“家”字探源

Diving into the Source of the Chinese Character“家”

“家”字,按中国最古字典《说文解字》的解释,竟然有“猪居”在先还是“人居”在先、抑或“猪居”“人居”混一的困惑!从唯物史观的视角看,“人”“猪”关系的实质是人与自然的关系,实用优先,却也要可持续的和谐发展。海南省黎族原住民居提供了鲜活的佐证。现代家居的发展不应割断自然“恩泽”的历史。

According to Explanation and Study of Principles of Composition of Characters,an ancient Chinese dictionary,the Chinese character“家”means the home of pigs or the home of people,and the former emerged before the latter.This explanation is just too obscure.Also,from the perspective of historical materialism,the relation between people and pigs is in essence that between people and nature.The original residential areas of the Li nationality inhabiting Hainan Province have furnished the lively evidence of the viewpoints mentioned above.Therefore,the development of modern family residences should not be garbled out of the historical context of the bounty of nature.