Brief introduction and demonstration of Xia dynasty characters

Xia dynasty has a history of more than 500 years, about 4000 years ago. There has always been a great controversy about the existence of the Xia Dynasty, because from the current archaeological excavations, it has not been clearly confirmed that the written materials about the Xia Dynasty have been discovered. However, there are various indications that the characters of Xia Dynasty exist. The following is a brief introduction of the ancient Xia Dynasty characters in China. What is the evidence of the real existence of Xia Dynasty characters? According to the current archaeological excavations, the characters of Xia Dynasty have not been clearly confirmed. However, there are various indications that the characters of Xia Dynasty exist. Ma Heshan, a domestic scholar, thinks that the official script handed down in Xia Dynasty is Xia Zhuan. These characters mainly exist in the form of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty is a relatively complete script, and the so-called "Six Books" in traditional philology are mostly found in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, which is an important symbol of the maturity of its script. The development of Chinese characters is a long historical process. The appearance of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty never fell from the sky, but it should have evolved before it. Therefore, in the pre-Shang era, Xia rulers with higher civilization than Shang should also invent and use characters, which is in line with the law of the occurrence and evolution of characters.

What is the evidence of the existence of Xia Dynasty characters? Some pottery symbols found in the Longshan period in archaeology have obvious writing characteristics, and some of them have been interpreted. Chronologically, the Longshan period was just before the Xia Dynasty, so the Xia Dynasty, which is closely connected with it, should also have its own characters, and it should be more developed and progressive than the pottery characters of the Longshan period. Thirdly, in the archaeological materials of Xia Dynasty, such as pottery unearthed from Erlitou site, many "depicting symbols" were also found. There are the same or similar characters in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty. These facts show that the Xia Dynasty used words and should not be considered as empty talk.

For the records of the Xia Dynasty, please see the following history books: Cang Xie was first mentioned by Xun Qing during the Warring States Period. This was followed by Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals and Han Feizi, both of which were extended on the basis of Xunzi's "many people learn good books, and those who spread them alone". The key points are "Cang Xie writes books" and "Cangjie creates characters" in Huainanzi and Lunheng after the Han Dynasty. Especially in Shu Wei of the Han Dynasty, it is also recorded that Cang Xie "was born with the ability to write, but also got the book recorded by the river, so he changed the world, looked up at the joy of Kuixing, looked down at the feathers of fish and birds, knew mountains and rivers like the back of his hand, and made words" (Chunqiu Yuanming) Lu Chunqiu? ; Review? ; JUNSHOU said, "Xizhong is a car, Cang Xie is a book, Hou Ji is a crop, Hao Tao is a punishment, Kunwu is a pottery, and Xia Ying is a city. These six people did a good job. " Huainanzi in the Western Han Dynasty? ; It is recorded in the training of repairing affairs: "Shi Di can produce books." Gaoyou Note: "Cang Xie, the emperor in history, was born to watch birds and know how to write books, so he was called the emperor in history, or the emperor." Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi? ; "Biography of Xu" also said: "From the history of the Yellow Emperor, I saw traces of birds and animals, and he knew the differences and differences. At the beginning, he made a book contract, and every work was V, and everything was reviewed. " In the book Life in the Spring and Autumn Period and Yuan Dynasty, it is recorded that Cang Xie "has a bright face, four eyes, real virtue and a natural ability to write.". Therefore, the change of the poor world, looking up at the round song of Kuixing, overlooking the mountains and rivers of turtles, birds and feathers, making words with the palm of your hand, the sky is rain millet, ghosts cry at night, Long Yin. "

Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi": "At the beginning of Cang Xie's book, Gai Yi was like an pictograph, so it was called the text; After that, the form and sound complement each other, that is, the word-the word is rich in milk. Bamboo and silk are called books, and writers are also. " Wait, it is recorded in many history books. There seems to be no doubt that Cangjie created characters, and some people can't object to it today. Although they put forward various excuses, it didn't help. Cangjie word-making is Cangjie word-making. As early as 5,000 years ago, Cang Xie, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, not only created characters, but also compiled them and popularized them, which has been passed down to this day. 【 Huainanzi. "On Training" contains: "Xia will die, the teacher will die, run in business first, and Jie will die three years later." 【 Lu Chunqiu. Master Xia finally ordered him to show his painting, and he cried. The more confused Xia Jie is, the more violent he is. Taishi made the end of the ancient times to escape the business. "The graphic method here refers to the books, legal documents and codes that bind the son of heaven. From the above quotations, it can be seen that there were historians, books and figures in the Xia Dynasty, which is beyond doubt. In addition [Shangshu. Toast] records a passage that Duke Zhou said to the adherents of Shang Dynasty:' Only you know, only Yin's ancestors have books and classics, and Yin died in the summer.' It can be seen from here that the ancient books of Yin ancestors were inherited from Xia Dynasty and used by Shang Dynasty after transformation. [Xia Yushu] and [Wang Yu Monument] are Xia Dynasty characters, which are Xia seal scripts. Xia Zhuan Tie is the official script of Xia Dynasty.

What is the relationship between the official script of Xia Dynasty and that of Shang and Zhou Dynasties? On the whole, the characters of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties can be three generations, belonging to the same line and the same strain. They all came from the word-making of Cang Xie in the era of the Yellow Emperor, from the same family, belonging to close relatives, and they are close relatives who keep breaking bones and connecting tendons. Why do ancient scholars always associate Xia, Shang and Zhou? It is because there is an inseparable thing between them, that is, the same words, the same culture and the same civilization tightly twist them together. What needs to be pointed out here is that the ancestors of the Shang Dynasty were originally ethnic minorities in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and they were nomadic people. They didn't inherit and use the official script of Xia Dynasty after driving Xia Jie away as Tang, because they didn't know much about official script and culture, and they didn't attach importance to it. When he arrived in Pan Geng, he moved the capital to Yin, and then widely used folk characters handed down from Xia Dynasty. This is the real reason for the disparity between the official script of Xia Dynasty and the folk-custom script of Shang Dynasty. Although separated by more than 300 years, the official script of Xia Dynasty still retains its advantages over the popular script of Shang Dynasty. To use an inaccurate metaphor, although she was a Beijing woman 300 years ago, she was much more fashionable than a country girl 300 years later. This is the fundamental reason why Xia Dynasty's writing was more advanced than Shang Dynasty's Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions in the Zhou Dynasty was the inheritance of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in the Shang Dynasty, and it didn't develop much. Zhou Ren was originally the surname of Ji who lived in Qishui Dynasty. Their agriculture is very developed, and they are of the same origin as the surname of Si. They have nothing special. In summer, they used the Xia script, while in business, Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Zhou Wuwang used it under the banner that the emperor ordered the revival of the Xia Dynasty. When the Shang and Zhou Dynasties were driven away and the Zhou Dynasty was established, Zhou Tianzi resumed using Xia Zhuan, the official script of the Xia Dynasty.

What is the process of maturity and progress of Xia Dynasty characters? These Xia Zhuan fonts are very mature, standardized, round and symmetrical, which is a very progressive writing method. Oracle Bone Inscriptions, on the other hand, is very primitive and backward, and there are many variant characters, which are the characteristics of folk customs. Words are like people. If you don't advance, you will retreat. If you don't use them often or rarely, these words will become obsolete and degenerate. Although the Shang dynasty had a country of more than 600 years, in the first 300 years, the kings of the Shang dynasty had been fighting for everything and were in a state of moving their capitals frequently. The Shang Dynasty had few people, lived by nomadism, had no characters and paid no attention to culture, which led to the abandonment of the characters in the whole Xia Dynasty. After Pan Geng moved to Yin, due to the prosperity of divination, the folk characters of Xia Dynasty came in handy, and the process and results of divination were engraved on the bones of tortoise shells and beasts with Xia characters, which resulted in Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

The discovery of Xia Zhuan Tie shows us the real official writing of Xia Dynasty. It is not only less primitive and backward than Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, but also more advanced, mature and beautiful than Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty. In 992, Wang Shouzhi, a bachelor of Hanlin, ordered him to compile ten volumes of Spring Pavilion Posts, of which the fifth volume contained twenty-eight characters of Shu and twelve characters of Xia Yu Shu. In addition, there are 77 words in Gouloufeng, Hengshan, Hunan, with a total of * * * 117 words.

Among them, the Book of Cang Xie has been recorded in history, while Zheng Qiao was in the Southern Song Dynasty. Jin Shilu] said; "Cang Xie Shishi Ji", Cang Xie Beihai Tomb has 28 characters, which scholars call the library. Since no one knew Zhou, Li Si knew eight of them, Shu Suntong knew thirteen of them, and Confucius visited Yan together. "As for Hengshan Mountain, it was first seen in the book Guang Zhi, edited by Zhang Yi, wei ren of the Three Kingdoms. There is a saying that there is a memorial stone on the peak of Goulou. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Li Daoyuan also recorded the content that "the jade tablet is a tadpole" in his Notes on Shuijing.