Amazing Chinese Characters (738）Disaster - 祸

The bronze script of character Disaster is

The left is character Display (Post 329), the right is character Skeleton (Post 736). The character Display is an omen in divination. If it is a skeleton, the future or the result of upcoming action would be disaster.

The big seal script of character Disaster is 

Similar to bronze script, the left is character Display, the right is character Skeleton.

The small seal script of character Disaster is

The left is similar to old scripts, the right is similar to bronze script.

The clerical script of character Disaster is

The left is Radical Display, the right is similar to small seal script.

The Pinyin of the character is Huo4. 

Many dictionary or translation app translate the character to be misfortune. It is true, the character has the meaning of misfortune, but misfortune may be only unlucky, not disaster. The character has disaster, much worse than misfortune. 

Amazing Chinese Characters (737）Cut-fresh-from-bone - 剐（剮）

The shell bone script of character Cut-fresh-from-bone is

Same as the shell bone of character Skeleton (Post 736）. I think that the above is a bone after all fresh was cut off, implying the Cut-fresh-from-bone.

The big seal script of character Cut-fresh-from-bone is

The top left is bone, the bottom is character Mouth, here it means the tube of the bone, the right is character Knife (Post 61), which is used to cut the fresh off the bone. 

The small seal script of character Cut-fresh-from-bone is

The left is character Skeleton - 呙，the right is character Knife.

The clerical script of character Cut-fresh-from-bone is

Simplified song typeface of the character is

The left top inside is empty, the bottom changed from 口 to 人, two strokes less, but really unnecessary.

The Pinyin of the character is Gua3.

 

Amazing Chinese Characters (736）Skeleton - 呙

 The shell bone script of character Skeleton is

It is a skeleton, the structure of bones, the "Dictionary of Pictography" explains it as skeleton, I agree. Other dictionaries explain it as Cut or Separate the meat from the bone surface, but they agree that Cut or Separate is one of the meanings of character 呙.

I think that the character means Skeleton as a noun, and Cut or Separate as a verb. 

This character is a different another Character Skeleton - 骸 （Post 584), which means bones of died pig originally, and bones of died body now, no meaning of Cut.

The big seal script of character Skeleton is

The top is skeleton, the bottom is character Mouth, here it means empty of the bone.

The small seal script of character Skeleton is

The top and the bottom Arch-like are the skeleton, the inside of the Arch-like is character Mouth.

The clerical script of character Skeleton is

Similar to small seal script.

The simplified song typeface of the character Skeleton is

The inside of the top is empty, and the bottom 口 is changed to left falling stroke and a point.

The Pinyin of the character is Guo1. 

Pictographic Explanation of Character Turtle：龟/龜 (Video)

 

Amazing Chinese Characters (735) Distinguish - 辨

The bronze script of character Distinguish is

The left and right are similar to character Pungent (Post 733), the top has no dot, meaning tongue, not pungent. The middle is character Person (Post 37). The person listens to two people debating with tongue moving to say. The middle person try to distinguish who is right or whose argument is better.

The big seal script of character Distinguish is

Similar to bronze script, but the left and right are character Pungent now, the top have a short horizontal line.

The small seal script of character Distinguish is

Similar to big seal script, except the middle one looks like character Knife (Post 61). Character People and character Knife are similar, sometimes difficult to tell.

The clerical script of charactre Distinguish is

The two sides are characters Pungent, the middle character People changed to dot + a left falling stroke, which has no connection to character People. Why? I don't know.

The Pinyin of the character is Bian4.

Amazing Chinese Characters (734) Debate - 辩（辯）

The big seal script of character Debate is

The left is character Pungent (Post 733), the middle is character Say (Post 158), the right is another Pungent. The character means that two people (using their tongues) debate (say).

The small seal script of character Debate is

Similar to big seal script.

The clerical script of character Debate is

The middle character Say are all straight lines, two character Pungent are similar to small seal script with minor change.

The Pinyin of the character is Bian4.

Why should we learn Chinese pictography 16 September 2024