hanzi Archives - Beyond Calligraphy

The Beauty of Inefficiency: A story about Traditional Hiragana

By Kaoru Akagawa / 22/03/2013 / 2 Comments

My grandmother is one of the last generations to use the old Hiragana in daily life. By contrast, my Father, who was born in

Inspire Others: Volume 1, Issue 2

By Dave Gosine / 17/10/2012 / 0 Comments

Welcome to Inspire Others. As we continue the theme Autumn, the next inspirational word will be Chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemums through out Asian History have

Inspire Others: Volume 1, Issue 1

By Dave Gosine / 25/09/2012 / 6 Comments

Welcome to Inspire Others. For the very first post we wish to begin simply. We have just entered the month of September which in Japan means time for the leaves to change colour.

Kanji: 人

By Ponte Ryūrui / 11/07/2012 / 0 Comments

Shu shen (許慎, pinyin: Xǔ Shèn, ca. 58 C.E. – ca. 147 C.E.), the meaning of the character 人 was associated with the virtues of Heaven and Earth (i.e. the universe).

Kanji: 森

By Ponte Ryūrui / 20/06/2012 / 0 Comments

森 follows a concept of three pictographs of a tree (木, き, ki) combined in one character, and it emphasises thick tree growth, i.e. woods.

Kanji: 上

By Ponte Ryūrui / 14/06/2012 / 1 Comment

the character 上 originally meant “the higher part (or place)”, and it was represented by two horizontal lines. In later stages its meaning was broadened to

Kanji: 小

By Ponte Ryūrui / 24/05/2012 / 1 Comment

Xiao Xu Ben a revision of Shuowen Jiezi written by the Late Han dynasty scholar Xu Kai, supports the above mentioned definition of 小, by further explanation

Kanji: 女

By Ponte Ryūrui / 09/05/2012 / 1 Comment

a philologist of the Han dynasty (漢朝, pinyin: Hàn Cháo, 206 B.C. – 220 C.E.) is quite simple and straight forward. Xu states that the character 女 represents a woman.

Kanji: 出

By Ponte Ryūrui / 24/04/2012 / 1 Comment

The shape of the character 出 symbolises a step forward executed with vigour; each step starts from placing the heel on the ground. A strongly placed foot

Kanji: 十

By Ponte Ryūrui / 12/04/2012 / 0 Comments

the shape of 十 was based on the concept of a vertically oblong tool used for calculations (Figures 1 and 2). Please also refer to the etymology of the

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The Beauty of Inefficiency: A story about Traditional Hiragana

Inspire Others: Volume 1, Issue 2

Inspire Others: Volume 1, Issue 1

Kanji: 人

Kanji: 森

Kanji: 上

Kanji: 小

Kanji: 女

Kanji: 出

Kanji: 十

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