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The story of Cangjie inventing Chinese
characters is an ancient and widely circulated Chinese mythological tale
that recounts the origin of this great cultural symbol, the Chinese language.
仓颉造字的故事是中国古代一个广为流传的神话传说,讲述了汉字这一伟大文化符号的起源。
In remote antiquity, Huangdi, the leader of
the Huaxia people, ruled over vast territories. Among his tribe was a sage
named Cangjie, reputed to possess extraordinary wisdom and insight, along with
four eyes that enabled him to discern the mysteries of all things in the world.
Serving as Huangdi's historiographer, Cangjie was responsible for documenting
significant events within the tribe.
在远古时期,黄帝作为华夏民族的首领,统治着广阔的领土。在他的部落中,有一位名叫仓颉的智者,据传他有着非凡的智慧与洞察力,有四只眼睛,能洞察世间万物的奥秘。仓颉担任黄帝的史官,负责记录部落的重要事务。
In those early times, human society had yet
to develop a writing system, relying instead on oral tradition and rudimentary
physical markings—such as knot tying and carved symbols—to convey information
and preserve important occurrences. As society advanced and civilization
progressed, these methods became increasingly inadequate to meet the growing
complexity of information exchange. In Huangdi's tribe, with its growing population
and abundant resources, there was a pressing need to record an ever-increasing
volume of diverse and rapidly changing data, which could no longer be
accurately or efficiently managed through memory or simple signs alone.
最初,人类社会尚未拥有文字,只能通过口耳相传或者简单的实物标记(如结绳记事、刻画符号等)来传递信息和记忆重要事件。随着社会的发展和文明的进步,这种方式越来越难以满足日益复杂的信息交流需求。特别是在黄帝的部落中,人口增长、物产丰富,需要记录的内容愈发繁多且变化频繁,仅凭记忆或简单的记号已经无法准确、高效地管理这些信息。
So, Cangjie decided he needed to come up
with something new, something that could really nail down ideas and knowledge
for good. He set off on this long journey of figuring stuff out and trying
things out.
于是,仓颉决定致力于创造一种新的表达工具,能够精确、持久地记录和传达各种思想与知识。他开始了漫长的探索与实践过程。
According to legend, Cangjie studied
nature, drawing inspiration from the myriad forms found in the heavens and
earth. He observed the distinct footprints of birds and beasts, the textures of
mountains and rivers, and the diverse shapes of plants and flowers, each
holding its own unique symbolic significance. The simple yet vivid imprints
left by birds in the sand and the tracks of insects particularly struck him,
demonstrating how individual characteristics could be clearly represented.
These natural phenomena illuminated Cangjie, teaching him that he could create
symbols representative of specific concepts by mimicking natural forms and
abstracting their attributes.
传说中,仓颉观察大自然,从天地万物中汲取灵感。他注意到鸟兽足迹、山川纹理、草木花叶的形态各异,各有其独特的象征意义。特别是鸟儿在沙地上留下的爪印,以及昆虫爬过的痕迹,虽然简单,却清晰地呈现出它们各自的特点。这些自然现象启发了仓颉,使他认识到可以通过模拟自然形态、抽象其特征来创造出代表特定概念的符号。
After much trial and refinement, Cangjie
succeeded in creating the first Chinese characters. Each character shape
embodied a particular meaning, usable both independently and in combination to
form words and phrases expressing complex ideas and emotions. Some characters
mimicked animal forms, others depicted object shapes, still others symbolized
natural phenomena, and some reflected human activities. Through the combination
and variation of strokes, Chinese characters not only demonstrated remarkable ideographic
capability but also displayed artistic beauty.
经过反复试验与提炼,仓颉终于创造出了最初的汉字。每个字形都蕴含特定的意义,既可以单独使用,也可以组合成词句,表达复杂的概念和情感。这些字形有的模仿动物形态,有的描绘物体形状,有的象征自然现象,还有的反映人类活动。通过笔画的组合与变化,汉字不仅具有高度的表意能力,还展现出艺术美感。
The legend further recounts that when
Cangjie successfully created the characters, heaven rewarded his achievement by
sending down a shower of millet grains, symbolizing that the birth of writing
would bring forth abundant knowledge and wisdom—this event marking the origin
of the Grain Rain solar term.
当仓颉成功造字的那一刻,上天为了酬劳他的功绩,下了一场谷子雨,象征着文字的诞生将带来丰饶的知识与智慧,这便是谷雨节气的由来。
Cangjie has since been revered by posterity
as the "Sage of Character Creation," symbolizing the profound roots
and sacred status of Chinese character culture.
仓颉也被后世尊奉为“造字圣人”,象征着汉字文化的深远源头与神圣地位。
说明:文中部分图片来源于网络,如有侵权,请联系删除。
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