Comments on: “鬻” http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/ disoriented in the orient Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:30:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Turtles, lots, and proof simplification wasn’t all bad : John Biesnecker http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-2228 Turtles, lots, and proof simplification wasn’t all bad : John Biesnecker Mon, 08 Jan 2007 02:52:54 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-2228 [...] Then, in the course of my varied and meaningless reading, I stumbled upon a character that reaffirmed my belief that, for all its faults, simplification was the way to go. The new word I encountered was 抓阄, meaning “to draw lots.” I wasn’t familiar with the second character, so I looked it up only to discover that it was the simplified variant of 鬮, a 26-stroke monster that uses 龜 (simplified: 龟) as its phonetic component (according to Wenlin both 鬮 and 龜 are pronounced gau in Cantonese, but in Mandarin they are jiu and gui, respectively). I’d like to think this character was created to describe thrilling Han Dynasty turtle fights (鬮 = 鬥 (斗, “fight”) + 龜 (龟, “turtle”)) that were later banned by a turtle-loving Emperor, thus leaving people no choice but to draw lots when settling disputes, but more likely it was the result of one-upmanship by bored scholars. [...] [...] Then, in the course of my varied and meaningless reading, I stumbled upon a character that reaffirmed my belief that, for all its faults, simplification was the way to go. The new word I encountered was 抓阄, meaning “to draw lots.” I wasn’t familiar with the second character, so I looked it up only to discover that it was the simplified variant of 鬮, a 26-stroke monster that uses 龜 (simplified: 龟) as its phonetic component (according to Wenlin both 鬮 and 龜 are pronounced gau in Cantonese, but in Mandarin they are jiu and gui, respectively). I’d like to think this character was created to describe thrilling Han Dynasty turtle fights (鬮 = 鬥 (斗, “fight”) + 龜 (龟, “turtle”)) that were later banned by a turtle-loving Emperor, thus leaving people no choice but to draw lots when settling disputes, but more likely it was the result of one-upmanship by bored scholars. [...]

]]> By: Erica http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1653 Erica Wed, 06 Dec 2006 23:37:57 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1653 I love the character for pregnant 孕 which combines the characters for uterus and child. I also use Wenlin and can't imagine what I'd do without it. I use Wenlin more than any other computer software. I love the character for pregnant 孕 which combines the characters for uterus and child. I also use Wenlin and can’t imagine what I’d do without it. I use Wenlin more than any other computer software.

]]> By: chunmu http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1121 chunmu Sun, 10 Sep 2006 12:16:20 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1121 Hello I readed your some articles that surprised me. I think, you are great man as a freign.Fighting!!!!! Hello I readed your some articles that surprised me. I think, you are great man as a freign.Fighting!!!!!

]]> By: 花崗齋之愚公 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1092 花崗齋之愚公 Mon, 04 Sep 2006 18:59:13 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1092 Great, great post! Keep up the good writing. Great, great post! Keep up the good writing.

]]> By: Unusual Chinese Characters by Asia Blog http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1087 Unusual Chinese Characters by Asia Blog Mon, 04 Sep 2006 04:58:21 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1087 [...] If you thought you knew everything there is to express in the Chinese language, Bokane’s latest post will probably enlighten you.  It’s a delicious trek through linguistics and the derivation of characters as seen through a modern non-native viewpoint.  Warning:  salient language ahead. [...] [...] If you thought you knew everything there is to express in the Chinese language, Bokane’s latest post will probably enlighten you.  It’s a delicious trek through linguistics and the derivation of characters as seen through a modern non-native viewpoint.  Warning:  salient language ahead. [...]

]]> By: Lu http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1058 Lu Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:22:07 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1058 Nothing to add, just want to say that I love this post. Nothing to add, just want to say that I love this post.

]]> By: Brendan O'Kane http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1041 Brendan O'Kane Mon, 14 Aug 2006 08:49:50 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1041 Also, 燕亭视野: There’s a really handy online interface to the 説文解字 (and to scans of seal and oracle-bone forms of characters) at <a href="http://internationalscientific.org" rel="nofollow">InternationalScientific.org</a>. I use it all the time. Wish someone would do the same thing for the 辞海 - I have a copy of it, but it’s the 缩印版, and I haven’t gotten around to getting reading glasses, so looking anything up is a royal pain in both the eye and the ass. Actually, what I would really love to see is a version of the Cihai for <a href="http://www.plecodict.com" rel="nofollow">Plecodict</a>. Right now, Pleco does offer the Unihan character database, but that doesn’t give any etymological information. Actually, Pleco’s per-character (as opposed to per-word) definitions are the weakest point of the software. Also, 燕亭视野: There’s a really handy online interface to the 説文解字 (and to scans of seal and oracle-bone forms of characters) at InternationalScientific.org. I use it all the time. Wish someone would do the same thing for the 辞海 - I have a copy of it, but it’s the 缩印版, and I haven’t gotten around to getting reading glasses, so looking anything up is a royal pain in both the eye and the ass.

Actually, what I would really love to see is a version of the Cihai for Plecodict. Right now, Pleco does offer the Unihan character database, but that doesn’t give any etymological information. Actually, Pleco’s per-character (as opposed to per-word) definitions are the weakest point of the software.

]]> By: Brendan O'Kane http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1039 Brendan O'Kane Sun, 13 Aug 2006 08:30:28 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1039 Magnus - cheers; I remember hearing something about that a while back. I'll have to look for it - am planning a trip to the Beida library some time in the near-ish future anyway. Magnus - cheers; I remember hearing something about that a while back. I’ll have to look for it - am planning a trip to the Beida library some time in the near-ish future anyway.

]]> By: Magnus http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1034 Magnus Thu, 10 Aug 2006 13:19:39 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1034 Small amendment to my comment: The 李荣 article is in 方言 1982.241-244 with the title论“入”字的音. A good and funny read by the late old grumpy professor 李荣. Small amendment to my comment: The 李荣 article is in 方言 1982.241-244 with the title论“入”字的音. A good and funny read by the late old grumpy professor 李荣.

]]> By: zhwj http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1027 zhwj Tue, 08 Aug 2006 05:32:17 +0000 http://bokane.org/2006/08/06/yu4-and-other-cool-chinese-characters/#comment-1027 燕亭视野: nope. 宀 + 鵒 燕亭视野: nope. 宀 + 鵒

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