文字起源的多层序性

On the Multifaceted Origin of Characters

关于世界上各种古老文字的起源问题,历来是一个热门话题,有许多不同的说法,如契刻说、结绳说、八卦说、手势说、图画说、图腾说等等。但所有这些说法,都只局限在文字最终生成的＂近亲＂上。要真正建立完备的文字生成理论,还必须以传统的诸说为基础,再深究其远源。

Origins of various ancient characters around the world have long been a major concern,and there are different hypotheses such as ＂tie knots,＂ the ＂Eight Diagrams,＂ ＂picture,＂ ＂the token＂,totem and ＂carved characters,＂ among others.However,all these sayings are confined to the final kinship generation of characters;a complete set of theories on character generation must be based on all the traditional sayings and explored to the bottom of different origins.