Chinese / Oliver Moore.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Moore, Oliver.

Series:

Reading the past

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese characters--History.

Chinese characters.

History.

Chinese language--Writing--History.

Chinese language--Writing.

Physical Description:

80 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2000]

Summary:

Since the emergence of the earliest discernible process of writing, in northern China around 1200 BC, the Chinese system has been used by millions of speakers. This book demystifies one of the world's oldest writing systems, introducing the basic principles of the language, the formation of written characters, and the ways these characters have developed. Drawing on evidence from numerous artifacts in the British Museum and elsewhere, the author describes, chronologically, several of the major scripts used to write on each material, from the earliest oracle bones to calligraphic works of art.

Contents:

1 Languages in China 7

2 The Chinese Writing System 11

3 Early Evidence in Divination Texts 18

4 Developments during the Bronze Age 33

5 Writing in a Unified Empire 54

6 The Endurance of Chinese Writing 73.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 77-78) and index.

ISBN:

0520228448

OCLC:

46824749