◎Zhu Yuqian/Text

【Abstract】 Chinese characters, also known as square characters, are the recording symbols of the Chinese language. They have a long history of more than 6,000 years and are recognized as one of the oldest characters in the world. Chinese characters are the carrier of Chinese culture. They are not only the link that maintains the common progress and development of all Chinese nations, but also have a significant impact on the civilizational development of neighboring countries in the East Asian cultural circle. Japan is an island country located in eastern Asia. It has had relatively frequent exchanges of cultural and religious activities with China since ancient times, and has been radiated by Chinese civilization in politics, economy, culture and other aspects. The introduction of Chinese characters to Japan can be traced back to before the first century BC. The introduction of Chinese characters injected new vitality into Japanese thought and culture at that time. This article explores the relationship between Chinese characters and Japanese characters, and Chinese characters and ancient Japanese calligraphy culture through the calligraphy culture in traditional Japanese culture, thereby reflecting the important role of Chinese characters in the cultural and historical exchanges between China and Japan.

[Keywords] Chinese characters; calligraphy culture; ancient Japan; history and culture

1. A brief history of the development of Chinese characters

Chinese characters, as the oldest existing ideograms in the world, transcend the limitations of time and space and show the world the wisdom and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation for thousands of years. Engels once spoke highly of the birth of writing: "It started with the smelting of iron ore and transitioned to the civilized era due to the invention of writing and its application in documentary records." If the use of language means the first step towards civilization for mankind, One step, then the creation, mastery and use of words marks that mankind has boarded the express train to the bright world. It is currently impossible to determine the time and place when Chinese characters were first produced, and the creator of Chinese characters only exists in some legends that cannot be supported. However, we can be sure that the invention of writing cannot simply be attributed to a specific historical figure, but was gradually created and perfected by the ancestors of the Chinese nation over the course of history.

(1) Oracle

China The earliest relatively systematic and mature writing system is undoubtedly the oracle bone writing system. Oracle bone writing is the writing written on tortoise shells and animal bones. Oracle bone inscriptions were first discovered by Wang Yirong, an epigrapher in the late Qing Dynasty, and were unearthed at the Yin Ruins in Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan. Since oracle bone inscriptions are written on the "dragon bones" used in traditional Chinese medicine and were used for divination and recording events in ancient times, they are also called "deeds". "Articles" and "oracle bone inscriptions".

(2) Bronze Inscriptions

From the Yin Shang Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, under the social background of the rapid development of productivity and the widespread use of bronze vessels in various fields, there appeared some characters engraved on bronze vessels such as seals, coins, measuring vessels, etc. These characters had thick and curved strokes. The many and simple fonts are called "Bronze Inscriptions", also known as "Zhongding Wen" and "Bronze Inscriptions". Until the Western Zhou Dynasty, bronze inscriptions had become the mainstream of writing at that time, replacing the central position of oracle bone inscriptions.

(3) Seal Script

Seal Script , generally divided into two types: large seal script and small seal script. Seal script is also a type of stone inscription that existed as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the vigorous development of social economy, a trend of "a hundred schools of thought contending" emerged in culture, and a situation of "speeches with different voices and characters with different shapes" also formed in writing. Before the Qin Dynasty destroyed the Six Kingdoms, the seal script occupied a central position in writing. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, in order to strengthen the centralization of power and unify writing, weights and measures across the country, the small seal script was widely used instead of the large seal script under the promotion of the imperial court.

(IV) Official Script

Enter After the Han Dynasty, due to the complicated and curved shapes of small seal characters and the difficulty of writing, Chinese character fonts gradually evolved into "cursive script". Later, the cursive script was "changed from round to square, and curved to straight" to become official script. The emergence of official script was a huge change in the form of Chinese characters, which made concrete Chinese characters abstract, realized the simplicity of fonts, and changed the ancient style of Chinese characters.

(5) Regular script

Regular script Along with cursive script and running script, it was produced in the Han Dynasty and became popular in the Tang Dynasty. It was not until the Northern Song Dynasty that the invention and popularization of movable type brushing technology consolidated the popularity of regular script. Regular script, with its square font, straight strokes and easy writing, combines the characteristics of cursive script and official script. It has been welcomed by the people and has been completely integrated into modern life today.

2. The journey of text: Chinese characters spread eastward to Japan

"Language is the basis for the production of characters, and characters are the written symbols of language. The formation of characters is inseparable from the development of language." According to some ancient documents and rigorous research by archaeologists, Japan originally did not have its own country. The unique and unique writing system is recorded in "Book of Sui·Dongyi Biography": "The Japanese country had no writing. They only had writing by means of carving wood and tying ropes, and they obtained Buddhist scriptures in Baekje."

Scholars often wonder when and where Chinese characters were introduced to Japan? In modern times, many bronze mirrors made in the Western Han Dynasty have been unearthed from urn coffin tombs in Kitakyushu in the middle of the Yayoi period, and many of them have inscriptions in Chinese characters. Therefore, academic circles in China and Japan generally believe that during the Yayoi period (approximately 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD), immigrants from mainland China had introduced writing to Japan. In addition, the Yayoi characters unearthed by archaeologists so far are all single Chinese characters that cannot form a literary meaning, and the strokes of most characters are also incomplete and unclear. From this, it can be inferred that the Japanese in the Yayoi period only regarded Chinese characters as a kind of aesthetic feeling. The meaning of pattern decoration is difficult to understand. The Japanese at that time were still in the initial stage of encountering Chinese characters.

During the Kofun Period, the immigration of foreign immigrants also brought a large number of books with Chinese characters. "Ancient Sayings Supplement" (807) says: "The people of Baiji in the Qin and Han Dynasties were tens of thousands each." The emergence of this immigration climax was closely related to the political situation in China at that time. In the early fourth century, China formed a confrontation between the north and the south. situation, the north fell into the melee of the "Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms", causing a large number of northern residents to enter Japan via the Korean Peninsula. The Han immigrants who immigrated during this period entered Japan in the form of technical groups, and were divided into different departments according to the different technologies they mastered. Among them, the most critical translation department (a group proficient in foreign languages, and foreign languages ​​mostly refer to Chinese) played an important role in the spread of Chinese characters and Chinese language. plays an important role.

In the Asuka period, the Buddhist scriptures introduced to Japan along with Buddhism and Confucianism made Chinese characters completely penetrate into Japanese life. With the integration of foreign immigrants and indigenous people, mainland culture began to spread throughout Japan. Japan began to recruit doctors from the Five Classics to study Chinese Confucian culture. The so-called "Five Classics" are the "Book of Changes", "Book of Songs", "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites", Chunqiu Zuo Shi Zhuan" is a collection of Confucian classics. According to the "Nihon Shoki", the approximate time when Buddhism was officially introduced to Japan was about 552 years, and the recipients were mainly Japanese imperial nobles. Prince Shotoku highly praised Buddhism and personally taught Buddhist scriptures to the emperor and ministers. On this basis, he wrote the "San Sutra Yishu", which is of great significance in the history of Japanese culture.

3. Chinese characters and Japan

The famous Japanese scholar Ohno Susumu once pointed out the relationship between words and culture: "Words are the inheritance of culture, words are the inheritance of culture, religion is the religion, and close connection is the existence of the relationship." Undoubtedly, writing is not only a A symbol that records human language, and there is an inextricable connection between words and culture. Chinese characters rooted in the soil of Chinese culture bear profound imprints of agricultural economy, Confucian culture, and religious thoughts such as Buddhism and Taoism. Ancient Japan, which accepted and learned Chinese characters and used them to create kana, left traces of the infiltration of Chinese culture in terms of politics, ideology, religion, and culture.

(1) Kanji: Placenta of Japanese Kana characters

Japanese characters are currently the most similar characters to Chinese characters in the world, which is closely related to the close cultural exchanges and integration between China and Japan in history. According to statistics, there are about 2,000 Chinese characters used in modern Japanese. Mastering the important 1,000 characters can understand 90% of the reading content. Since ancient Japan did not have written characters to record the language, the first introduced Chinese characters were used by the ancient Japanese as phonetic characters, and after a period of use, they developed into ideographic characters. During the long-term use of Chinese characters, Chinese characters were gradually simplified and transformed, and in the middle of the Heian period, katakana and hiragana were created.

Katakana is named because its glyph is very similar to the radical of Chinese regular script. You might as well make a bold guess that " Katakana " is also a katakana character. Tong "bias". The origin of katakana is directly related to the spread and popularity of Buddhism in Japan. When Buddhism was introduced to Japan, it was more academic than religion and spread among monks and nobles. During the Nara period, lectures and copying of scriptures were very popular in major temples. When monks listen to their master's lectures on Buddhist scriptures, they mark teaching points or pronunciations around Chinese characters, which is a cumbersome process. Therefore, in order to write in a timely and comfortable manner and improve efficiency, the radicals or radicals of Chinese characters were abbreviated. Over time, the abbreviations of these kanji became a consensus and gradually evolved into katakana.

The glyphs of Hiragana have prominent features of roundness, smoothness, and smooth lines, which are similar to the cursive glyphs of Chinese characters. Hiragana is also called "female hand", which also reflects that its creation is directly related to women at that time. The aristocratic women of the Heian period had a good educational environment and were able to learn and absorb cultural knowledge relatively freely. At the same time, they cultivated unique cultural sensibilities, creativity and high cultural literacy in a relatively closed circle. On the one hand, they are deeply influenced by Chinese characters and Chinese culture; on the other hand, they write their own words in a way that suits their own characteristics and mood.

In short, Japan’s hiragana and katakana are both derived from Chinese characters. They are based on learning foreign characters and combining them with the actual situation of the country. Characters that belong to the nation are formed through appropriate selection and transformation. Japanese kana bears the distinctive characteristics of Japanese culture and is a clever combination of imitation and innovation.

(2) Kanji: The beacon of ancient Japanese calligraphy

In ancient times, a concentric circle was formed with the splendid Chinese civilization as the core, which produced varying degrees of cultural radiation to surrounding countries, large and small. The art of calligraphy, which originated in China, is like poetry, painting, song and dance. It is one of the most unique forms of artistic expression in the treasure house of Eastern culture. The trend of calligraphy art has also entered other countries with the east wind of the Chinese character culture circle. Japan is one of the countries in the Chinese character culture circle. Looking back at the history of the development of Japanese characters and calligraphy, we can see that Chinese characters and calligraphy have had a profound impact on it. This article will refer to the historical period starting from the Kofun Period, passing through the Asuka and Nara Periods, and ending in the Heian Period as ancient Japan.

Calligraphy in Japanese refers to the writing method of text and articles. The real art of writing is generally represented by the word "calligraphy". In order to facilitate understanding, the article uses the unified term "calligraphy". Japanese calligraphy culture has different characteristics in different eras, but it has the shadow of Chinese calligraphy to varying degrees. Roughly taking the Heian period as the dividing line, Japanese calligraphy is mainly divided into two main systems: "Tang style" and "Waka style".

Chen Zhenlian, one of the most important scholars in the study of Japanese calligraphy in my country, once said: "With Chinese characters, there is calligraphy. As long as it exists, it constitutes Japan. The first act of the history of calligraphy." Therefore, based on the history of the spread of Chinese characters eastward to Japan, the middle and late Yayoi era can be roughly regarded as the budding period of the history of Japanese calligraphy. During the Kofun period, Japanese calligraphy was still in a relatively rudimentary stage. During this period, Japan mainly learned the calligraphy and culture of Southern China through Baekje. Although some original Chinese calligraphy was circulated, it was not fully absorbed and digested by the Japanese at that time.

In the Asuka Period, a large number of Chinese Buddhist scriptures and Confucian classics were introduced as Buddhism and Confucianism gradually became popular in Japan. "Fahua Yishu", which has high calligraphy value, uses soft pens and is full of life and interest. Its font has the style of the Six Dynasties and the charm of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It can be said that it is directly modeled on Chinese calligraphy. During the Feiniao period, the calligraphy style of the calligraphy work "Preface to Wang Bo's Poems" was deeply influenced by Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and the glyphs and characters were very accomplished; the glyphs and rhymes of another famous work "Vajra Field Dharani Sutra" that has been passed down to this day are based on The style of Ouyang Tong, a famous regular script writer in the Tang Dynasty. Several epigraphic inscriptions have also been handed down from the Asuka period, the most representative of which is the "Inscription on the Broken Uji Bridge". This inscription is large, powerful, and the calligraphy style is simple and elegant, which is very characteristic of Chinese calligraphy in the Six Dynasties. The content describes the 646 Taoist period. Climbing the Uji Bridge.

The Nara period was a period when Japan pursued East Asian trends and fully absorbed mainland culture. It was also the true beginning of the history of Japanese calligraphy. During this period, with the expansion of the literate class in Japanese society, in addition to the function of recording language, the aesthetic value of fonts also received social attention. "Duohu Commandery Stele" is a unique work that astonishes the world, and its calligraphy style fully displays the unique charm of the calligraphy of the Six Dynasties. It can be inferred from this that the calligraphy of the Nara period has been as profound as the study and understanding of the calligraphy of the Six Dynasties. During the Nara period, with the rise of various schools of Buddhism, the business of copying and writing sutras was very prosperous. The style of writing sutras also changed with the times, from the sharp and handsome Six Dynasties style to the round and elegant style of Sui and Tang Dynasties.

During the Heian period and subsequent dynasties, Japan’s national style culture emerged from the fertile soil of absorbing foreign culture and gained momentum. Make a splash. In 894 AD, Sugamoto Michizane petitioned to stop sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty, and Japanese calligraphy began to sprout. From then on, the era of Japanese calligraphy truly ushered in. In the early Heian period, the more famous "three strokes" of calligraphers were Kukai, Emperor Saga, and Tachibana Issei. Their calligraphy styles still grew up in the atmosphere of Chinese calligraphy, cleverly based on Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and incorporating Yan Zhenqing's style. Tall, majestic, and quite creative; the "three traces" are Ono Michikaze, Fujiwara Saori, and Fujiwara Yukinari. These three calligraphers all admire famous Chinese calligraphers, and their works also have the style and charm of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Ono Michikaze is even more so. It is regarded as "the reincarnation of Xi" by the Japanese. In the middle and late Heian period, the birth and development of kana writing also promoted the progress of Japanese calligraphy. The calligrapher Huaisu's strange and difficult cursive style of flying dragons and snakes was highly praised. The influence of the Jin and Tang calligraphy styles on Japan is naturally self-evident. Many famous calligraphers in the Heian period created their works based on absorbing the Jin and Tang calligraphy styles.

From the above perspective of the development process of ancient Japanese calligraphy and its calligraphy characteristics, ancient Japanese calligraphy culture is closely related to the development of Chinese calligraphy culture . The historical fact that Japanese characters were born out of Chinese characters has determined that the development of its calligraphy culture will be bound to the cultural fetters of Chinese characters. Both Chinese calligraphy and Japanese calligraphy are cultural treasures of their nation and country, witnessing the changes of the times and possessing unique styles bearing the imprint of their own countries. Chinese characters are not only a bridge between China and Japan in terms of culture, ideology, and politics, but also a giant sail for the two countries to move forward hand in hand in the waves of history.

IV. Summary

Mentioning Japan , most people would think of the neighborly relationship between China and Japan, which is "across the sea and separated by a strip of water." China and Japan both belong to Asia and have many similarities. With the rapid development of global informatization, we gradually have more channels and windows to understand foreign countries. Chinese characters seem to provide a tunnel that can travel through ancient and modern times. Along this tunnel, we can trace the history of China and Japan. The origin of the encounter, and a series of exchanges and learning after the encounter. Calligraphy culture is only a corner of the cultures of the two countries. From the exploration of Chinese characters and Japanese calligraphy culture, we can gain a more comprehensive and profound understanding of the historical and cultural relations between China and Japan.

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(Reprinted by Meng Yunfei from "Jingu Wenchuang" Issue 26, 2022)