2\uff0e1\uff0eThe Treatise of the Golden Lion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fa Tsang summarized the Hua-Yan philosophy in his Treatise of the Golden Lion\uff0eUsing the golden statue of a lion in a royal courtyard as a symbol\uff0che expounds the relations between LI(universaI principlel and Shih (particular appearance)\uff0cpointing out ten problems through analogical explanations and concluding that alI phenomena\uff0cdespite their diversity, interpenetrate each other\uff0eHis approach can be briefly exemplified in terms of the image of a lion\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. 4. 2. 2\uff0eThe mirror as a metaphor for\u201cZhenru\u201d(\u2018final truth\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror was the Hua-Yan sect\u2019s  favorite metaphor for truth\uff0eA mirror is clean and immutable\uff0cso it can reflect the images of things\uff0eBecause it can reflect the images of things\uff0cthe mirror 1s clean and immutable\uff0eSimilarly\uff0cZhenru as substance is immutable\uff0cproducing a variety of particular phenomena\uff0eAnd because it produces a variety of things\uff0cone can infer that Zhenru is clean and immutable\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 name of phrase       meaning          metaphor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 general              totality           golden lion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 particular             parts            eyes, ears<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 common            common things   one 1ion made<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                     constituted by      of different parts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 different            parts of one body   eye is different from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                     are different from   ear<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                     each other<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 constituting          all parts constitute   parts constitute<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                     one totality         one lion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 destructing           each part keeps its   ear is independent from eye<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                     own identity        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meaning connected with the image of the Golden Lion according to Fa Zhang (643- 712)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4\uff0e4\uff0e2\uff0e3\uff0eThe metaphor of dust and the pearl<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is another of Hua-Yan\u2019s  famous metaphors for Buddhist truth\uff0eA particle of dust contains a great number of worlds which differ from each other in various ways\uff0eAnalogically, in the Indian fable\u201cNetwork of the Heaven-Empire\u201d (the palace adorned with pearl nets)each pearl reflects all other pearls\uff0cand each image in a pearl again reflects all other pearls\uff0cso the resulting number of images of pearls is limitless\uff0eBy extension\uff0ctime is divided into its own past\uff0epresent and future\uff0cand each of them is again divided into mutually interpenetrating phases finally form one general time phase\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.4.3 Zen Buddhism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZen\u201d\uff0cor\u201cDhyana\u201d, stands for calm meditation\uff0eThe Northern and the Southern sects of Chinese Zen Buddhism were established by two famous disciples of the Indian Zen patriarch in China\uff0cShen Hsiu (600\u2014706) and Hui-Neng (638- 7 1 0) respectively\uff0eAnd Zen with its various 10cal sects became the most popular and characteristic Buddhist religion in China for more than one thousand years\uff0eMoreover\uff0cno other Chinese religion is of greater semiotic interest than Zen\uff0cdue to the many illogical and seemingly absurd ways of reasoning and persuading of the latter\uff0eThe first principle of the Southern sect is that of the inexpressibility of truth\uff0eThus Buddhist masters gave up or even destroyed all reasonable communication with people\uff0eThey also stressed the value of sudden enlightenment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 rather than the conscious self-cultivation taught by earlier masters\uff0eAccording to their fresh ideas\uff0creligious communication could only be reached through one\u2019s daily deeds\uff0eZen teaching was typically performed through a special dialogue between a master and his pupil without any normal semantic content\uff0eIrrelevant utterances\uff0cgestures (including the beating with a stick) and even silence became the means to help pupils grasp the\u201czen\u201d\uff0eThe reason was that masters tried to destroy the pupils\u2019natural belief in physical 1aws and their pretension of knowledge\uff0eConsidered semlotlcally\uff0cZen created many unusual ways of signification and communication\uff0e    \u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5\uff0e Myths and religions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5\uff0e1\uff0eMyths, natural gods and worship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relics of primitive Chinese worship can be traced to the time of the Upper-Cave-Man living twenty or thirty thousand years ago\uff0eThe oldest objects of worship were the sun and the moon\uff0cand many legends about them have been transmitted to modern times from remote antiquity\uff0eOther important natural gods were rain\uff0cwind and thunder\uff1brelated legends have existed in all parts of China and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

worship based on them had become an important tradition until iust decades ago.  In the Jia-Gu-Wien<\/em> material we find records of ceremonies for calling up rain storms and ways to offer sacrifices, including burning men alive and crying up to heaven\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worship of mountains and rivers was very popular\uff0cshowing a strong practical concem about living conditions\uff0eThe rites of offering sacrifices to rivers(mainly the Yellow River) in ancient times had been extremely solemn and serious\uff0cfrequently with the planned sinking of a ship and drowning of girls\uff0eWorship of the gods of the mountains (mainly the Tai and the Sung)was\uff0chowever\uff0cmore popular\uff0eAccording to the records\uff0cmany other objects like stars\uff0ctides\uff0cwood\uff0cstorm\uff0cfire\uff0cearth\uff0cbirds\uff0cwells and roads also had their own corresponding gods and were worshipped in less serious ways\uff0eIn people\u2019s daily life\uff0cthe more popularly worshipped gods were those of heaven\uff0cearth\uff0cmarriage, doors\uff0covens and work\uff0e <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5\uff0e2\uff0eTotem worship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many records of totem worship have been attested in historical documents\uff0eThere existed three categories of totems\uff1a(1) the earliest found totems\uff0ce\uff0eg\uff0e\uff0csnakes\uff0cbirds\uff0cbears and tigers\uff1b(2)the totems with half-man-half-animal images (those described in the earliest Chinese mythological classic\uff0cthe Mount and Sea Classic)\uff1b(3)many purely imaginative totems\uff0csuch as the dragon\uff0cphoenix and the mixture of a dragon and a snake\uff0eThe totems were worshipped and their names were taken as family names in the early times of China\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5\uff0e3\uff0eSorcery and divination<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The divination arts in ancient China had a name consisting of the two characters\u201cbu\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and\u201czhan\u201d\uff0cmeaning\u2018reading the omens through burning tortoise bones\u2019and then<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018watching the emblems of the omens\u2019\uff0crespectively\uff0eThere were six ways to foretell good and ill\uff1aastrology\uff0calmanac\uff0cthe Five Hsing\uff0cplaying with a specific herb and observing burnt tortoise bones\uff0eThe above arts of sorcery and divination were a very influential profession in ancient times with close connections to performing symbolic semioses of various types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5\uff0e4\uff0eSome social effects of the native eligions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient times there had been many native nd 10cal religions with 1ess elaborate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

doctrines and numerous superstitious elements\uff0eThe most widespread of these was<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taoism to be distinguished from Taoism as a philosophy)\uff0cwhich exercised strong social (f not religious) ffects\uff0eIts classical base was the Tai-Ping Classic fin the Eastern Han dynasty)consisting of Taoist philosophy\uff0csorcery and necromancy\uff0eThe Taoist religion and its many 10cal sects had two considerable social effects\uff1ait nourished belief in immortality and was the spiritual souree of rebellions\uff0eWith respect to the former\uff0ceven ancient emperors indulged in Taoist cultivations\uff0csuch as taking special pills and performing religious rites\uff0eAs for the latter\uff0cthe famous farIner rebellions towards the close of the Eastern Han dynasty became the archetype of the rebellious<\/p>\n\n\n\n

farmer armies to follow,with religion as the driving force\uff0eOn the other hand\uff0cculturally the Taoist efforts contributed much to 1iterary\uff0c artistic and primitive scientific and even tourist achievements\uff0eLike Chinese Buddhism\uff0cthe Taoist religion had its special type of temples\uff0ccalled \u201cGuan\u201d\uff0cwhich were maintained by 1Taoist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

priests who practised rites and chanted scriptures there every day\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e Society and politics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Ch\u2019in and Han dynasties\uff0cChina became more totalitarian in her social and po1itical constitution\uff0eThe difierence between various estates was not only shown in many social and family systems\uff0ebut also embodied in relations between men\uff0cnorms of conduct as well as a great number of rites and rules of courtesy\uff0eYet the strict systems of protocol\uff0c morality and politics had been established much earlier. Confucians compiled the moral classic Book of Rites<\/em>, which became the basic code to be respected by following generations\uff0eAccordingly\uff0ca great number of literary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 expressions were produced to form the corresponding systems of signification\uff0eIn this way\uff0eChina developed into a country full of ritual sign systems\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e1\uff0e The significance of appellatives<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e1\uff0e1\uff0eFamily names<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient China\uff0cfamily names were the signs of a clan and\uff0eafter the Warrior period,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the titles of fiefs\uff0cliving places\uff0cpositions and the names of ancestors could be used as ramily names\uff0eBeside the family name\uff0ca person could also have two possible surnames\uff0ccalled\u201czi\u201dand\u2018\u2018hap\u201d\uff0eSurnames were the designations of a definite person\uff0e\u201cZi\u201dis given by parents to show one\u2019s seniority among his (her) brothers and sisters\uff0cwhile\u201chap\u201dis to express one\u2019s own aspirations and style\uff0eIn the social etiquette\uff0cthe three kinds of names are used in different situations demonstrating<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 people\u2019s relations and positions in the social hierarchy\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e1\uff0e2\uff0eNames of emperors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Since Ch\u2019in Shih Huang-Ti (259-210 B\uff0eC\uff0e)\uff0c\u201cHuang-Ti\u201d(emperor) became the title of all top rulers of the following Chinese dynasties\uff0eMany other titles with laudatory meaning could be added\uff0eAmong them the most lmportant is the title of\u2018reigning\u2019\uff0cwhich can intensify the impression of the monarch\u2019s  legitimacy\uff0eThe complicated title system of the Chinese royal family shows a delicate political-psychological implication\uff0eAccording to this system\uff0cwhen an emperor died he would be given two further titles\uff1a\u201cshi-hao\u201din connection with his deeds and contributions and\u201cming-hao\u201din connection with his ritual position in the royal family\uff0e\u201cShi-hao\u201dcan mean praise\uff0ccriticism or moral neutrality\uff0eIt is tantamount to a procedure ot changing names\uff1areplacing the old (valid when he lived) with the new (when he died)\uff0eThere was a strict taboo forcing to avoid the names of emperors and of certain of their relatives in ancient China\u3002When writing, people had to avoid using characters which happened to occur as constituents of emperors\u2019names\uff0eThis taboo (called\u201cbihui\u201d)  forced people to change those characters or at 1east to leave out some strokes of them\uff1btransgressions were severely punished\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e2\uff0ePolitical effects of auspicious symbols<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e2\uff0e1\uff0eRegimes and names<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient China\uff0cpeople thought regimes and rites had a close tie with naturaI gods<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and their names\uff0eUnder the Han dynasty, a systematic theory about the problem was<\/p>\n\n\n\n

raised by the great Confucian scholar Dong Zhong Shu (175-105 B\uff0eC\uff0e)\uff0cwho declared<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that a mutual correspondence existed between the will of heaven and the fortune of a regime\uff0eThis correspondence relation could be disclosed by some specific natural signs\uff0eThis doctrine was based on the prevailing metaphysical principles of\u201cthe Five Xing\u201d (\u2018five elements\u2019) and the Yin\u2014Yang\uff0eHe suggested that we\u201calways carefully examine the problems of names and titles\u201d\uff0cfor they were prescribed by the sages and reflect the will of heaven\uff0csignifying what is right\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. 2\uff0e2\uff0eRegimes and symbolic figures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the Eastern Han dynasty, a speciaI augury called \u201cChen-wei\u201dprevailed, which<\/p>\n\n\n\n

studied the relations of symbolic texts to po1itical faith\uff0eThe instrument of the augury was a\u201cchen\u201d\uff0cwhich was a green text decorated with figures\uff0eIt was said to have come from heaven and could be used to foretell the fortune of states and persons\uff0eWhen Wang Mang\uff0can officiaI under the 1ate Western Han dynasty\uff0cseized power\uff0che declared he had been offered a\u201cchen\u201dfrom heaven\uff0eHe was then defeated by Liu Xiou who claimed the same and handled political affairs according to the play of\u201cchen\u201daugury\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e2\uff0e3\uff0eThe role of names in rebellions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Chinese history\uff0ca dynasty was often replaced by another through rebellious activities organized by generals originally belonging to the tormer dynasty\uff0cor by oppressed farmers and formerly subordinated minorities\uff0eThe rebellious armies always took a careful account of the names and related symbols representing their powers in order to prove their activities had been motivated by the will of heaven\uff0eFor example\uff0eZhang Jao, the 1eader of the rebellious army in the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty,used the following slogan to encourage his people at each battle\uff1a\u201cthe old Heaven died\uff0ethe new yellow Heaven has been ascending\u201d(his soldiers wore yellow scarfs)\uff0eThe intertwining relations between political powers\uff0creligious  falth and names and symbols can be most clearly shown by the history of the rebellion of Tai-Ping-Tian-Guo in the Iast century\uff0eIts  initiator Hong Xio-Quan (1813-1864) took Jehovah as the Father of the Heaven and claimed to be his envoy in this world\uff0eIn their  military activities – which were quite successful – \uff0cHong Xio-Quan and his followers made frequent use of symbolic articles\uff0cpolitical names and religious rites\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e3\uff0eSocial strata and symbols<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient China there had been strictly organized bureaucratic hierarchies consisting of dozens of administrative and aristocratic ranks\uff0eCorresponding to their respective<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ranks\uff0cthe officials and nobles had to wear prescribed clothes with difierent colors\uff0cfigures and qualities\uff0eThe codes  for clothing were highly significant phenomena\uff0eFor example\uff0cunder the Tang dynasty\uff0cthe fifth ranked officiaI used purple\uff0cthe sixth red\uff0cthe seventh green and the ninth black\uff0eIn the Ming and Ching dynasties\uff0cthe embroidered designs and the animal figures on the official dress were more strictly stipulated\uff0eThe same is the case for the material\uff0cpearls on hats\uff0c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

shoes and other pieces of clothing\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e3\uff0e1\uff0eStandards of burial and guards of honor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are two very crucial symbolic systems in ancient China\uff0eThe standards of the burial system recorded in the Chou dynasty reflected the hierarchical ranks of the living\uff0eThe difference of status was first shown through the number of inner and outer coffins\uff0cburial articles and the shape of the grave\uff0eBefore the Ch\u2019in and the Han dynasties\uff0cfor example\uff0cthe shape of graves of emperors and loyal family members was square while that of premiers and generals was round\uff0eIn addition\uff0cthe diffeFence was also shown in the size of tombs and number of stone steps in front of mausoleums as well as in the quality of wood\uff0ccolor and paint of coffins\uff0eThe same was the case with the guards of honor\uff0eThe processional activities of guards of honor were very significant in the political and social life of ancient China, and there were strict specifications as to the number 0f guards and to the symbolic decoration of their uniforms\uff0cin accordance with the political status of the officials involved\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e3\uff0e2\uff0eThe Feng-Chen ritual and the worship of ancestors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u201cFeng-Chen\u201dwas a symbolic ritual to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth\uff0cshowing the emperor\u2019S gratitude for his regime\u2019s earthly success\uff0cand appealing for further divine blessing\uff0eThis was typically done by holdmg a solemn and grandiose ceremony on the top of the Tai Mountain\uff0cwith detailed stipulations as to the color of the participants\u2019clothing\uff0cthe sacrificial articles and the way to kneel during the whole process\uff0eThe dramatic performance was also a demonstranon that a new dynasty had been firmly established under heaven\u2019s authorization\uff0eThe worship of ancestors had a close link with the functioning of the social system\uff0etoo\uff0eThe elaborate rites involving a memorial ceremony to ancestors can be traced to the Shang dynasty\uff0eThe further-developed models formed under the Chou dynasty were f0llowed for the next three millennia, and their complex rules were similarly determined by the ranks of both the deceased and the 1iving\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e3\uff0e3\uff0eForms of Official documents<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The earliest well-developed systems of official documentation can be traced to the Yin or the Shang dynasties\uff0eThe Book of History<\/em> stipulated six difierent genres of omcial correspondence with regard to regulations\uff0cprojects\uff0cinstructions\uff0cnotices\uff0coaths and orders\uff0eUnder the Tang and the Sung dynasties\uff0cthe systems of official documents underwent considerable development\uff0eThere were around eight types of documents used among the various institutions\uff0eThe elaborate classification system of officiaI documents in China reflected and maintained the hierarchical relations and grades of power\uff0eThe specifications concerned touch upon the literary style\uff0cforms\uff0cspecific appelatives\uff0cthe size of the stationery paper, signatures\uff0cseals\uff0cand even the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

serial numbers of documents\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e4\uff0eRituals and customs in daily life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancient China abounded with intricate rituals and over-elaborate formalities\uff0eall reflecting Chinese beliefs, social stratmcations and a great number of symbolizations\uff0eThousands of symbolic systems involving ornaments, actions\uff0cgestures and customs have existed in the various domains\uff0eThe following are some examples\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e4\uff0e1\uff0eThe ritual of birth and the hat-wearing ceremony<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ritual of birth was a grand ceremony with difierent standards in line with the social grades of the participants\uff0cand exhibited through the degree of intricacy\uff0ethe total number of participants and the value of the ceremonial utensils\uff0eThe hat ceremony was held on the day when a son reached l 9 years of age\uff0eIt was performed in the ancestraI temples or halls, under the direction of his father\uff0eIt contains a 15 step process in which, for example\uff0ethe boy is offered the choice from three kinds of hats\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e4\uff0e2\uff0eMarriage systems and the wedding ceremony<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient China a man could have one 1egal wife and several concubines\uff0econstituting\uff0ein other words\uff0epatriarchal monogamy cornbined with sexual polygamy\uff0eIn  fact, women belonged to three levels\uff1athat of a wife\uff0cthat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 of a\u201cying\u201d(often the wife\u2019s sister or maid) or that of a concubine (bought)\uff0eSince the Chou dynasty\uff0ca system called\u201cthe six rites\u201dwas stipulated for the wedding ceremony\uff0eThe standards of the wedding ceremony were furthermore determined according to the social position of the fiance\uff0eThe process was\uff0chowever\uff0csimplified gradually after the Chou dynasty\uff0cparticularly among the wider populace\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\uff0e4\uff0e3\uff0eEtiquette of social intercourse<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very complicated specifications of etiquette were given for when people were to meet each other, in line with their status, relations and situation\uff0eThere were over nine types of meeting etiquette\uff0cand several ways of squatting\uff0ckneeling and sitting\uff0eThe seating order around a banq uet table was also strictly stipulated\uff0eThe order of superiority around the table was east, south, north and west in turn\uff0eFurthermore\uff0cthe specifications for the sequence of serving dishes\uff0cmaking toasts and the content of the drinker\u2019s wager game also reflected the relations between the superior and the inferior\uff0colder and younger\uff0cmale and female\uff0eThe forms of address in various situations were sophisticatedlv fixed to maintain the social superiority of officials over cornmon people\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0eLiterature and historiography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e1\uff0eLiterature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China is a country whose unparalleled written literature stretches continuously over<\/p>\n\n\n\n

three thousand years\uff0eIn ancient China, literary activities were performed in almost every aspect of intellectual and social 1ire\uff0eBefore the end of the Ching dynasty\uff0cevery intellectual was more or less a poet, and almost all written documents of various types contained some literary traits\uff0eChina was also a country ceaselessly and strenuously ensuring the writing of its own history (in an unmatched abundance of historical documents) and also laying high emphasis on the political role of historical writings\uff0eFurthermore, 1iterature and historiographv have always been regarded as two closely connected fields\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e1\uff0e1\uff0eThe literary functions of Chinese characters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese characters have DictograDhical origins and still retain their pictographical elements in their structure\uff0eThe graphical parts of characters can help arouse emotional, volitional and intellectual associations through the directly visual stimulus\uff0cthus producing rich denotations and connOtations\uff0eIn addition\uff0cthe characters have multiple phonetical structures consisting of phoneme\uff0csound and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tones, producing a special musical dimension in literary communication\uff0eMoreover, because different characters share the same size\uff0cthe shapes and forms of sequences of characters are conducive to the rhythmic beauty of regularity in poetic texts\uff0cbeing suited to the arrangements of\u201cduizhang\u201d(matching of sounds and senses in a couple of sentencesl and reiterative locutions\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e1\uff0e2\uff0eThe typology of writing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally\uff0cthe traditional Chinese typology of writing is practical in character\uff0eThe Book of History<\/em> as the earliest compilation of official documents contains various types of writing but its principle of classification is not concerned with rhetoric and functional problems\uff0eInstead, it tries to distinguish between the grades of relations of superiority and intimacy between addressers and addressees\uff0eLater in the Han dynasty a new classification of writings\uff0ccovering 1 2 types\uff0cappeared in the History of the Han<\/em>\uff1a<\/em>Records of Literature and Arts<\/em>\uff0cand accepted the principle of uses and practical functions\uff0eThe first literary typology appeared in the Anthology of Zhao-Ming Prince<\/em> (in the Liang)\uff0cin which the demarcation lines between the categories of 1iterature\uff0cscholarship and documents were drawn up and the entire writing material was divided into 39 types accordingly\uff0eIn the meantime the first book of Chinese criticism appeared\uff1bthis work\uff0cDragon Carvings of a Literary Mind<\/em> , presented a theory to further divide Chinese writing into 33 types\uff0eUntil quite recently, the widely accepted classical typology was that compiled by Yao Nai (1731\u20141815)\uff0cwhich included only 13 categories of functions\uff1adebate\uff0cpreface\uff0cmemo\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

rial to the throne\uff0ccOrrespOndence\uff0eTaking leave\uff0c orders by emperors\uff0c biography, inscriptions on a tablet\uff0cmiscellaneous\uff0eadmonition\uff0ceulogy\uff0cpoetical prose and funeraI orations\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The modern classification of classical Chinese rhythmic writing covers four major sections\uff1aShi(poem)\uff0cCi(1yric metres)\uff0cQu(dramatic verse) and Fu (rhythmic exposition)\uff0ceach of which has differently stipulated  forms and rules\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e1\uff0e3\uff0eStylistics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classical stylistics played an important role in traditional Chinese criticism\uff0eStylistic classification was also the first consideration which actually combined literary\uff0cphilosophical and religious aspects together with Confucianism\uff0cTaoism and Buddhism as the main theoretical foundations\uff0eSuch basic notions as\u201cwill and spirit\u201d,\u201cspiritual flavor\u201d,\u201cimposing manners\u201d\uff0c\u201cimplicit poetic domains\u201d\uff0c\u201cspiritual void\u201d, originating in Taoism and Buddhism\uff0chad become the major aesthetic concepts since the Wei and the Chin(Jin) dynasties\uff0eA11 of these concepts put emphasis on the impressiveness of the subjective mind\uff0cemotional upheaval and connotative implications\uff0crather than on the exterior shapes and images of objects depicted\uff0eObviously disregarding advice to be realistic\uff0cmen of letters preferred the following forln of expression\uff1athe part signifies the whole\uff0cthe explicit signities the implicit and the cause signifies the effect\uff0eIn short, indirect ways of expression were more highly valued than direct ones\uff0eMoreover\uff0cin the Chinese aesthetic tradition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the following axiological order of artistic beauty was generally recognized\uff1athe fixed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

image- its denotation – its connotation – the corresponding spiritual beauty of voidnes – the untouchable charms of spirit\uff1bthe disclosure of the last was taken as the highest artistic domain\uff0eLater\uff0cunder the influence of Buddhism\uff0cstylistic aesthetics was elaborated even further\uff0eThe poet Wang Chang-Ling (died 755 A\uff0eD\uff0e) in his Patterns of Verse<\/em> raised a\u201cthree domain theory\u201dof the material\uff0cthe emotional and the spiritual, and his follower Jiao Ran(also in the Tang dynasty) developed this theory in The Forms of Verse<\/em>. In the Ming and the Ching dynasties\uff0cdue to the furthering of comparative studies between verse and painting\uff0cthe notion of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 spiritual domain attained its apex\uff0eApart from this, one of the well known classifications of stylistic expressions was raised by Si-Kung Tu under the Tang dynasty\uff0eHe described 24 poetic qualities representative of different poetic tastes and imaginary ambiances in Chinese poetry\uff0cshowing a sophisticated insight into stylistic differentiation\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e1\uff0e4\uff0ePoetical structure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese verse in a broad sense covers all kinds of rhythmic writings\uff0cwhile in 8 narrow sense it merely covers the special forms referring to two general categories\uff1athe ancient style of poetry(poems having five or seven characters for each line but without definite length or strict constraints in tonal patterns and rhymes) and the modern style of poetry (poems having a definite number of lines, namely four or eight Iines for two different subclasses, with strict tonal patterns and rhyming schemes)\uff0eThe Chinese poetry in the latter form attained its artistic peak under the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tang dynasty\uff0eThis structurally more regular poetry\uff0cwhich consists of two sub-classes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

called\u201clu\u201d(1iterally\u2018regulated\u2019) and \u201cjue iu\u201d(a kind of\u2018four-sentence poem\u2019)\uff0ewas partly  based on the classical phonology of the Four Tone Scheme<\/em> by Shen Yue(441\u2014513)\uff0eShen divided the four tones into two classes\uff1athe light and the heavy\uff0ccreating a scheme of strictly matching tones\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e1\uff0e5\uff0eThe typology of\u201cCi\u201dPoetry (lyrical verse)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCi\u201das a late form of poetry has a closer link with music than\u201cshi\u201d\uff0eThe apparent discrepancy between Ci\uff0cas a typical form of poetry of Sung times\uff0cand Shi\uff0cas a typical form of poetry of the Tang period, 1ies in that the latter has a definite number of lines for a piece and of characters for a line, while for the former the related numbers are varied but no less regular\uff0eIn contrast to Shi\uff0cwhich covers merely a few types\uff0cCi has over 1 000 types (originating from melodies)\uff0cseveral hundred of which were frequently used\uff0eGenerally\uff0ceach type of Ci with its special name is structurally suitable to express a corresponding emotional tone\uff0eThe possible number of characters in a Ci poem ranges from 14 to 240\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e2\uff0e Historiography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e2\uff0e1\uff0eThe typology of historiographical writings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The officials specializing in keeping written historical records first appeared in the Chou period\uff0eThe first Chinese historical classic\uff0cSpring and Autumn\uff0cwas written by<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confucius\uff0eHistoriographical activities were further developed unter the Han dynasty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with many important publications\uff0cand in Tang and Sung times the activities were more steadily institutionalized\uff0eOnly since the Sung dynasty did the typology of historical writings become more diversified\uff0cincluding the annals type\uff0cthe biographical type\uff0cthe event, recording type\uff0cthe\u201cQi\u2014Jii\u2014Zhu\u201d(records of emperors\u2019deeds and speeches)\uff0cthe\u201cShi-Lu\u201d (actual documents of emperors\u2019political activities)\uff0c\u201cRi-Li\u201dfdocuments made on a day-to-day basis)\uff0cthe\u201cYu-Die\u201d(chronology of emperors\u2019families), the\u201cHui-Dian\u201d(documents of institutions) and the\u201cFang-Zhi\u201d(documents of Iocal governments)\uff0eOther  branches of studies to emerge since the Sung dynasty deal with bronze and stone scripts\uff0cstone tablets\uff0cmoney coins\uff0cjade articles and tablet scripts in general\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. 2\uff0e2\uff0eAppreciative historiography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Chinese historiography is stylistically literary in nature and functionally political, with an evident intention to help strengthen the regimes or dynasties of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

time\uff0eThe historical language was therefore full of terms of praise and criticism\uff0eThe texts of the millions of historical works contain intricate mixtures of factual records and expressions of values\uff0eFor example\uff0ca great number of key words like\u201cwar\u201d,\u201cregime\u201d,\u201cdeath\u201d, etc\uff0ehave many a1ternatives with difierent positive or negative overtones\uff0eThe multiple moral implications of Chinese historical discourse make the scientific descriptions of modern historical research all the more difficult\uff0eAt the same time, however\uff0cthese very traits considerably enrich their literary attraction for scholars\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\uff0e2\uff0e3\uff0eTraditional textuaI criticism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the past two thousand years there have been two general scholarly tendencies concerning the investigation of classics\uff0cboth literary and historical\uff1athe philosophical orientation and the philological orientation\uff0eIf the former was representative of Sung times\uff0cthen the latter was typical of the Ching dynasty\uff0eIn fact, under the Ching the 1atter reached its apex with a well, established discipline called\u201ctextual criticism\u201d, which showed more of a philologically technical rather than<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a hermeneutical character. The 1ater development of this philological technique was in part due to the terror of suppression of free thinking during the Ching period\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0eThe fine arts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0e1\uff0ePainting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fine arts play one of the most important parts in Chinese cultural history\uff0eAs early as six or seven thousand years ago painted pottery appeared\uff0eDuring the Warring States period\uff0csilk painting became the main form of Chinese art\uff1bthis was in turn followed by fresco painting in the Han and Buddhist fresco painting in the Wei and Jin periods\uff0e while the Tang dynasty saw the refinement of painting on clrawmg paper\uff0cwhich was to become the most exquisite Chinese art form\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0e1\uff0e1\uff0e111e typology of paintings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scholars of ancient China had only a fairly weak conception of the typology of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

paintings\uff0ePaintings were in fact classified merely according to the categories of objects depicted\uff0eA Ming scholar Tao Zong Yi in his Notes after the Ploughing  <\/em>(1366) classified all paintings into 1 3 types\uff0cincluding\u201cthe person\u201d\uff0c\u201cthe house\u201d\uff0c\u201cthe scene\u201d\uff0e\u201cthe flower and bird\u201dand others\uff0eAncient Chinese painters tended not to depict many kinds of obiects\uff0cas their interest did not 1ie in an exhaustive description of the world\uff0eInstead\uff0cthe emphasis was laid on stylistic arrangement within a confined space and under strict constraints\uff0cshowing a strong structural interest as determined by artistic heritage and traditional models\uff0eTherefore Chinese painting is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

weak in its representation but rich in its purely spiritual expression\uff0eAnother kind of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

classification is based on the media\uff0ce\uff0eg\uff0e\uff0ca  wall surface\uff0cscreen\uff0cscroll\uff0ca fan or an album of paper\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0e1\uff0e2\uff0eStylistics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient China the critics always were painters themselves\uff0cwhose main critical interest was to judge the quality of paintings and explain the technique and skill involved,  thus showing an obvious practical interest\uff0eA crucial development of Chinese painting in the Chin dynasty was due to the emergence of a new category,\u201cthe mountain and water\u201d (1andscape)\uff0cwhich was quite difierent in purpose from the earlier more practical as well as religious arts\uff0eA famous painting critic\uff0c Xie He(479\u2014502), raised a theory called\u201cthe six methods\u201d, advocating that the loftiest objective of a painter is to express the spirit through depicting images and shapes\uff0eAnother critic\uff0cLu Ji\uff0cat the same time inquired about the difierence between the literary and the drawing media\uff0cwhile Zhu Jing-Xuan in the Tang dynasty presented the\u201cfour basic criteria\u201d\uff1aspiritual charms\uff0cwonderfulness\uff0c potentiality and natural grace\uff0eDuring the same period\uff0eZhang Yan-Yuan more evidently maintained the principle that the spirit is always prior to drawing and explored the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

relations between skilI(density of ink) and style\uff0eIn the Five dynasties\uff0cJing Hao further studied the skills of implementing ink and brush\uff0csummarizing\u201cfour drives\u201din brush strokes\uff0eBut aesthetically speaking\uff0ca step forward in the history of Chinese painting was concluded by Guo Xuan in the Sung period in his Meditations by a Brook<\/em> in the Woods<\/em>, He declared that genuine art could only be made in the category of what he called\u201cthe literary man\u2019s paintings\u201d\uff0eBeyond the traditional technical analysis he even discussed problems of artistic signification\uff0cpresentlng a theory called\u201cthree difierent feelings of remoteness\u201d\uff1ahigh-remoteness (looking at the top of a mountain from its foot), deep-remoteness (looking at the utmost inside ot a mountain from outside)and obscure-remoteness(images disappearing on the horizon)\uff0cconsequently refining the aesthetic subtleties of\u3002feeling\u2019landscape\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewed historically, Chinese landscape painting was at its most developed in Yuan times\uff0eThe painters successfully escaped from the period of Mongolian occupation into the spiritual domain of drawing\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0e1\uff0e3\uff0eLandscape painting and poetical meditation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aesthetics of c!assicaI Chinese landscape painting was more Taoist than Confucian\uff0eThe painters preferred black and white to the old rich colors\uff0cwith a view to more effectively expressing spatial as well as spiritual remoteness\uff0eThey also took more freedom in arranging the composition of figures and blanks\uff0cmaking the latter play the same important and complementary role as the former\uff0eThe key figure of this genre is the mountam as a special signifying complex which had constantly and strongly drawn the attention of painters and poets alike\uff0eIn fact, the ancient painters and poets in their respective media of representation viewed the depicted mountains of their imagination as their eternaI dreamlands\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0e1\uff0e4\uff0eSymbolic functions of depicted objects<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the emphasis on the freehand sketching skill and style\uff0cinterest in representative details was further reduced to a minimum\uff0eThe painters were content with a limited number of image types fixed on their drawing paper\uff0eThe traditionally most favored images were the plum blossom\uff0ccymbidium\uff0echrysanthemum and bamboo in the\u201cstill 1ire\u201dcategory\uff0eI hese four plants were considered symbols of a fine personality\uff0eWithin these figures\uff0cpainters could search for abstract beauty by means of a formalist treatment of lines and curves\uff0eOf these four, the one with the greatest potential for abstraction was bamboo\uff0cits plain form(consisting of stems\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

twings\uff0cleaves and joints)being considered the purest\uff0eThe Yuan period is famous for its numerous bamboo painters\uff0eThe contemporary painter Li Heng in his Models of Bamboo Paintings<\/em> described various rules and norms concerning the proper ways of drawing bamboo joints and Ieaves\uff0eThe Ching is another dynasty noted for bamboo painting\uff1bthe most well known painter of the period\uff0cZheng Ban-Qiao ( 1 693-1 765), 1iked to depict the bamboo images in combination with stones\uff0c which also belonged to the plainest category ofobjects\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0e2\uff0eCalligraphy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese calligraphy is a special synthetic art form\uff0cincorporating both painting and literary aspects\uff0eThe earliest calligraphical examples with some aesthetic effects appeared on the oracle bone scripts\uff0eThe artistic elements of calligraphy manifested themselves through graphic structures caused by particular brush strokes\uff0eCalligraphy emerged as an artistic discipline in Han times\uff0cwhen there were about five alternative systems of graphic scripts available for drawing\uff0eSince the Wei and Chin dynasties\uff0cthis half-painting – half-poem genre had been further developed in combination with the main schools of painting and accepted the same principle as the latter\uff0eWang Xi-Zhi (307\u2014365) was called the sage of Chinese calligraphy, but its heyday came during the Tang period\uff0cwhen this art became a part of\u201cstate learning\u201d\uff0eIn ancient China\uff0cevery writer was also a calligraphist\uff0cand this art has survived to the present\uff0eIts aesthetic signifiers consist in the structure of the stroke lines within individual characters and their combinations in short texts\uff0cexpressing proportional rhythm and inner drive at once\uff0eAlthough the contents of calligraphical works must be poetical, the literary part is in fact only secondary in its aesthetic function\uff0eAs a formalist or abstract form of art\uff0ccalligraphy had often been regarded as similar to and comparable with dance and music in terms of dynamic structure\uff0cfor in all three arts, rhythmic movement is an element of the work\uff0eBy replacing the brush with a knife and paper with stone\uff0ccal1igraphy is turned into the arts of signet and stone script\uff0canother popular genre\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. 3\uff0eThe theory of homological relations between poetry and painting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the rise of the\u2018\u2018literary painting\u201d school\uff0ccomparative studies between poetry and painting were established\uff0cemphasizing the similarity in spirit and objective of the two arts\uff0eFirstly,the sentences of landscape poems then contained more words for concrete objects and images which have their obvious parallels in paintings\uff0ei\uff0ee\uff0e, the visual media\uff0eAt the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of the Sung dynasty,poetical sentences were often used as titles for the subjects of paintings\uff0eIt was widely accepted that poetry and painting were directly communicable to each other\uff0eThis implies that the two sign systems are equivalent in their signification function\uff0eSecondly\uff0cin the corner of the paper used for painting poetic sentences were be inscribed\uff0cthe content of which was complementary to the theme of the painting\uff0cenriching the poetical associations of the pictures concerned\uff0eIn fact, an individual painting was a combination of picture\uff0cpoem\uff0ccalligraphy and signet\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\uff0e4\uff0eSculpture and frescos<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Chou times the materials used for sculpture were bronze\uff0cstone\uff0ciade and wood\uff0eThe arts of sculpture were further developed in Ch\u2019in and Han times\uff0ebut remained practical in character\uff0cand only during the Wei-Chin period were the Buddhist cave stone sculpture and fresco developed to the highest level of this art\uff0eClassical Chinese sculpture and fresco are two art forms of a representative nature and full of historical and religious references\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\uff0e Architecture and gardens<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\uff0e1\uff0eThe typology of Chinese architecture<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Chinese architecture has had a long and continuous history and retained a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

coherent stylistics\uff0eUnder the Shang dynasty\uff0chouses were built with an earthen and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 wooden stucture\uff0eThe main body of a building was its wooden skeleton\uff0csurrounded by upright walls and sloped roofs\uff0eThe types of buildings ranged over palaces\uff0ccivil houses\uff0cstreet networks\uff0ccity walls\uff0ctombs\uff0ctemples\uff0cgardens\uff0ctowers\uff0cpavilions and bridges\uff0eCompared with other cultural manifestations\uff0eChinese architecture more apparently exhibits a symbolic character reflecting political, social\uff0cethical and religious hierarchies\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\uff0e2\uff0eBuildings as symbols of social hierarchies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the totaIitarianization of the Ch\u2019in and Han dynasties\uff0cthe patterns of architecture changed\uff0ePalaces\uff0cfor example\uff0cmore flauntingly displayed worldly dignity. The stipulations of design and techniques of palace building put forward in the ancient technical classic Kao-Gong-Ji<\/em> (it was said to appear in the fifth century<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 B\uff0eC\uff0e) were followed in the successive dynasties\uff0eThe palace was sited in the center ror the northern part of the center)of the capitaI city\uff1bit was square in form and surrounded by city walls with three gates for each point of the compass\uff0eA11 buildings stood in symmetry and the street network resembled a large chessboard\uff0eA substantial private house could consist of several connected courtyards enclosed by walls\uff0eThis structure made each house look 1ike a secluded molecular family world\uff0eInside the courtyards stood the main houses and the side buildings in their ordained positions\uff0eDifierence concerning the size\uff0cdirection and height of rooms obviously reflected the positions the various residents had in the family hierarchy\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\uff0e3\uff0eTemples as synthetical symbolic systems<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese Buddhist temples first appeared at the end of the East Han dynasty and were built on a large scale since the Wei and Chin dynasties\uff0eThe temples accepting the traditional Chinese architectural traditions also consisted of severaI courtyards\uff0eEach yard with a main hall and side halls contained Buddhist figures\uff0eMost temples were built at the foot of a mountain or on its slope\uff0eand afrorded spectacular views\uff0eBeside religious functions\uff0ctemples also became socially important\uff0cproviding visitors with various kinds of symbolism\uff0csuch as scenic beauty\uff0eBuddhist buildings and figures\uff0cpaintings and calligraphical works made by earlier men of letters and the living symbols of monks and nuns connected with the beyond\uff0eMany old temples have indeed become religious and artistic sign systems of their own\uff0cwith rich cultural and historical dimensions\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\uff0e4\uff0eArtistic gardens<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese gardens appeared as early as the 12th century B\uff0eC\uff0eIn Han times the number<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of gardens of emperors and officials was already over 300\uff0eThe Wei dynasty saw a rapid increase in garden building due in part to the flourishing construction of temples\uff0eLater\uff0cunder the influence of the idea of\u201cliterary painting\u201d\uff0cthe architectural aesthetics of Chinese gardens became more sophisticated and independent\uff0eDuring Ming and Ching times private gardens appeared everywhere\uff0cconstitutmg a significant part of a literary mad\u2019s daily lire\uff0eIn practical terms, the gardens in towns helped the official\uff0escholars harmonize the tension between their Confucian and Taoist philosophies\uff0cbeing capable of enjoying political as well as natural lire at the same time\uff0eThe so-called\u201cspiritual-taste garden\u201dis a symbolic whole\uff0cconsisting of surrounding walls (which make the garden an autonomous spot)\uff0crooms\uff0cpavilions\uff0cbridges\uff0ccorridors\uff0cponds\uff0crockeries\uff0cflowers and trees as well as paintings and calligraphical works inside the rooms\uff0eThe garden designers tried to give the impression and feeling of remoteness\uff0cdepth and continuity of the scenes within a narrow space\uff0eFlowers\uff0ctrees\uff0crockeries and walls were specially arranged in order to\u201cobstruct\u201d the visitor\u2019s view\uff1bzig-zag corridors\uff0cpaths\uff0cbridges and net-shaped windows were designed to make visitors only see part of the scenes\uff0cand accordingly to create false lmpresslons of space\uff0eThey also made contrast between brightness and darkness and between emptiness and fullness in garden designs\uff0eFinally, a special skill was called\u201cborrowing scenes\u201d from natural scenes (such as mountams) outside garden walls\uff0eThe garden aesthetics of China manifested a keen knowledge of artistic modes of signifying\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\uff0e5\uff0eThe symbolism of old city walls<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City walls have long been an important cultural phenomenon in Chinese history\uff0eBeside their architectural function\uff0ccity walls\uff0eespecially broken ones\uff0cwere one of the favorite objects to be depicted by poets\uff0eThe desolate aspects of old city walls became strong, historical signifiers\uff0eFor example\uff0ethe city walls of Nanking\uff0cwhich was once the capital city of six successive dynasties\uff0eserves to the present day as a poetic and historical reminder of vanished glories and sorrows\uff0eThe\u201cGreat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wall\u201dof China – a state rather than a city wall\uff0cbecame the traditional symbol of China<\/p>\n\n\n\n

proper\uff0cphysically signifying the rise and the fall of past dynasties\uff0eAs the unique physical signifier ot a historical and geographical body\uff0cit has been used to refer to the survival and failure of a nation, strong will and cruel slavery\uff0cglory and shamelessness in numerous ancient Chinese literary works\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 0\uff0eThe performing arts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10\uff0e1\uff0eMusic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese music was remarkably developed as early as in Chou times\uff0cand was called one of the six great teachings by Confucius\uff0cwho advocated that music play a great role in both education and enjoyment alike\uff0eMusical instruments belonged to four categories\uff1a wind\uff0cpercussion\uff0cstring and pluck instruments, with over 70 and 300 kinds of instruments existing in the Chou and Tang periods respectively\uff0eMusic was generally divided into courtly and folk music\uff0eIn the Tang court\uff0c music covered 1 0 classes\uff0eSince remote antlquity there had existed a five-tone scale consisting of the tones called\u201cgong\u201d\uff0c\u201cshang\u201d\uff0c\u2018’jiao\u201d\uff0c\u2018\u2018zhi\u201d\uff0c\u201cyu\u201d\uff0cwhich are equivalent to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\uff0c2\uff0c3\uff0c5\uff0c6 in numbered musical notation\uff0e Around the 2nd century B\uff0eC\uff0ethis scale evolved into a seven-tone scale with the name \u201cYa-Yue\u201d\uff0eAll semi-tones in the scale formed a system 0f 1 2 pitch-pipes, each of which has a proper name\uff0eBut Chinese music notation was never fully developed\uff0eIn early times there was a\u201cfinger score\u201dwhich indicated the pitches according to the positions in the hole-order of a wind instrument\uff0eLater, scores marked with the strokes of some characters appeared\uff0eAnd a standard\u201cGon-Che\u201d score was formed under the Sung dynasty\uff0c using ten characters to indicate 1 2 pitches\uff0eIt is noteworthy that\uff0ecompared with the Western music of modern times, music as an independent art form has not been highly developed in China\uff0eSince the Tang dynasty\uff0emusical activities have mostly been connected with dance and 1ater with opera\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10\uff0e2\uff0eDance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient China\uff0cdance stemmed from witchcraft\uff0eIn the legendary Hsia times dancing girls called \u201cnu-yue\u201d appeared, who danced at banquets and ceremonies\uff0eThe art of Chinese dance reached its peak in Tang times with the appearance of a special type of courtly dance\uff0eThe Tang dance was developed further in combination with musical and dramatical elements\uff0cand gained more stylization and fixed patterns\uff0eThis synthetic  tendency of dance was strengthened under the Sung dynasty\uff0cuntil the times of opera\uff0eRecording of methods and skills of dancing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

was initially made through figures and special written dance scores in Wei times\uff0eIn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

these brief scores each movement was indicated by one character\uff0cand so it could be only used by contemporary performers\uff0eIn Sung times the much improved\u201cdance score of De-Shaou Palace\u201dappeared, which could describe movements of hands\uff0ceyes\uff0cand body in more detail\uff0cpresenting 36 types of gestures belonging to 9 classes\uff0eIn particular the description of hand movement was more detailed than in any other system\uff0eAfter Yuan times\uff0cdance as an independent art was on the wane\uff0cbut it did develop further in connection with opera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

l 0\uff0e3\uff0eMartial arts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese martial arts were in part formed after dance models\uff0eIn antiquity the two arts were in fact combined\uff0eSince the Tang dynasty\uff0cmany sets of stylized movements have been developed\uff0eApart from being an exercise for self defence, the martial arts were also regarded as a way of cultivating the sell of striving for an ideal personality\uff0eSome famous cycles in boxing 1ike\u201cXing-Yi\u201d,\u201cTai-Ji\u201dand\u201cEight Trigrams\u201dwere partly based on conceptions in the Book of Changes<\/em>\uff0ePerforming with weapons was the most important part of martial arts\uff0eThe codes of Chinese martial arts became a body 1anguage with several practical and symbolic functions\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 0\uff0e4\uff0eTraditional Chinese Opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Chinese Opera represents the highest achievement in the history of Chinese art\uff0eIt is a synthetic art consisting of various elements from music\uff0cdance\uff0cmartial arts, dramatic plots\uff0cpoetry and acrobatics\uff0eThe history of traditional opera can be traced back to early ancient times\uff0cbut it was formally established as 1ate as Yuan and Ming times\uff0eAmong a variety of traditional operas, \u201dKunque\u201dand\u201cPeking Opera\u201dare the most developed\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i 0\uff0e4\uff0e1\uff0eOpera as a synthetic sign system<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional opera of various types can be regarded as a three-dimensional dynamic sign system including three categories of signs\uff1a(1) the spatial-static elements fall visual images On the stage)\uff1b(2) the temporal-dynamic elements (musical and vocal parts)\uff1b(3) the spatio-temporal dynamic elements (processes for performing within the elements from category 1 )\uff0eEach element in the above categories has its signifying functions\uff0cand the\u201crole\u201dundertaken by the actor realizes those functions\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 0\uff0e4\uff0e2\uff0eStylization as a typical way of performing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All patterns of signifying performances are completely prescribed\uff0cshowing a strong<\/p>\n\n\n\n

structural character\uff0eThe creativity of the actors iS 1imited to how they follow this strictly formed syntax of performance\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10\uff0e4\uff0e3\uff0eSign sub-systems in opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An operatic work as a synthetic dynamic system consists of many constitutive sub-systems\uff0csuch as the types of facial make-up, the dramatic costumes\uff0cthe stage props\uff0cthe forills of movement\uff0cetc\uff0eThe make-up stylized to represent the background\uff0ccharacter\uff0csex\uff0cage\uff0cmoral state\uff0crank and biographical story of a particular role\uff0eA1l other sub-systems have their own strictly prescribed repertoire of elements and grammar\uff0eThis indicates that traditionaI Chinese Opera as a language<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of performance does indeed have its own vocabulary and syntax\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 0\uff0e4\uff0e4\uff0e\u201cQu-Pai\u201dor aria-types<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important sign sub-system is that of the melody-patterns called\u201cQu-Pai\u201d,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which is similar to\u201cCi-Pai\u201din poetry\uff0eOne aria-type is a pattern of musical sequences to be filled in with lyrics when used in an opera piece\uff0eA piece consists of hundreds of word-filled aria types which are arranged in a special combination\uff0eThe aria types in all  pieces stay unchanged while the words used and the arrangement of connected aria-types may differ for each piece\uff0eThe reservoir of aria-types numbered several thousand in total, although only a few hundred have been used frequently from generation to generation\uff0eChinese opera\uff0cparticularly Kunqu Opera\uff0cis typical of the structure\uff0eoriented art in Chinese cultural history\uff0e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11\uff0e Selected references (excluded in this websie text; please refer to the original)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The title\u201cSign conceptions in China\u201dmav touch Oil the following possible topics\uff1a(1) traditional ways of thinking in China and act ions with semiotic implications\uff1bf2)traditional Chinese discussions on l; (3) the present-day descripti        (\u4e2d\u56fd\u6587\u5316\u53f2\u4e0a\u7684\u8bb0\u53f7\u6982\u5ff5\u7cfb\u7edf\u6982\u89c8)           Youzheng Li (\u674e\u5e7c\u84b8) \u8f7d\u4e8e:\u300a\u5173\u4e8e\u81ea\u7136\u548c\u6587\u5316\u7684\u8bb0\u53f7\u7406\u8bba\u57fa\u7840\u7684\u624b\u518c\u300b In: \u5fb7\u6587\u4e66\u540d\uff1a Ein Handbuch ZU den zeichentheoretischen Grundlagen yon Natur und Kultur \u82f1\u6587\u4e66\u540d\uff1a A Handbook on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chinese_semiotics"],"yoast_head":"\nSign Conceptions in Chinese Cultural History - 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