“文”之为德:华夏文明的汉字美学特质——三论“图象先于声音”

“Wen”( the Patterns) as Virtue: An Analysis into the Aesthetic Element in “Hanzi”( Chinese Characters)as a Representation of Chinese Civilization:——A Further Study of “Image Preceding Phonetic Sound”

"文"不仅为汉字造字之根本,更是"文章"、"文化"与"文明"的内在依据。汉字作为经过升华与凝练的"图象",不仅是语言表达的工具,本身就是一种沉默的表达。通过汉字"字象"可以溯其上永久保留的华夏先民的历史文化图景与美学追求。以字形为先在条件的构字方式契合了汉民族的直觉思维而非逻辑思维。这一思维方式以视觉区别概念进行一种综合的判断,形成集形、音、义于一体的"象形"、"指事"、"会意"三种构字法通约的认知路径。由此,形成语言学与文字学的分立,揭示了中西方文化的根本分野。

In ＂wen＂ （the patterns） of Hanzi （Chinese characters）, we can trace both the origin of Hanzi and the foundation of ＂wenzhang＂ （ literary works）, ＂wenhua＂ （ culture）, and ＂wenming＂ （civilization）. Hanzi, as a sublimated and condensed pictorial symbol system, serves as a language tool as well as expression in itself in a silent way. Even with- out sound articulated, it is possible for us to recall lives of the Chinese ancestors and their aesthetic ideals that were perma- nently represented in the character pattern of Hanzi, a living fossil of the Chinese history and society. Pattern-based charac- ter formation of Hanzi inherently accords with the intuitive mindset of the Han ethnic group, which works in a comprehen- sive way based on visual discrimination of concepts, and in this way we cognize Hanzi--a multi-media combination of pat- tern, sound, and meaning. ＂Recognition in seeing, Perception in observing＂ is a shared approach to these three principles of character formation in Hanzi--＂ xiangxing＂ （ pictographs ）, ＂zhishi＂ （ ideograms ）, and ＂huiyi＂ （ compound ideo- graphs）, herein meaning is perceived visually. In conclusion, the pictorial mindset typically represented in Hanzi not only leads to the division of linguistics and philology, but also indicates a fundamental difference between the Chinese culture and the Western culture.