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Introduction

The Chinese script is one of the most important achievements of Chinese civilization and has played a vital role in maintaining a cultural continuity for more than three millennia. To this day, it remains an iconic feature of Chinese culture that not only connects Chinese people with their past (even after the modern simplification of the script) but also provides a fully functional alternative to alphabetic writing systems in our information age. Although various graphic marks are known from Neolithic sites as early as 6,000 BCE (e.g., in Jiahu, Henan), the first examples of written texts come from the late Shang period, around 1,200 BCE. These are the oracle-bone inscriptions used in the Shang court as records of divination related to state affairs. Most specialists agree that these early inscriptions, carved onto turtle plastrons and ox scapulae, present a fully mature writing system capable of recording contemporary spoken language. Yet there may have been an earlier stage of which we still do not have archaeological evidence. Attempts to link Shang writing with Neolithic symbols have been unconvincing, primarily because of the gap of several thousand years between them. But starting with the late Shang period, we have an unbroken continuity of archaeological materials with writing on them, including oracle bones, bronze inscriptions, and bamboo and silk manuscripts. Although paper is known from at least the 2nd century BCE, it became widespread as a medium for writing only around the 4th century CE, after which it almost completely replaced all earlier media. In the meantime, the script itself also evolved from its Shang form and became increasingly sophisticated as a growing number of characters developed toward greater structural complexity. The reform of the script initiated in 221 BCE by Li Si 李斯 (280?–208 BCE), the First Emperor’s chancellor, at least symbolically marked a transition from the “ancient” script of the pre-Qin era to the “modern” script of dynastic China. Although this “modern” script underwent significant changes from the Qin-Han (221 BCE–AD 220) through the Sui-Tang (581–906) periods, in terms of their structure and the principles behind their composition, Chinese characters essentially remained the same.

General Overviews

There are many introductions to the Chinese script in a variety of languages, written for different audiences. While Allen 1984 attempts to provide a point of entry for Western students, the two books by the eminent Japanese scholar Shirakawa Shizuka (Shirakawa 1976 and Shirakawa 1978) provide easily digestible accounts for readers already familiar with the script but not its history. Boltz 1999 and Norman 1988 express a linguistic point of view, whereas Qiu 2000 and Tang 1965 lay out the basic principles of the field of Chinese paleography.

Allen, Joseph Roe. “Chinese Script and Lexicography for the Uninitiated.” Chinese Language Teachers Association 19.3 (1984): 35–86.
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An elementary introduction to Chinese writing and lexicography for the nonspecialist. Discusses certain misconceptions (e.g., pictographic nature) concerning the script, and explicates the three “generations” in the script’s historical evolution, which largely correspond to the “three-fold” model of evolution advanced by Tang Lan 唐蘭 in his Guwenzixue daolun 古文字學導論 (Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanzu, 1935).
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Boltz, William G. “Language and Writing.” In The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy, 74–123. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
DOI: 10.1017/CHOL9780521470308 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The second half of this introduction is devoted to Chinese writing (the first to language), approaching the subject primarily from the point of view of the historical development of the different types of characters. Divides the evolution of early Chinese writing into “zodiographic,” “multivalent,” and “determinative” stages.
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Norman, Jerry. Chinese. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
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Chapter 3 of this book is devoted to Chinese writing, explaining its relationship with the Chinese language and its evolution from the earliest stages and the Qin-Han period to the medieval and modern periods. Also discusses the adaptability of the script to other languages, such as Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese.
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Qiu Xigui 裘錫圭. Chinese Writing. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and The Institute of East Asian Studies of the University of California Berkeley, 2000. Translated by Gilbert L. Mattos and Jerry Norman.
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English translation of Qiu Xigui’s authoritative work (Wenzixue gaoyao [文字学概要], Beijing: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1988), a comprehensive overview of the Chinese writing system, including its origins, evolution, and structure. The book provides a detailed analysis of the types of characters and contrasts traditional understandings with knowledge derived from recent archaeological finds.
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Shirakawa Shizuka 白川静. Kanji no sekai: Chūgoku bunka no genten (漢字の世界: 中国文化の原点). Vols. 1–2 Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1976.
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A book for the general audience on the history and nature of Chinese writing. Besides an overview of the historical development of the script, the author also provides a wealth of information about the social contexts in which writing was used and demonstrates its vital role in early Chinese society.
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Shirakawa Shizuka 白川静. Kanji hyakuwa (漢字百話). Tokyo: Chūō kōronsha, 1978.
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A collection of a hundred short writings about Chinese characters. The stories appear grouped into different topics (e.g., linguistics, archaeology, philosophy), all related to Chinese characters. The book is a fairly successful attempt to make paleography more accessible and introduce paleography to a wider audience.
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Tang Lan 唐蘭. Zhongguo wenzixue (中國文字學). Hong Kong: Taiping shuju, 1965.
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An introduction to Chinese paleography with a strong emphasis on the early period of the script, including its origins and subsequent evolution. Discusses in detail the orthographic structure of characters and provides an insightful critique of traditional interpretations based on the principles of liushu 六書 (Six Scripts; see Structure of Characters).
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Nature of the Script

Understandably, the question that generated the greatest interest in the West with regard to Chinese writing was that of the nature of the script, that is, what the main principles behind it are and how characters are formed. Scholars from within the Chinese script tradition have tended to take it for granted, while it is mostly foreign scholars who have problematized the issue. By now, however, the “ideographic” approach has been largely refuted and is usually met with only in nonacademic circles. Especially prominent in related scholarship is the debate between leading Western sinologists whether Chinese writing is “ideographic” and can represent ideas directly without reference to language (i.e., speech). Recognizing the inherent difficulties in reconciling modern studies of the script with the terminology used in traditional scholarship, Boodberg 1957 proposes a new set of terminology for the field, whereas Bottéro 2002 argues for a new interpretation of some of the most basic traditional terms. Chao 1940, Lundbæk 1988, and Rusk 2007 introduce specific cases of how Chinese characters were understood in pre-modern Europe. Pelliot 1936 and Lurie 2006 both provide comments on the academic debate over the “ideographic” nature of the Chinese script.

Boodberg, Peter A. “The Chinese Script: An Essay on Nomenclature (The First Hecaton).” Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 29 (1957): 113–120.
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An attempt to improve the academic terminology related to Chinese writing, in many cases through coining new terms—primarily using Greek and Latin roots—that would reflect their meaning more accurately. The word “hecaton” in the title refers to the fact that a hundred such terms are proposed and explained.
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Bottéro, Françoise. “Revisiting the Wen and the Zi: The Great Chinese Characters Hoax.” Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 74 (2002): 14–33.
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Reexamines the terms wen 文 and zi 字 used in the Shuowen jiezi 說文解字, rejecting their usual interpretation as “noncompound” and “compound” characters. Attempts to clarify the relationship between writing and language in the Shuowen, arguing for an overlooked metaphysical and philosophical dimension in the dictionary.
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Chao, Yuen Ren. “A Note on an Early Logographic Theory of Chinese Writing.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 5.2 (1940): 189–191.
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A short note in support of Boodberg’s logographic theory of the Chinese script (Boodberg 1937 and Boodberg 1940, cited under Phoneticians). Draws attention to the work of 19th-century scholar Peter S. Du Ponceau, who, despite his inevitable shortcomings, claimed as early as 1838 that Chinese writing represented speech, rather than directly conveying ideas.
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Lundbæk, Knud. The Traditional History of the Chinese Script: From a Seventeenth Century Jesuit Manuscript. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 1988.
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An early Jesuit manuscript about the nature of the Chinese script. The book includes facsimile images of the original Latin manuscript with English translation, followed by some notes by the translator. This is a fascinating witness of a European presentation of the traditional Chinese understanding of the composition of characters.
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Lurie, David B. “Language, Writing, and Disciplinarity in the Critique of the ‘Ideographic Myth’: Some Proleptical Remarks.” Language and Communication 26.3–4 (2006): 250–269.
DOI: 10.1016/j.langcom.2006.02.015 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An insightful analysis of the “Critique of the Ideographic Myth” of DeFrancis and Unger (see DeFrancis 1984, DeFrancis 1989, Unger 1990, and Unger 2004, cited under Phoneticians), which argues against the notion that the Chinese script conveys ideas directly, as opposed to being a graphic representation of speech. Discusses the debate within a disciplinary framework, providing astute observations about modern linguistics and sinology.
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Pelliot, Paul. “Brèves remarques sur le phonétisme dans l’écriture chinoise.” T’oung Pao 32 (1936): 162–166.
DOI: 10.1163/156853236X00065 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A short editorial comment to Creel’s article on Chinese ideography (Creel 1936, cited under Champions of Ideography), taking issue with the conceptual framework of the study. Claims that Creel went too far in denying the phonetic element in Chinese characters and by doing so created an artificial gap between writing and language.
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Rusk, Bruce. “Old Scripts, New Actors: European Encounters with Chinese Writing, 1550–1700.” East Asian Science, Technology and Medicine 26 (2007): 68–116.
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A fascinating account of European attitudes and curiosity toward the Chinese script during the 16th and 17th centuries, which coincided with a boom in interest in paleography and philology among native Qing scholars. Argues that this was also the time when myths about the script’s universality and ideographic nature were born.
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Champions of Ideography

The so-called champions of ideography are scholars who argue—mainly from the philological perspective of traditional sinology—in favor of the semantic significance of Chinese characters and their ability to express meaning independently of speech. The debate is initially sparked by Creel’s article “On the Nature of Chinese Ideography” (Creel 1936), which provokes a strong response from Boodberg (Boodberg 1937, cited under Phoneticians), followed by Creel 1939 and Boodberg 1940 (cited under Phoneticians). Over half a century later, showing that the issue was far from settled, Hansen 1993 criticizes the anti-ideographic approach of Western linguists.

Creel, Herrlee G. “On the Nature of Chinese Ideography.” T’oung Pao 32 (1936): 85–161.
DOI: 10.1163/156853236X00056 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Takes issue with Western theories of the evolution of writing systems, which see the Chinese script as being at a more primitive stage than phonetic alphabetic systems. Opposes the model of unilinear evolution and insists that the “ideographic” model of East Asia is just as valid as the phonetic one.
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Creel, Herrlee G. “On the Ideographic Element in Ancient Chinese.” T’oung Pao 34 (1939): 265–294.
DOI: 10.1163/156853238X00144 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A defense of the theory of the “ideographic” nature of Chinese writing advanced earlier by the author but subsequently criticized by Boodberg (Boodberg 1937, cited under Phoneticians). Argues against a purely phonetic explanation of Chinese characters and maintains that both phonetic and semantic aspects played a role in their origin and development.
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Hansen, Chad. “Chinese Ideographs and Western Ideas.” The Journal of Asian Studies 52.2 (1993): 373–399.
DOI: 10.2307/2059652 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A look at the ideographic versus logographic controversy from the point of view of analytic philosophy. Criticizes “prohibitionist” theories of linguists such as DeFrancis (e.g., DeFrancis 1984, cited under Phoneticians) and argues that traditional Chinese theories of language and the notion of Chinese ideographs can help us realize some of our Western misconceptions in this respect.
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Phoneticians

The so-called phoneticians are scholars who take issue with the notion of the ideographic nature of the Chinese script. They predominantly come from a Western linguistic background, believe that all writing systems by default represent speech, and argue that the Chinese script—or any script, for that matter—could not communicate ideas directly without the agency of spoken language. Boodberg 1937 and Boodberg 1940 are the articles that first raised objections against understanding Chinese characters as ideographs, and thus triggered the debate. The two books of John DeFrancis (DeFrancis 1984 and DeFrancis 1989) are highly influential both in sinological circles and among the nonspecialists. Unger 1990 and Unger 2004 examine the same issue from the perspective of Japan. Significantly less convincing, especially in view of China’s recent economic rise, is the argument in Hannas 1997 and Hannas 2003, which maintain that the nature of the script hinders East Asian countries in their development.

Boodberg, Peter A. “Some Proleptical Remarks on the Evolution of Archaic Chinese.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 2 (1937): 329–372.
DOI: 10.2307/2717943 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A passionate critique of the “ideographic” model of Chinese writing advanced by Creel (Creel 1936, cited under Champions of Ideography). Re-examines the nature of the Chinese script and the etymology of a series of characters, with an emphasis on identifying the “living tissue of the Word” (p. 329) behind the graphs and breaking away from the “ideographic” approach.
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Boodberg, Peter A. “‘Ideography’ or Iconolatry?” T’oung Pao 35 (1940): 266–288.
DOI: 10.1163/156853239X00062 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A response to Creel’s defense of the notion of “ideography” in Chinese writing (Creel 1939, cited under Champions of Ideography), according to which Chinese characters conveyed ideas directly, rather than through the medium of sound. Insists on the phonetic and logographic nature of characters, and demonstrates that the ideographic examples given by Creel are actually phonetic compounds.
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DeFrancis, John. The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1984.
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The book is partly devoted to writing, discussing its nature and relationship with speech from the perspective of modern linguistics. Part III attempts to demystify Chinese characters, refuting commonly held notions such as the ideographic nature of the script or its universality, arguing for its replaceability with a phonetic alphabet.
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DeFrancis, John. Visible Speech: The Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1989.
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A general study of writing by a specialist of Chinese, to correct former views about the “pictographic,” or “ideographic,” nature of the script and to integrate it into the global family of writing systems. Among the various scripts, Chinese is discussed under the category of “meaning-plus-sound syllabic systems.”
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Hannas, William C. Asia’s Orthographic Dilemma. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1997.
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A critique of the efficiency of the Chinese script as used in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Inspired by the work of DeFrancis, the book argues that the Chinese character-based scripts used in these four countries are an obstacle to scientific creativity and should be replaced with alphabetic writing.
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Hannas, William C. The Writing on the Wall: How Asian Orthography Curbs Creativity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.
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Puts forward the hypothesis that countries that use Chinese characters “suffer a creativity deficit.” Claims—without actual experimental support—that the script prevents people in these countries from thinking analytically and thus they have a handicap vis-à-vis Westerners, who use the alphabet and thus develop a more creative cognitive framework.
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Unger, J. Marshall. “The Very Idea: The Notion of Ideogram in China and Japan.” Monumenta Nipponica 45.4 (1990): 391–411.
DOI: 10.2307/2385377 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An overview of the history of the development of the myth that Chinese writing is ideographic. Traces this notion to the mid-16th century and connects it with the contemporary European quest for a universal language. Demonstrates that such an approach was not part of traditional Japanese linguistic discourse.
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Unger, J. Marshall. Ideogram: Chinese Characters and the Myth of Disembodied Meaning. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004.
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Advances a forceful critique of the apparently widespread notion that Chinese characters represent meaning directly, without reference to spoken language. Approaches the subject from a variety of perspectives, providing an array of counterarguments against the ideographic interpretation of the Chinese script.
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Structure of Characters

Traditional scholarship interpreted orthographic structure by using the system of liushu 六書, or Six Scripts, which were first used in this context around the 1st century CE. Although it is increasingly clear that this system was not intended to be a historically accurate description of the etymological principles behind Chinese characters, it continues to be used even today, and most discussions of orthography begin with either reiterating or refuting these six principles. Miller 1953, Serruys 1957, Serruys 1984, and Winter 1998 are devoted to the examination of the liushu categories as they are presented in the pioneering 2nd-century Chinese dictionary, the Shuowen jiezi, as well as the organization of the dictionary. Liu 2006 analyzes the orthographic principles of graphs appearing in early Chinese inscriptions. Behr 2010, Maréchal 2006, and Branner 2011 operate from a modern linguistic perspective and draw attention to ways of character formation that have not been identified in traditional scholarship.

Behr, Wolfgang. “In the Interstices of Representation: Ludic Writing and the Locus of Polysemy in the Chinese Sign.” In The Idea of Writing: Play and Complexity. Edited by Alex de Voogt and Irving L. Finkel, 281–314. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2010.
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Explores the capacity for polysemy (i.e., having multiple meanings) inherent in the Chinese writing system from a linguistic perspective largely independent of traditional understandings of the script. As part of this examination, the author looks at practices of “ludic writing,” or playful writing, such as generating phonetic puns or structurally dissecting characters.
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Branner, David Prager. “Portmanteau Characters in Chinese.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 131.1 (2011): 173–182.
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Discusses ligature-type character structures that consist of two ordinary characters, calling these “portmanteau characters.” Such graphs (beng 甭, wai 歪, nao 孬) do not simply consist of two semantic components but represent words that are read together as a definition of the meaning of the whole character.
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Liu Zhao 劉釗. Guwenzi gouxingxue (古文字構形學). Fuzhou, People’s Republic of China: Fujian renmin chubanshe, 2006.
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A comprehensive analysis of the structure of pre-Qin characters, including oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions. In addition to the description of structure, the author also explains the main principles behind the evolution of characters. Finally, a separate section discusses the methodology of deciphering ancient graphs.
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Maréchal, Chrystelle. “Graphic Modulation in the Ancient Chinese Writing System.” Journal of Chinese Linguistics 34.1 (2006): 25–43.
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A linguistic study of the process of “graphic modulation” (bianti 变体) responsible for the creation of “cognate graphs,” both in the early period and in modern times Demonstrates how modulation occurs and provides a set of criteria to help identify specific cases during different stages of the script.
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Miller, Roy Andrew. Problems in the Study of Shuo-wen Chieh-tzu. PhD diss. New York: Columbia University, 1953.
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A comprehensive analysis of the historical, linguistic, and textual problems related to the Shuowen, with the aim of laying down the necessary foundation for employing the dictionary in the study of ancient texts. Also examines the textual transmission of the Shuowen, including its surviving Tang manuscripts.
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Serruys, Paul L. M. “The Study of the chuan-chu in Shuo wen.” Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology 29 (1957): 131–195.
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An extensive treatment of the problems associated with interpreting the term zhuanzhu 转注 (“rotated and annotated”) in the Shuowen. Reviews how diversely this term was understood in the past and undertakes a comprehensive survey of all zhuanzhu pairs and chains that “fulfill the strict requirements” of the Shuowen definition.
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Serruys, Paul L. M. “On the System of the Pu Shou 部首 in the Shuo-wen chieh-tzu 說文解字.” Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology 55 (1984): 651–754.
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A study of the 540 radicals in the Shuowen, explaining the organization of the dictionary. Draws attention to the sequence of bushou, pointing out that they were arranged in a manner that preceding and following items were logically connected to one another.
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Winter, Marc. “‘. . . Und Cang Jie erfand die Schrift’: Ein Handbuch für den Gebrauch des Shuo Wen Jie Zi. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang, 1998.
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A thorough investigation of the Shuowen jiezi that includes probably the most comprehensive exposition of the liushu theory. Of special interest is the treatment of the zhuanzhu 轉注 category, which has also been the subject of Serruys 1957.
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Origins of Chinese Writing

The origins of Chinese script, as one of the independent writing systems in the world, have been of major interest to sinologists and historians of writing alike. Curiously, while later stages of its history are relatively well documented, we do not have any archaeological material about the first stage of the script prior to the late Shang period. Boltz 1994 provides an in-depth study of the origin of the Chinese script, and Coulmas 1991 examines it in comparison with other writing systems around the world. Rao 2000 considers the script’s Western Asian connections, whereas Bottéro 2004 and Bagley 2004 examine what the oracle-bone inscriptions can tell us about the origin of writing in China. The significance of the calendar in this regard is raised in Pankenier 2011. Keightley 1989 and Branner 2006 provide concise overviews of the script during its early stages.

Bagley, Robert W. “Anyang Writing and the Origin of the Chinese Writing System.” In The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process. Edited by Stephen D. Houston, 190–249. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
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Introduces the corpus of oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions found at Anyang, which are the earliest known examples of Chinese writing, and discusses the three main hypotheses advanced by scholarship for the explanation of the origin of writing in China: stimulus diffusion, clan signs, and the sudden invention of full writing.
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Boltz, William G. The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System. New Haven, CT: American Oriental Society, 1994.
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Integrates the beginnings of the Chinese script into a general model of the origins of writing. Provides an overview of the historical development up to the Han, and raises the question of why the Chinese script did not evolve into an alphabet, as other writing systems around the world did.
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Bottéro, Françoise. “Writing on Shell and Bone in Shang China.” In The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process. Edited by Stephen D. Houston, 250–261. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
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A brief general introduction to the origins and nature of the Chinese script as evidenced in the oracle-bone inscriptions. Analyzes the main types of graphic variants found in the corpus and identifies eight different categories. Concrete examples are provided for each of the categories.
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Branner, David Prager. “China: Writing System.” In Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. 2d ed. Edited by Keith Brown and Anne Anderson, 331–341. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2006.
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A brief introduction to the graphic styles and linguistic structure of the Chinese writing system. Includes an illustrated overview of the major styles of the script (e.g., clerical, “running,” and “grass”), punctuation and ligature marks, and the main principles of character formation.
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Coulmas, Florian. The Writing Systems of the World: The Language Library. Oxford and New York: Blackwell, 1991.
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Introduces the Chinese script in chapter 6. Points out that even though Chinese writing is sometimes criticized by Western observers as cumbersome, it has been used for millennia and is well suited for writing the language. This point demonstrates that the notion that alphabetic systems represent an advanced evolutionary stage is flawed.
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Keightley, David N. “The Origins of Writing in China: Scripts and Cultural Contexts.” In The Origins of Writing. Edited by Wayne M. Senner, 171–202. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1989.
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A brief introduction to the origins of the Chinese script. Points out the significance of the study of Chinese writing for global history and provides an outline of the various stages of its evolution.
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Pankenier, David W. “Getting ‘Right’ with Heaven and the Origins of Writing in China.” In Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar. Edited by Feng Li and David Prager Branner, 19–50. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2011.
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Advances the hypothesis that astronomy and the early calendar, especially the cyclical signs of Heavenly Stems (tiangan 天干) and Earthly Branches (dizhi 地支), were a driving force behind the development of writing during its early stage prior to the Shang dynasty.
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Rao Zongyi 饒宗頤. Fuhao, chuwen yu zimu: Hanzi shu (符號•初文與字母: 漢字樹). Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2000.
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Investigates the beginnings of Chinese writing in light of the Neolithic signs and patterns (predominantly on pottery) discovered in China and farther west. The author argues for the wide distribution of early forms of writing and points out their connection with literature and visual art.
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Invention

Since we do not have archaeological evidence for the earliest stage of Chinese writing, the birth of the script is hidden from us. Yet based on what we know about other writing systems, it seems logical that if the script is indigenous to China, then it was invented not much earlier than our earliest examples of it from Anyang. Smith 2013 considers whether Chinese writing was designed, and Bottéro 2006 revisits the myth of Cangjie inventing writing.

Bottéro, Françoise. “Cangjie and the Invention of Writing: Reflections on the Elaboration of a Legend.” In Studies in Chinese Language and Culture. Edited by Christoph Anderl and Halvor Eifring, 135–155. Oslo, Norway: Hermes Academic, 2006.
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Examines early legends about Cangjie 倉頡 and traces the notion of his being the inventor of the Chinese script to the late Warring States philosopher Xunzi 荀子 (c. 310 BCE–?) and his disciples. Shows that native reflections on the origin of writing arose not earlier than the 3rd century BCE.
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Smith, Adam. “Are Writing Systems Intelligently Designed?” In Early Writing and Agency in Archaeology. Edited by Joshua Englehardt, 71–93. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2013.
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Proposes an alternative account of the emergence of literacy to the model of “intelligent design,” suggesting that writing develops from earlier systems of “non-literate sign-use” as the use of the sign repertoire intensifies. In this process, the literate capacities of users evolve alongside the development of the sign repertoire.
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Ritual Origin

The earliest examples of Chinese writing are the oracle-bone inscriptions, which have an intimate connection to divination and state ritual. Keightley 1994 and Keightley 1996 point out the connection of early writing with state ritual and elite culture; Venture 2002 points out its role in communicating with the spirits. Laufer 1907 maintains that at this stage the script was ornamental and symbolic, rather than pictographic. Karlgren 1930 identifies a number of fecundity symbols in early material.

Karlgren, Bernhard. “Some Fecundity Symbols in Ancient China.” Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 2 (1930): 1–66.
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Examines the use of fecundity symbols in oracle bones and archaic bronzes, identifying such elements in a number of symbols. Despite the apparent graphic similarity with Stone and Bronze Age representations in Europe, the author argues for the possibility of their independent origin.
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Keightley, David N. “Sacred Characters.” In China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land. Edited by Robert E. Murowchick, 71–79. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
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A brief introduction to the first examples of Chinese writing from the late Shang dynasty, including their function in state divination and ancestral worship. The text is accompanied by beautiful color illustrations of contemporary archaeological material, including oracle-bone inscriptions and jade disks.
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Keightley, David N. “Art, Ancestors, and the Origin of Writing in China.” In Special issue: The New Erudition. Edited by Randolph Starn. Representations 56 (1996): 68–95.
DOI: 10.1525/rep.1996.56.1.99p0343q Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An inquiry into the origins of the Chinese script in light of oracle-bone inscriptions and Neolithic signs. Argues that early writing was related to religious art, and was from its inception a product of elite culture concerned with upholding both its privileged status and the unity of the state.
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Laufer, Berthold. “A Theory of the Origin of Chinese Writing.” American Anthropologist 9.3 (1907): 487–492.
DOI: 10.1525/aa.1907.9.3.02a00040 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A convincing argument against the theory that Chinese characters originate from pictographic representations. Proposes instead that they derive from conventional ornamental forms and were prompted by an elaborate system of ritual symbolism. Thus the author concludes that at its earliest stage, the Chinese script was ornamental and symbolic.
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Venture, Olivier. “L’écriture et la communication avec les esprits en Chine ancienne.” Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 74 (2002): 34–65.
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Refutes commonly held assumptions that Chinese writing arose out of the necessity to communicate with the spirits. Moreover, claims that writing was initially employed for keeping records of rituals and came to be used for talking to the spirits only much later, as an alternative to existing channels of oral communication.
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Contacts with Western Asia

The Chinese script appears in the Anyang inscriptions as a fully formed writing system. The complete lack of material regarding the initial stage of the script raised the theoretical possibility of a non-native origin. Pulleyblank 1979, Jao 1991, and Mair 1992 attempt to locate precursors of the Chinese script in West Asia, an idea that never gained universal acceptance, even though it has not been convincingly refuted, either. Boltz 2000–2001, among others, disputes such a possibility and asserts that China developed its script independently.

Boltz, William G. “The Invention of Writing in China.” Oriens Extremus 42 (2000–2001): 1–17.
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Asserts that Chinese writing is indigenous to China and rejects speculations of a West Asian origin. Emphasizes that the earliest known examples are the oracle-bone inscriptions from about 1300 BCE, and discoveries of earlier Neolithic signs can be neither considered full writing nor connected with the Shang script.
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Jao, Tsung-i. “Questions on the Origin of Writing Raised by the ‘Silk Road.’” Sino-Platonic Papers 26 (1991): 1–10.
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An investigation of the possible Western connections of Neolithic signs from pre-Shang China. Shows that the Banpo 半坡 and Jiangzhai 薑寨 symbols from the 5th millennium BCE are not necessarily related to later oracle-bone inscriptions. Instead, there is some indication of a connection with West Asia.
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Mair, Victor H. “West Eurasian and North African Influences on the Origins of Chinese Writing.” In Contacts between Cultures: Eastern Asia: Literature and Humanities. Vol. III. Edited by Bernard Luk, 335–338. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1992.
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Promotes the hypothesis that the Chinese script originates from West Asia and, more specifically, owes its origin to Phoenician writing. Outlines the chapter structure of a forthcoming monograph on this subject, promising further details.
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Pulleyblank, Edwin G. “The Chinese Cyclical Signs as Phonograms.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 99.1 (1979): 24–38.
DOI: 10.2307/598946 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Proposes that Chinese writing emerged from the letters of the Semitic syllabary. This syllabary developed in Shang China into the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches, and played an important role in the development of the script. The author has subsequently withdrawn this hypothesis but it nevertheless remains influential.
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The Script Through Time

During the more than three millennia of its attested use, especially in the first millennium, the Chinese script underwent tremendous changes, even though these changes largely involved the calligraphic or stylistic attributes of the script, rather than the structure of characters, which remained relatively stable. Archaeological materials from different time periods and regions have their characteristic features and these, once recognized, can be used for dating texts. In practice, however, it is sometimes difficult to identify such features because we do not have a comprehensive set of data covering all time periods and geographical regions, not to speak of the media that texts were written on. Yet archaeological material is crucial in evaluating traditional understandings of what writing was in particular time periods.

Shang and Zhou Inscriptions

The overall majority of surviving material from the Shang and Zhou periods comprises the divination records written on bones and turtle plastrons, and the bronze inscriptions on ritual vessels. Perhaps the most important source for the study of Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, at least in a Western language, is Keightley 1978. Also on the subject of oracle bones, Takashima 2000 is concerned with methodology and Smith 2011 with literacy and scribal training. With regard to bronze inscriptions, important early scholarly studies are Karlgren 1936 and Rong 1941. Shirakawa 1971 attempts to explicate the social background to nonspecialist readers. Shaughnessy 1991 focuses on the methodology of working with bronze inscriptions, and Shaughnessy 2007 tries to understand the process of creating inscriptions.

Karlgren, Bernhard. “On the Script of the Chou Dynasty.” Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 8 (1936): 157–178.
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An account of the early stage of the Chinese script. Addresses discrepancies in vocabulary in different times on different types of material. Calls for the differentiation of sacred and profane scripts, arguing that the former would always be much more conservative and retain a larger number of archaic elements.
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Keightley, David N. Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.
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A guide to using oracle-bone inscriptions as historical sources. Introduces Shang divination procedures and the function of inscriptions. Marshals an array of examples, initiating the reader into the process of reading divination records. To this day, this volume remains an essential tool for working with Shang oracle-bone inscriptions.
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Rong Geng 容庚. Shang Zhou yiqi tongkao (商周彝器通考). 2 vols., Yenshing Journal of Chinese Studies. Monograph Series No. 17. Beijing: Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1941.
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An important early work that offers a comprehensive examination of Shang and Zhou ritual bronzes, including inscriptions and ornamental designs. Categorizes vessels on the basis of their use (e.g., for food, wine, music). The second volume contains photographs of the original vessels.
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Shaughnessy, Edward L. Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
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An introduction to working with bronze inscriptions from the Western Zhou period, including the basic methodology of approaching the texts. In addition to discussing issues of authenticity, dating, archaeological context, and historical significance, the book also provides a practical hands-on guide for reading inscriptions.
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Shaughnessy, Edward L. “The Writing of a Late Western Zhou Bronze Inscription.” Asiatische Studien/Etudes Asiatiques 61.3 (2007): 845–877.
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Examines the process of how four bronze inscriptions written for a single individual from the site of Yangjicun were composed. Attempts to reconstruct the actual process and argues that this process would also enable us to make assumptions regarding some of the literary sources in existence at that time.
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Shirakawa Shizuka 白川靜. Kinbun no sekai: In-Shū shakaishi (金文の世界: 殷周社会史). Tokyo: Heibansha, 1971.
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An informative book on early Chinese bronze inscriptions, written for the nonspecialist reader. In addition to providing a historical overview, carefully describes the social function of the inscriptions and the modes of their production. Toward the end, also includes a methodological section focused on dating and other paleographic issues.
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Smith, Adam. “The Evidence for Scribal Training at Anyang.” In Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar. Edited by Feng Li and David Prager Branner, 173–205. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2011.
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Advances the hypothesis that many of the so-called practice-engraved divination records (xike buci 习刻卜辞) found among the oracle-bone inscriptions are in fact examples of scribal training material, and that at least some scribes were trained in divination workshops.
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Takashima, Ken-ichi. “Towards a More Rigorous Methodology of Deciphering Oracle-Bone Inscriptions.” T’oung Pao 86 (2000): 363–399.
DOI: 10.1163/15685320051072753 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Proposes a number of methodological criteria for the reading of oracle-bone inscriptions and demonstrates the use of these on concrete examples. A basic assumption is that the language used in the inscriptions was the predecessor of the classical Chinese language used in Zhou—including Warring States—texts.
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Scripts of the Warring States

According to traditional accounts, with the decline of the Zhou realm the Chinese script developed regional characteristics during the Warring States period. These characteristics were known as the scripts of the Six States. In the past decades, an unprecedented number of Warring States manuscripts have been discovered in China under archaeologically controlled conditions, thus propelling the study of ancient Chinese manuscripts into a new era. As new manuscripts are being discovered or acquired, the corpus of Warring States writing rapidly increases, enabling us to gain a significantly better understanding of the contemporary script than our predecessors. Qiu 1985–1987, He 2003, Richter 2006, and Park 2009 address methodological issues related to working with Warring States material. Venture 2009 and Boltz 2009 are both concerned with identifying orthographic or linguistic features that could be tied to the ancient state of Chu, whereas Venture 2006 discusses the issue of political identity of the main regions. Finally, Zhang 2006 studies the evolution of character structure in contemporary bronze inscriptions.

Boltz, William G. “Is the Chuu Silk Manuscript a Chuu Manuscript?” Asiatische Studien/Etudes Asiatiques 63.4 (2009): 789–807.
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Examines the Chu Silk Manuscript and attempts to discover features that may tie the manuscript to the state of Chu. The conclusion is that while we can ascertain that the manuscript comes from the Chu region, neither its script nor language can be identified as distinctly Chu.
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He Linyi 何琳儀. Zhanguo Wenzi Tonglun (Dingbu) (戰國文字通論 [訂補]). Nanjing, People’s Republic of China: Jiangsu jiaoyu chubanshe, 2003.
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A thorough introduction to Warring States writing by one of China’s most important paleographers. Discusses the characteristics of the regional scripts and analyzes the principles of their evolution. Also includes a section on the methodology of reading Warring States manuscripts and inscriptions.
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Park, Haeree. “Linguistic Approaches to Reading Excavated Manuscripts.” Asiatische Studien/Etudes Asiatiques 63.4 (2009): 857–887.
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Examines phonetic loan characters and “phonologically related textual variants,” claiming that these can be accounted for by the orthographic variability of the script. Maintains that the co-relations between alternating phonetic components come from Old Chinese, and do not reflect the phonological situation at the time when the manuscript was written.
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Qiu Xigui. “On the Methods of Studying Ancient Chinese Script.” Early China 11–12 (1985–1987): 301–316.
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Introduction to the methodology of studying the scripts of China from before the Qin-Han small seal script. Introduces the most important historical sources, along with modern reference tools, and lays down a series of ground rules for researchers wanting to work with early scripts and texts.
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Richter, Matthias L. “Tentative Criteria for Discerning Individual Hands in the Guodian Manuscripts.” In Rethinking Confucianism: Selected Papers from the Third International Conference on Excavated Chinese Manuscripts, Mount Holyoke College, April 2004. Edited by Xing Wen, 132–147. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University, 2006.
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An examination of scribal hands in the Guodian bamboo manuscripts. On the basis of a comparison of graphic characteristics of the same graph in different texts, establishes a series of objective criteria for distinguishing hands. Insists from a methodological point that different hands should differ in at least two features.
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Venture, Olivier. “Looking for Chu People’s Writing Habits.” Asiatische Studien/Etudes Asiatiques 63.4 (2009): 943–957.
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Attempts to identify characteristics that are particular to the state of Chu. Demonstrates the potential difficulties with this line of enquiry, as the texts may have also been copied by non-Chu scribes. Consequently, we should limit our investigation to manuscripts that were authored and copied in Chu.
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Venture, Olivier. “La question des ‘écritures chinoises’ à l’époque des Royaumes combattants.” Arts Asiatiques 61 (2006): 30–44.
DOI: 10.3406/arasi.2006.1637 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Examination of the different scripts during the Warring States period. Analyzes the political and cultural context of the states and points out the differences between regional scripts, claiming that there existed a tension between the desire to maintain regional identity and ascribe to the common ancestral tradition of the Zhou.
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Zhang Xiaoming 張曉明. Chunqiu Zhanguo jinwen ziti yanbian yanjiu (春秋戰國金文字體演變研究). Jinan, People’s Republic of China: Qilu shushe, 2006.
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A study of the evolution of the orthography of characters used in bronze inscriptions from the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. Compares character structure with that in earlier (Shang oracle bones) and later (Warring States bamboo and silk manuscripts) and defines the basic characteristics of the corpus.
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The Qin-Han Transition

The Qin-Han period marks the transition of the script from the regional scripts of the Warring States to the centralized standard of the new empires. In traditional terms, this is a transition from the ancient seal scripts to the “modern” clerical script. Zhao 1993 examines the technical aspects of the transition to the clerical script during the Qin-Han period. Barnard 1979 scrutinizes the Qin reform of writing, while Galambos 2004 questions the success of this project. Venture 2008 offers a brief introduction to the Qin reforms, and Bodde 1938 looks at the same process from the point of view of the life of its initiator, the scholar-politician Li Si. Chen 2003 provides a thorough analysis of the evolution of the script of the Qin state (and later empire), and Louis 2003 examines Han dynasty examples of the birdscript and points out the political implications of its use.

Barnard, Noel. “The Nature of the Ch’in ‘Reform of the Script’ as Reflected in Archeological Documents Excavated under Conditions of Control.” In Ancient China: Studies in Early Chinese Civilization. Edited by David T. Roy and Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, 181–213. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1979.
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Discusses the “appreciably large number of descendantless graphs” seen in Warring States manuscripts and other archaeological material from before the Qin-Han period. Examines the radicals in pre-Han characters and descendantless multi-element graphs, showing that their disappearance—which happened no later than 221 BCE—was primarily due to phonological considerations.
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Bodde, Derk. China’s First Unifier: A Study of the Ch’in Dynasty as Seen in the Life of Li Ssu (280?–208 B. C.). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1938.
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Chapter VIII, “The Unification of Writing,” is devoted to the reform of the script, attempting to reconstruct what actually happened. In his assessment of the significance of the unification, the author follows traditional views in regarding this reform as the single most important episode in the history of Chinese writing.
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Chen Zhaorong 陳昭容. Qin xi wenzi yanjiu: Cong hanzishi de jiaodu kaocha (秦系文字研究: 從漢字史的角度考察). Taibei: Zhongyang anjiuyuan Lishi yuyan yanjiusuo, 2003.
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A study of the historical evolution of the Qin script, including its manifestations on different media, such as bronze and stone or bamboo and wood. Starts with the pre-imperial period and examines the reforms during the reign of the First Emperor and the transition to the clerical script.
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Galambos, Imre. “The Myth of the Qin Unification of Writing in Han Sources.” Acta Orientalia Scientiarum Hung 57.2 (2004): 181–203.
DOI: 10.1556/AOrient.57.2004.2.2 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Demonstrates that the Qin unification of the script cannot be fully corroborated by archaeological evidence. Instead, traditional accounts can be shown to be ideologically motivated and should not be accepted at face value. While some reforms were probably initiated, their enforcement was less rigorous and successful than was usually assumed.
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Louis, François. “Written Ornament—Ornamental Writing: Birdscript of the Early Han Dynasty and the Art of Enchanting.” Ars Orientalis 33 (2003): 10–31.
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A study of the birdscript on the bronze vessels from Mancheng county (Hebei). Points out the ritual associations of this highly ornamental script and its links with the refined culture of the southern state of Chu. Draws attention to the ideological context of using such southern designs.
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Venture, Olivier. “L’écriture de Qin.” In Les soldats de l’éternité: L’armée de Xi’an. Edited by Alain Thote and Lothar von Falkenhausen, 209–215. Paris: Éditions de la Pinacothèque de Paris, 2008.
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A brief overview of the script of the Qin Empire in light of newly excavated material. Describes the transition from the scripts of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to that of the Qin, including the unification of writing initiated during the reign of the First Emperor.
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Zhao Ping’an 趙平安. Libian yanjiu (隸變研究). Baoding, People’s Republic of China: Hebei Daxue chubanshe, 1993.
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A thorough examination of the process of clericization (libian 隸變), that is, the transition from the pre-Qin ancient forms to the modern clerical forms of the dynastic period. Includes a historical overview and an analysis of the typology of changes of characters during this process.
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After the Han

Chinese writing after the Han period continued to evolve, even though the majority of characters remained relatively stable in terms of their structural composition. A series of standardization efforts have been launched in different periods to address what at the time was seen as a tendency toward disorder and confusion. Guo 2010 scrutinizes the script used in early medieval stone inscriptions, while Galambos 2011 and Huang 2001 focus on the Dunhuang manuscripts. Fang, et al. 2000 examines the standardization of the script, whereas the studies in Ishizuka 2012 are concerned with the history of the orthography of Chinese characters during the dynastic period. Bottéro 2004 examines how Chinese characters have been classified in Chinese dictionaries.

Bottéro, Françoise. “Chinese Characters versus Other Writing Systems: The Song Origins of the Distinction between ‘Non-Compound Characters’ (Wen 文) and ‘Compound Characters’ (Zi 字).” In Meaning and Form: Essays in Pre-Modern Chinese Grammar. Edited by Ken’ichi Takashima and Shaoyu Jiang, 1–17. Munich: Lincom Europa, 2004.
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Argues that the understanding of the terms wen 文 and zi 字 as “non-compound” and “compound” characters does not go back to the Later Han period but is much later and can be traced to the Song dynasty, more specifically to Zheng Qiao 鄭樵.
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Fang Keyu 范可育, Wang Zhifang 王志方, and Ding Fanghao 丁方豪. Kaizi guifan shilüe (楷字规范史略). Shanghai: Huadong shifan daxue chubanshe, 2000.
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Overview of the standardization of the script during the medieval period in light of lexicographic works such as the Yupian 玉篇, Ganlu zishu 干祿字书, and Longkan shoujian 龙龛手鉴. Demonstrates how similar efforts were continually present throughout the history of the kai script.
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Galambos, Imre. “Popular Character Forms (Suzi) and Semantic Compound (Huiyi) Characters in Medieval Chinese Manuscripts.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 131.3 (2011): 395–409.
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Examines the occurrence of semantic compound (huiyi 会意) characters in medieval Chinese manuscripts from Dunhuang and demonstrates that even if the huiyi principle was not at play during the formative stages of Chinese writing, it certainly was a valid method of character creation during the medieval period.
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Guo Rui 郭瑞. Wei Jin Nanbeichao shike wenzi (魏晋南北朝石刻文字). Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China: Nanfang ribai chubanshe, 2010.
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A comprehensive study of the script used on stone inscriptions from the Wei-Jin and Nanbeichao periods. Explains the peculiarities of the script and how it fits into the wider course of the history of Chinese writing. Highlights the relatively fluid character structure, on both the level of components and strokes.
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Huang Zheng 黄征. Dunhuang yuyan wenzixue yanjiu (敦煌语言文字学研究). Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China: Gansu jiaoyu chubanshe, 2001.
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A collection of studies dedicated to the language and script of Dunhuang manuscripts, with an emphasis on works of popular literature and of lexicography. Based on the author’s extensive work with manuscripts, the studies discuss the most important aspects of medieval Chinese writing, including its calligraphy, orthography, and phonology.
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Ishizuka Harumichi 石塚晴通, ed. Kanji jitaishi kenkyū (漢字字体史研究). Tokyo: Bensei shuppan, 2012.
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A collection of articles related to the history of the orthography of Chinese characters, both in China and Japan. Topics include the standardization of the script, medieval manuscripts, history of printing, traditional lexicography, variant characters, evolution of character forms, and modern databases of historical character forms.
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Mok, Harod. “Seal and Clerical Scripts of the Sung Dynasty.” In Character and Context in Chinese Calligraphy. Edited by Cary Y. Liu and Judith G. Smith, 174–198. Princeton, NJ: Art Museum of Princeton University, 1999.
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Examines archaic scripts in Song calligraphy. Argues that the seal and clerical scripts were important for the contemporary artistic tradition. Following an increased interest in antiquities and art collecting, these two scripts were actively practiced by calligraphers and were used to express artistic individuality and expressiveness.
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The Modern Script

The script continued to evolve during the modern period as China struggled to find its place among the modern nations of the world. The most important changes pertained to various efforts at the standardization and simplification of the script, beginning with the late 19th century. Zhang, et al. 1997, Bökset 2006, and Galambos 2012 discuss the prehistory of simplified characters. Mair 1996 and Lord 1997 introduce the modern script in the context of the use of Chinese characters throughout East Asia, while Chen 1999 and Zhao and Baldauf 2007 are concerned with the political background of the modern simplification of writing. Yi 1955 and Wang, et al. 1995 provide a more or less contemporary point of view into the reforms.

Bökset, Roar. Long Story of Short Forms: The Evolution of Simplified Chinese Characters. Stockholm: Stockholm University Press, 2006.
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A fascinating study of the evolution of simplified characters, combining historical overview with field data. Demonstrates the extraordinary diversity of handwritten forms used in China before and after the reforms, and shows that many forms can be tied to geographical regions and that many modern abbreviations have a long prehistory.
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Chen, Ping. Modern Chinese: History and Sociolinguistics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139164375 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Discusses the political motives behind reforms of modern Chinese language and writing, including the simplification of the script. Chapter 9 provides a general introduction to the subject, including its historical background and the pros and cons of the system. A useful summary of Chinese scholarship available on the reform.
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Galambos, Imre. “Simplified Characters.” In Demystifying China: New Understandings of Chinese History. Edited by Naomi Standen, 187–195. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.
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Considers the origins of simplified characters instituted in modern China, showing that they had been used in handwritten texts for centuries and ultimately go back to character forms commonly used in medieval manuscript culture. Argues against the notion of considering simplified characters as a product of Communist China.
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Lord, Christopher. “On the Chinese Language and Its System of Writing.” Archív Orientálný: Quarterly Journal of African, Asian and Latin American Studies 65.4 (1997): 353–364.
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A study of the modern Chinese script in relation to modern spoken language, drawing on examples from linguistic situations in which Chinese characters are used outside of China (i.e., Japan, Korea, Vietnam). Posits that in these situations the script represents the primary standard form of the language.
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Mair, Victor H. “Modern Chinese Writing.” In The World’s Writing Systems. Edited by Peter T. Daniels and William Bright, 200–208. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
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A brief overview of the modern Chinese writing system and its relationship to “Chinese languages” (i.e., Mandarin, Cantonese, and Literary Sinitic). Also includes a “Comparative Table of Sinitic Characters,” which aligns over a hundred character forms used in China, Taiwan, and Japan, presenting their differences in a visually accessible way.
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Wang Jun 王均. Dangdai Zhongguo de wenzi gaige (当代中国的文字改革). Beijing: Dangdai Zhongguo chubanshe, 1995.
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A large compendium devoted to the modern reform of the script. Provides a detailed overview of the simplification and standardization of characters and their significance for education and literacy. The volume includes a wealth of primary sources related to the reforms, such as original proposals, legislations, and character lists.
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Yi Xiwu 易熙吾. Wenzi gaige lunji (文字改革论集). Shanghai: Dongfang shudian, 1955.
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A collection of studies on the writing reforms from a contemporary perspective, drawing attention to issues related to specific reforms (e.g., a list of common characters). The author makes an effort to connect the new script with its past, pointing out historical precedents.
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Zhang Shuyan 张书岩, Wang Tiekun 王铁昆, Li Qingmei 李青梅, and An Ning 安宁. Jianhuazi suyuan (简化字溯源). Beijing: Yuwen chubanshe, 1997.
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The book traces the origins of modern simplified characters, demonstrating that the overall majority of the forms had been in use centuries earlier. In Part I, the book in addition offers a convenient overview of the numerous simplification efforts from the late Qing period until 1986.
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Zhao, Shouhui, and Richard B. Baldauf. Planning Chinese Characters: Reaction, Evolution or Revolution? New York and London: Springer, 2007.
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Chapter 1 deals with the simplification of the Chinese script. Provides a detailed description of events, followed by analysis of the political and cultural forces behind them. Displays a thorough familiarity with primary sources and secondary literature, and thus is a useful starting point for anyone interested in the subject.
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Variant Characters

Orthographic variation has been another popular theme in scholarship on Chinese writing. The steadily increasing number of excavated manuscripts has pushed paleographic studies into the foreground. As the new texts needed to be interpreted, dated, and placed in historical context, variant characters became an important part of examination. Proceeding in chronological order of the subject matter, Anderson 2011 begins with an investigation of orthographic variability in Shang writing, Galambos 2006 does the same for late Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and Richter 2005 for Han dynasty manuscripts from Mawangdui. Going further in time, Zhang 1996 and Huang 2005 deal with variants in the Dunhuang manuscripts. In addition, Richter 2009 and Kern 2002 examine the modes of textual production in light of character variation.

Anderson, Matthew. “An Investigation of Orthographic Variance in Shang Writing.” Sino-Platonic Papers 215 (2011): 1–16.
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Analyses character structure in oracle-bone inscriptions, demonstrating a relatively stable orthography in comparison with the Warring States period. The author claims that this stability was probably not due to the existence of a standard but because Shang graphs were structurally simpler, ultimately suggesting that they represented an earlier stage of development.
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Galambos, Imre. Orthography of Early Chinese Writing: Evidence from Newly Excavated Manuscripts. Budapest: Department of East Asian Languages of Eötvös Loránd University, 2006.
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Analyzes orthography in the Warring States period. Shows that variability was an inherent feature of the script and variants did not necessarily imply lexical differences. Includes a statistical analysis of synchronic variation in formulaic texts from near the city of Houma (Shaanxi) to demonstrate orthographic diversity in excavated material.
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Huang Zheng 黃征. Dunhuang suzidian (敦煌俗字典). Shanghai: Shanghai jiaoyu chubanshe, 2005.
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A dictionary of commonly used variant characters in the Dunhuang manuscripts. This lexicon is an essential tool for working with medieval texts, as the same variants are used not only in the Dunhuang corpus but also throughout the medieval period.
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Kern, Martin. “Methodological Reflections on the Analysis of Textual Variants and the Modes of Manuscript Production in Early China.” Journal of East Asian Archaeology 4.1 (2002): 143–181.
DOI: 10.1163/156852302322454521 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An examination of manuscript production in light of textual variants found in excavated manuscripts. Demonstrates how variation, and the materiality of the manuscript in general, may shed light on the circumstances of its creation. Stresses that manuscripts are the result of social acts and contexts of transmission and reception.
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Richter, Matthias L. “Towards a Profile of Graphic Variation: On the Distribution of Graphic Variants within the Mawangdui Laozi Manuscripts.” Asiatische Studien/Etudes Asiatiques 59.1 (2005): 169–207.
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A thorough analysis and classification of graphic variants in the two Laozi 老子 manuscripts from Mawangdui (Hunan), with the aim to compile a profile that would enable us to learn about the circumstances of manuscript production.
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Richter, Matthias L. “Faithful Transmission of Creative Change: Tracing Modes of Manuscript Production from the Material Evidence.” Asiatische Studien/Etudes Asiatiques 63.4 (2009): 889–908.
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A study of orthographic variation in early Chinese manuscripts. Noting the enormous variability of these manuscripts, the article argues against seeing this variation as a lack of a standard. Instead, it suggests that the standards were local or pertained to smaller circles of scribal schools, and thus variation reflects the discrepancies between different standards.
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Zhang Yongquan 張涌泉. Dunhuang suzi yanjiu (敦煌俗字研究). Shanghai: Shanghai jiaoyu chubanshe, 1996.
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A meticulous study of nonstandard characters (suzi 俗字) in common use in the Dunhuang corpus. This work addresses all aspects of such characters and to this day remains the most authoritative resource on the topic.
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Taboo Characters

In order to observe the imperial name taboo, the characters of the personal name of members of the imperial family could not be written down in their full form. Instead, they were altered, omitted, or substituted with synonymous or homophonous ones. Because the taboos were cumulative within a ruling house, they lasted throughout the entire dynasty (and sometimes beyond, e.g., the name of Confucius), gradually increasing in number as newer emperors came to the throne. Today, modern researchers use taboo characters (which can also mean the absence of a certain character) to date texts, as their use is often closely tied to the specific imperial reigns. Yet the use of taboo characters is far from being fully understood, as archaeological materials reveal a highly inconsistent picture that does not accord with traditional explanations of the practice. Chen 1997 and Wang 2007 are general studies about the custom of using taboo characters. Beck 1987, Lai 2006, and Venture 2011 scrutinize the use of taboo characters in the Qin-Han period. Soymié 1990 discusses their application in China in general, with an emphasis on the medieval period. Dou 2007 and Galambos 2012 examine taboo characters in the Dunhuang manuscripts. Vissière 1901 is an early study with a focus on the modern (i.e., Qing) period.

Beck, B. J. Mansvelt. “The First Emperor’s Taboo Character and the Three-Day Reign of King Xiaowen.” T’oung Pao 73 (1987): 68–85.
DOI: 10.1163/156853287X00122 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Examines the question of taboo characters during the reign of the First Emperor (259–210 BCE) in light of excavated manuscripts. Proposes that the emperor was tabooed only after his death, not in his lifetime.
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Chen Yuan 陈垣. Shihui juli (史讳举例). Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1997.
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A short but influential study of taboo characters in Chinese texts. The book is organized around concrete examples that illustrate a series of patterns encountered in textual sources, with an emphasis on enhancing the understanding of the original text.
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Dou Huaiyong 竇懷永. Dunhuang wenxian bihui yanjiu (敦煌文獻避諱研究). PhD diss. Zhejiang daxue, Hangzhou, 2007.
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A comprehensive study of taboo characters in the Dunhuang manuscripts. Provides an analysis of the main types of orthographic changes and also explains their connection with vulgar character forms. The study also demonstrates the value of taboo characters for dating manuscripts, including the difficulties in such application.
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Galambos, Imre. “Taboo Characters in Buddhist Manuscripts from Dunhuang.” In Zhonggu shidai de liyi, zongjiao yu zhidu (中古时代的礼仪、宗教与制度). Edited by Yu Xin 余欣, 109–125. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2012.
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Examines the use of taboo characters in dated Buddhist manuscripts, showing that while such variant characters never occur in officially commissioned sutras, they are often found in other Buddhist texts. Emphasizes that even in texts where they occur, taboo characters are used inconsistently and often occur intermixed with non-tabooed forms.
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Lai Guolong 來國龍. “Bihuizi yu chutu Qin-Han jianbo de yanjiu (避諱字與出土秦漢簡帛的研究).” Jianbo yanjiu (2006): 126–133.
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Investigates the use of taboo characters in Qin-Han manuscripts. Points out that the imperial name taboo was observed in official communications between various levels of the bureaucracy but not in other types of texts. Therefore, when trying to date manuscripts, we should first identify the nature of the text.
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Soymié, Michel. “Observations sur les caractères interdits en Chine.” Journal Asiatique 278.3–4 (1990): 377–407.
DOI: 10.2143/JA.278.3.2011220 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A study of taboo characters in dynastic China, primarily focusing on cases that avoid writing the given names of members of the imperial family. After a historical overview, the author turns to concrete examples from epigraphic and manuscript sources and shows that their use is far from being consistent.
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Vissière, M. A. “Traité des caractères chinois que l’on évite par respect.” Journal Asiatique (September–October 1901): 320–373.
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An examination of taboo characters associated with the names of emperors of the Qing dynasty, plus those of Confucius (c. 551–479 BCE) and Mencius (c. 372–289 BCE). Listing the emperors one by one, discusses the various methods of tabooing a character and their occurrence in contemporary texts.
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Venture, Olivier. “Caractères interdits et vocabulaire officiel sous les Qin: L’apport des documents administratifs de Liye.” Etudes Chinoises 30 (2011): 73–98.
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A study of taboo characters during the Qin dynasty in light of the newly excavated documents. Demonstrates that the woodslips do not support earlier assumptions about the Qin name taboos. Shows that some features habitually thought to have been introduced during the Qin are also attested in Warring States manuscripts.
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Wang Xinhua 王新华. Bihui yanjiu (避讳研究). Jinan, People’s Republic of China: Qilu shushe, 2007.
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A general study of taboo characters in Chinese history. Examines the reasons behind the development of name taboos, the methods and patterns of their application in writing, and the concrete changes in the script implemented in different time periods.
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Empress Wu Characters

During the fifteen years of her reign (690–705 CE), Empress Wu Zetian 武則天 introduced eighteen new characters to replace the ones used in her own name and reign titles. With the restoration of the Tang in 705, these characters were abandoned and people began using, at least in principle, the original ones. Because these characters were among the most common ones (e.g., 日, 月, 天, 人, 年), they are often seen in contemporary inscriptions and manuscripts, and this inclusion allows modern researchers to use them for dating purposes. Yet it seems that some of the Empress Wu characters continued to be used even after her reign, and in special contexts survived to modern times. Kuranaka 1995 brings together several studies into an entire volume, with a focus on the use of Empress Wu characters in Japan. Similarly, Shi 2002 comprises several studies discussing the characters as they appear in inscriptional and manuscript sources, including their peculiarities and differences. Drège 1984 analyzes the use of these characters in the Dunhuang manuscripts.

Drège, Jean-Pierre. “Les caractères de l’impératrice Wu Zetian dans les manuscrits de Dunhuang et de Turfan.” Bulletin de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient 73 (1984): 339–354.
DOI: 10.3406/befeo.1984.1640 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Analyzes the characters instituted by Empress Wu Zetian and compares their use in epigraphic and manuscript materials. Discusses the application of such characters for dating texts. An appendix discusses the dating of an early printed text found in the Pulguk monastery in Korea; the text includes several such characters.
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Kuranaka Susumu 蔵中進. Sokuten moji no kenkyū (則天文字の研究). Tokyo: Kanrin Shobō, 1995.
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A collection of articles written by the same author on Empress Wu characters, including their origins, invention, spread to Japan, and use in reign titles or colophons. Includes several case studies in which the characters are examined in a particular manuscript.
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Shi Anchang 施安昌, ed. Shanben beitie lunji (善本碑貼論集). Beijing: Zijincheng, 2002.
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Part of the book is devoted to Empress Wu characters, including topics such as the discrepancy between transmitted sources and archaeological material; the date of introducing particular characters; the sources behind the character forms; the corruption of original forms; or the discrepancies between epigraphic and manuscript material.
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Literacy

Literacy and the acquisition of writing are closely connected with the history of the script. As a general rule, studies on literacy tend to focus not so much on the script itself as on the actors and social circumstances behind it. They introduce a social dimension to paleography and attempt to explain who the people were who produced the texts we examine. While Li 2011 looks at the social context of literacy, Lewis 1999 considers its political aspects. As Eno 2009 points out the different degrees of literacy in Han administrative texts, Barbieri-Low 2011 and Yates 2011 examine what it meant to be literate at the lower levels of society. For the medieval period, Mair 1983 discusses the production of manuscripts by lay students in Dunhuang, and Drège 1991 discusses the effect of printing on people’s ability to read and write. Rawski 1979 examines the extent of popular literacy in the pre-modern period.

Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. “Craftsman’s Literacy: Uses of Writing by Male and Female Artisans in Qin and Han China.” In Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar. Edited by Feng Li and David Prager Branner, 370–399. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2011.
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Investigates literacy among artisans during the Qin-Han period, arguing while the state compelled artisans to acquire writing skills in order to be able to control them more efficiently, this forced literacy also had a counter-effect, as artisans used writing to promote their own business interests and resist the imposition of the administration.
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Drège, Jean-Pierre. “La lecture et l’écriture en Chine et la xylographie.” Etudes Chinoises 10.1–2 (1991): 77–106.
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Discusses literacy and the effect of printing on reading habits in medieval China. Points out that the greater availability of books changed the way people read and reduced the necessity to memorize texts. Conversely, the greater readability of the woodblock prints had a standardizing effect on writing habits.
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Eno Gīre エノ・ギーレ (Enno Giele). “Kodai no shikiji nōryoku wo ikagani hantei suru no ka: Kandai gyōsei monjo no jirei kenkyū (古代の識字能力を如何に判定するのか: 漢代行政文書の事例研究).” In Kanji bunka sanzennen (漢字文化三千年). Edited by Takata Tokio 高田時雄, 133–154. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 2009.
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Using concrete examples of characters from excavated documents, the author reviews how the modern researcher can assess the degree of literacy in administrative documents from the Han dynasty. Also explained are the limitations we are facing in this respect.
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Lewis, Mark Edward. Writing and Authority in Early China. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999.
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A study of the social and political functions of writing in early China and the establishment of a textual canon that served as the basis for imperial authority. Explores the many different uses of writing and how they were employed by the state for the purposes of administration and control.
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Li, Feng. “Literacy and the Social Contexts of Writing in the Western Zhou.” In Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar. Edited by Feng Li and David Prager Branner, 271–301. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2011.
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Investigates the social functions of writing during the Western Zhou period, at the same time arguing that by that time, literacy spread well beyond the groups of trained scribes, even though the overall majority of the population remained illiterate.
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Mair, Victor H. “Lay Students and the Making of Written Vernacular Narrative: An Inventory of Tun-huang Manuscripts.” Chinoperl Papers 10 (1983): 5–96.
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Attempts to identify those persons who wrote down the popular narratives found in Dunhuang. Concludes that this task was done by lay students studying in Buddhist monasteries as part of their school practice, rather than for “evangelic” purposes, as formerly assumed.
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Rawski, Evelyn Sakakida. Education and Popular Literacy in Ch’ing China. Michigan Studies on China. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1979.
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A study of literacy during the Qing period from the point of view of social history. The author examines, among others, the educational system and the availability of popular reading material, demonstrating that functional literacy in this period was relatively common and could be found at all levels of society.
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Yates, Robin D. S. “Soldiers, Scribes, and Women: Literacy among the Lower Orders in Early China.” In Writing and Literacy in Early China: Studies from the Columbia Early China Seminar. Edited by Feng Li and David Prager Branner, 339–369. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2011.
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Explores literacy among the lower orders of administration in the Qin and Han empires, providing evidence for basic literacy skills. Also demonstrates how members of this social stratum at times relied on such skills in an effort to use the legal system to their personal advantage and challenge state’s authority.
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Nüshu

Nüshu 女书 (“women’s writing”) is a script discovered in Jiangyong county, Hunan province, that was used exclusively by female members of local society. It is essentially a simplification of the Chinese script and is at least partially used phonetically to write the local dialect. Apart from its linguistic peculiarities, it has also gained much attention because of its social background and the fact that its use has been limited to female users. Zhao 1995 is one of the earliest studies emphasizing the cultural aspect of the script, whereas Endō and Huang 2005 is mainly devoted to linguistic considerations. Zhao 2005 is a facsimile collection of primary texts that provides access to the manuscripts for other scholars, and Idema 2009 is a translation of some of the texts written in this script.

Endō Orie 远藤织枝, and Huang Xuezhen 黄雪贞, eds. Nüshu de lishi yu xianzhuang: Jiexi nüshu de xin shidian (女书的历史与现状: 解析女书的新视点). Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 2005.
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A collection of academic articles related to Nüshu, including linguistic features such as the etymology and multivalence of graphs, and variant characters. Of special interest is the article by Shi Jinbo 史金波 that discusses the possible date of Nüshu in light of other ancient scripts once used in China.
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Idema, Wilt L. Heroines of Jiangyong: Chinese Narrative Ballads in Women’s Script. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2009.
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Translations of ballads from Jiangyong written in the Nüshu script, preceded by an introduction to the background of women’s writing. Understandably, the book focuses on the literary and cultural aspects of the texts, including its historical connections, rather than the script itself.
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Zhao Liming 赵丽明. Nüshu yu nüshu wenhua (女书与女书文化). Beijing: Xinhua chubanshe, 1995.
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An early study of the Nüshu phenomenon, with a focus on its social and cultural background. The last chapter makes an attempt to find parallels to scripts known to have been used by female users in other cultures, such as Japan and Korea.
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Zhao Liming 趙麗明. Zhongguo nüshu heji (中國女書合集). 5 vols. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2005.
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A facsimile collection of manuscripts written in the Nüshu script and divided into thematic categories. In addition to the images, the compiler also included full transcriptions into Chinese and occasional notes. This is a long-awaited publication that allows researchers to study the texts themselves and make their own conclusions.
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The Use of the Script in Non-Chinese Cultures

As the major writing system in East Asia, the Chinese script was also used for a number of other languages than Chinese, creating what Japanese scholars in the 1970s termed the cultural sphere of Chinese characters (kanji bunkaken 漢字文化圈). Not surprisingly, the strongest interest in this phenomenon has been in Japan, as manifested in the steady stream of Japanese monographs on the subject (e.g., Fujieda 1971, Tōdō 1971, Ishikawa 2007). Lurie 2011 also scrutinizes, among other things, the adoption of the script in Japan, with implications for the history of writing in general. In China, where interest in the spread of the script arose relatively late, the basic works on the topic are Lu 2002, Dong 2002, and Wang 2003. Finally, Qi 2006 examines the process and its cultural background in a single region—Vietnam.

Dong Ming 董明. Gudai Hanyu hanzi duiwai chuanbo shi (古代汉语汉字对外传播史). Beijing: Zhongguo da baike quanshu, 2002.
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An investigation of the use of the Chinese language and script in Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. An additional section is devoted to the role of religion in the spread of language, including medieval Buddhist contacts with Central and South Asia and later links with Western missionaries.
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Fujieda Akira 藤枝晃. Moji no bunkashi (文字の文化史). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1971.
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Introduction to the social history of Chinese characters for the general reader. Discusses the origin and development of the script, including other related topics, such as seals, writing media, bookbinding formats, and printing. One of the chapters enumerates the various other scripts that have been in contact with the Chinese.
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Ishikawa Kyūyō 石川九楊. Kanji ga tsukutta Higashi Ajia (漢字がつくった東アジア). Tokyo: Chikuma shobō, 2007.
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An examination of the role the Chinese script played in the development of the East Asian cultural sphere, including its use in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The author argues for the existence of a relatively unified East Asian culture that is largely determined by the use of Chinese characters.
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Lu Xixing 陆锡兴. Hanzi chuanbo shi (汉字传播史). Beijing: Yuwen chubanshe, 2002.
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A study of the history of how Chinese characters spread to other cultures that coexisted with the Chinese dynasties. The author examines the use of sinographs not only in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam but also among those peoples who lived in regions that are part of modern-day China.
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Lurie, David B. Realms of Literacy: Early Japan and the History of Writing. Harvard East Asian Monographs. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2011.
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A thorough investigation of the beginnings of writing in Japan and the gradual adoption of the Chinese script. The author discusses the complex history of literacy and how the Chinese script was used in a variety of ways to write and read both Chinese and Japanese languages.
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Qi Guangmou 祁广谋. “Hanyu hanzi zai Yuenan de chuanbo ji qi wenhua yiyi fenxi (汉语汉字在越南的传播及其文化意义分析).” Dongnanya yanjiu (东南亚研究) 5 (2006): 88–93.
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An analysis of the use of the Chinese language and the Chinese script in Vietnam, and the influences of this phenomenon on Vietnamese society and culture.
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Tōdō Akiyasu 藤堂明保. Kanji to sono bunkaken (漢字とその文化圈). Tokyo: Kōseikan, 1971.
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A general introduction to the development of Chinese characters in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Outlines the history of when and how the Chinese script was adopted in each of these regions, and explains the social background and technical difficulties of the process.
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Wang Feng 王锋. Cong Hanzi dao hanzixi wenzi: Hanzi wenhuaquan wenzi yanjiu (从汉字到汉字系文字: 汉字文化圈文字研究). Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 2003.
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A study of the development of non-Chinese East Asian writing systems that derive from the Chinese script, including the Zhuang, Chu Nom, Tangut, Khitan, and Jurchen scripts. In addition to describing each of these scripts in detail, the author also examines their historical evolution and peculiar cultural attributes.
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Punctuation and Other Marks

Although for most of its history Chinese writing was fully functional without punctuation, a number of marks had also been used before the introduction of Western-style punctuation in the Republican period. Their presence, however, was sporadic and often limited to educational and commentarial literature. With the emergence of a large amount of excavated material, punctuation, as a phenomenon intimately related to the use of the script, also became a subject of scholarly scrutiny. Guan 2002 is the only monograph devoted to the topic, covering the entire spectrum of Chinese history. Likewise, Harbsmeier 1998 discusses punctuation in general throughout history, while Behr and Führer 2005 are primarily concerned with early Chinese material. Ishizuka 1993, Galambos 2010, and Galambos 2013 focus on medieval manuscripts from Dunhuang.

Behr, Wolfgang, and Bernhard Führer. “Einführende Notizen zum Lesen in China mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Frühzeit.” In Aspekte des Lesens in China in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Edited by Bernhard Führer, 1–44. Bochum, Germany: Projekt Verlag, 2005.
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A study of reading in early China. Also includes an extensive discussion of the use of punctuation in manuscript material (pp. 34–44), including marks used for duplication and segmentation of text.
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Galambos, Imre. “Scribal Notation in Medieval Chinese Manuscripts: The Hewen (Ligature) and Chongwen (Duplication) Marks.” Manuscript Cultures in Asia and Africa (Hamburg University) 2 (2010): 5–9.
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A brief exploration of the use of the hewen 合文 and chongwen 重文 in the Dunhuang manuscripts. Demonstrates that while medieval use of hewen is unrelated to the type used in pre-Qin times, the chongwen mark shows a clear continuity from the Warring States into the dynastic period.
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Galambos, Imre. “Correction Marks in the Dunhuang Manuscripts.” In Studies in Chinese Manuscripts: From the Warring States Period to the 20th Century. Edited by Imre Galambos, 191–210. Budapest: Department of East Asian Languages of ELTE University, 2013.
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An overview of the marks used by medieval scribes to correct mistakes. Provides a classification of the most common marks illustrated by examples. An argument is advanced that the consistency of the notation over the course of several centuries is proof for the continuity of the manuscript tradition.
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Guan Xihua 管錫華. Zhongguo gudai biaodian fuhao fazhanshi (中國古代標點符號發展史). Chengdu, People’s Republic of China: Bashu shushe, 2002.
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A book-length diachronic overview of the use of punctuation in traditional Chinese textual culture, from the oracle-bone inscriptions and Warring States bamboo slips to Dunhuang manuscripts and the Qing dynasty.
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Harbsmeier, Christoph. “Language and Logic.” In Science and Civilisation in China. Vol. 7. Part 1. Edited by Kenneth Robinson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
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Includes a brief overview of punctuation. Shows that while texts in China have been generally unpunctuated, various marks appeared as early as the Warring States manuscripts, even though their use remained inconsistent. It was only in the 20th century that Western punctuation was introduced and became used in a systematic way.
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Ishizuka, Harumichi. “The Origins of the Ssŭ-Shêng Marks.” Acta Asiatica 65 (1993): 30–50.
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A study of the beginnings of the sisheng 四聲 marks in China and Japan. Distinguishes between the sisheng marks that indicated the tone of a character and the poyin 破音 marks used to differentiate between the original and derivative meanings of characters in context.
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The Chinese Script
by
Imre Galambos
LAST REVIEWED: 08 June 2017
LAST MODIFIED: 28 April 2014
DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199920082-0066

Introduction

General Overviews

Nature of the Script

Champions of Ideography

Phoneticians

Structure of Characters

Origins of Chinese Writing

Invention

Ritual Origin

Contacts with Western Asia

The Script Through Time

Shang and Zhou Inscriptions

Scripts of the Warring States

The Qin-Han Transition

After the Han

The Modern Script

Variant Characters

Taboo Characters

Empress Wu Characters

Literacy

Nüshu

The Use of the Script in Non-Chinese Cultures

Punctuation and Other Marks

Chinese Studies

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The Chinese Script byImre GalambosLAST REVIEWED: 08 June 2017LAST MODIFIED: 28 April 2014DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199920082-0066

Introduction

General Overviews

Nature of the Script

Champions of Ideography

Phoneticians

Structure of Characters

Origins of Chinese Writing

Invention

Ritual Origin

Contacts with Western Asia

The Script Through Time

Shang and Zhou Inscriptions

Scripts of the Warring States

The Qin-Han Transition

After the Han

The Modern Script

Variant Characters

Taboo Characters

Empress Wu Characters

Literacy

Nüshu

The Use of the Script in Non-Chinese Cultures

Punctuation and Other Marks

Chinese Studies

Article

Related Articles Expand or collapse the "related articles" section about

The Chinese Script
by
Imre Galambos
LAST REVIEWED: 08 June 2017
LAST MODIFIED: 28 April 2014
DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199920082-0066