Character derivation means that if a graph represents several meanings, a new graph based on the original one will be created to bear one or two of the meanings, which is a natural law in Chinese writing system. The o...Character derivation means that if a graph represents several meanings, a new graph based on the original one will be created to bear one or two of the meanings, which is a natural law in Chinese writing system. The old graph is called original character, and the new generated one is called derived character. Two kinds of phenomena-derivation of cognate words （同詞孳乳） and differentiation of unidentical words （異詞別異）-promote the derivation of Chinese characters. In return, derived characters not only bear meaning of the original one, but also serve as a symbol of an independent word and consolidate the graph-meaning relationship. It deserves much attention to the law of the process of character derivation.展开更多
文摘Character derivation means that if a graph represents several meanings, a new graph based on the original one will be created to bear one or two of the meanings, which is a natural law in Chinese writing system. The old graph is called original character, and the new generated one is called derived character. Two kinds of phenomena-derivation of cognate words （同詞孳乳） and differentiation of unidentical words （異詞別異）-promote the derivation of Chinese characters. In return, derived characters not only bear meaning of the original one, but also serve as a symbol of an independent word and consolidate the graph-meaning relationship. It deserves much attention to the law of the process of character derivation.
