Fallacy of Pictographic Chinese Characters

Are Chinese characters pictographs? Check out this video that premiers tomororrow.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GSeUxYSuvVs

The Chinese Alphabet

I am starting a new series about the Chinese "alphabet", the individual strokes of Chinese writing. Stay tuned for more. Here is the first episode. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WyzkOtEyvwg

Vocabulary in Chinese influenced by multiple layers of contact

Here is a comprehensive table showing that core lexical, technical, ritual, and political vocabulary in Chinese was influenced by multiple layers of contact: Buddhist (Sanskrit/Pali), Silk Road (Central Asian/Iranian), southern (Austroasiatic/Tai/Hmong-Mien), Mongolic, and Manchu 1. Buddhist Lexicon (Sanskrit / Pali) | 佛 Fó | Buddha | Sanskrit | Early adoption of foreign religious terminology, challenging purely Han religious lexical development. | | 菩薩 púsà | Bodhisattva | Sanskrit | Complex phonological adaptation suggests deep integration of foreign spiritual terms. | | 涅槃 nièpán | Nirvāṇa | Sanskrit | Suggests abstract philosophical concepts borrowed early from India. | | 羅漢 luóhàn | Arhat | Sanskrit/Prakrit | Non-Han lexicon in canonical texts; challenges indigenous origin narrative. | | 菩提 pútí | Bodhi | Sanskrit | Fundamental Buddhist term, illustrating Indian influence. | | 塔 tǎ | Stūpa | Sanskrit | Physical and religious vocabulary shows Central Asian transmission. | | 禪 chán | Dhyāna | Sanskrit/Pali | Meditation vocabulary imported, redefining Chinese spiritual lexicon. | | 僧伽 sēngqié | Saṅgha | Sanskrit | Institutional vocabulary foreign in origin. | | 華嚴 huáyán | Avataṃsaka | Sanskrit | Semantic translation combined with phonetic adaptation, complex borrowing. | | 曼荼羅 màntuóluó | Maṇḍala | Sanskrit | Ritual and technical term fully absorbed into Chinese phonology. | 2. Silk Road / Central Asian Vocabulary | 獅 shī | šēr | Persian | Suggests early Western Eurasian contact; challenges self-contained Chinese origin. | | 葡萄 pútáo | bōtō | Persian | Agricultural lexicon borrowed; undermines purely indigenous narrative. | | 胡蘿蔔 húluóbo | karot | Persian via Turkic | Steppe influence on food vocabulary. | | 胡椒 hújiāo | pippalī | Sanskrit | Early spice import; “Hu-” prefix highlights foreignness. | | 胡琴 húqín | Iranian/Turkic | Musical instrument | Steppe and Central Asian cultural influence. | | 石榴 shíliu | anar/nar | Persian | Imported fruit lexicon; challenges self-sufficiency idea. | | 茶 chá | Proto-Tibeto-Burman / Austroasiatic | Southern languages | Agricultural product with southern origins; complicates Han-centered narrative. | | 硝 xiāo | sal | Iranian | Technical term for saltpeter; shows knowledge transfer. | | 琵琶 pípá | pipa | Persian/Indian | Musical instrument; shows cross-cultural borrowing. | | 錢 qián | dinar/drachma | Greek/Persian | Monetary concept; imported via trade. | 3. Southern / Austroasiatic, Tai, Hmong-Mien | 米 mǐ | mər | Austroasiatic | Staple crop; core vocabulary from non-Han southern languages. | | 象 xiàng | cɔŋ | Austroasiatic | Core fauna lexicon; challenges indigenous origin. | | 牛 niú | Proto-Tibeto-Burman | Tibeto-Burman | Basic domestic animal word, non-Han origin. | | 竹 zhú | Austroasiatic / Tai | Southern languages | Agriculture lexicon, non-Han influence. | | 甘蔗 gānzhè | ʔkacəʔ | Austroasiatic | Cultivated crop, southern borrowings. | | 芋 yù | ʔŋawʔ | Austroasiatic | Root vegetable; basic food vocabulary borrowed. | | 柚 yòu | Tai | Tai-Kadai | Southern fruit, showing early contact. | | 猴 hóu | Tai | Tai-Kadai | Fauna lexicon, southern influence. | | 柿 shì | Austroasiatic | Southern China | Food vocabulary, non-Han origin. | | 琉璃 liúlí | Indic via Austroasiatic | Glass / glaze | Technical / craft term showing maritime trade influence. | 4. Mongolic / Steppe Influence | 可汗 kèhán | khān | Mongolic/Turkic | Borrowed title for rulers; challenges “purely Chinese” political lexicon. | | 哈達 hādá | khadag | Mongolic/Tibetan | Ceremonial object; foreign ritual vocabulary integrated. | | 團禮 tuánlǐ | töröl | Mongolic | Social / ritual vocabulary; steppe import. | | 斡脫 wòtuō | orto | Mongolic | Administrative term; non-Han governance vocabulary. | | 札撒 zhásà | jasagh | Mongolic | Legal/administrative term; highlights Mongol rule integration. | | 台吉 táijí | taiji | Mongolic | Aristocratic title; foreign political vocabulary. | | 班禪 bānchán | Mongolic/Tibetan | Religious title | Non-Han religious lexicon in Chinese. | | 喇嘛 lǎma | Tibetan via Mongol | Monk | Religious vocabulary of foreign origin. | | 蘇魯克 sūlǔkè | Mongolic | Hunt/expedition | Steppe cultural term in Chinese. | | 蘇打 sūdá | Mongolic via Turkic | Soda/alkali | Material vocabulary; technical borrowing. | 5. Manchu / Qing Administration Influence | 班禪 bānchán | Manchu/Tibetan | Religious title | Retained in Qing; non-Han institutional vocabulary. | | 藩部 fānbù | Manchu fambure | Administrative territory | Bureaucratic term imported; foreign origin. | | 護衛 hùwèi | Manchu hūwei | Military guard | Foreign military-administrative lexicon. | | 鑲黃旗 xiāng huáng qí | Manchu šanggiyan gūsa | Banner system | Political-administrative borrowing. | | 額駙 éfù | Manchu efu | Imperial son-in-law | Court vocabulary from Manchu. | | 套馬 tàomǎ | Manchu toma | Horse-catching term | Steppe culture integrated into Chinese lexicon. | | 烏拉 Wūlā | Manchu ula | River/place names | Geographic vocabulary of non-Han origin. | | 哈爾濱 Hā’ěrbīn | Manchu halbin | Place name | Toponymic borrowing. | | 蘇魯克 sūlǔkè | Manchu | Hunt/expedition | Steppe cultural term in Qing China. | | 托克托 tuōkètuō | Manchu | Personal name/title | Reflects Manchu administrative lexicon. |

Mysterious Chinese character 寡 - Easy to remember, difficult to write #chinesewriting

The video is about the character 寡. This character is problematic because despite being a rather common character, it is very difficult to vrite down from memory, and understanding its etymology is no big help either.. The second problem with the character is that its main meaning, that of "widow" has no connection with the secondary meaning of the character: 1. ''very" and 2. "few". This video is suseful because it teaches you the stroke order of the character 寡 and evolution of the character and its role in understanding the phenomenon of "character amnesia'" that plagues the Chinese writing system.

Two unlikely Twins: Schwarzenegger and De Vito and the unique Chinese character twins 忙 and 忘

Actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny De Vito in the movie Twins make an unusual pair, but so do the Chinese character twins 忘 and 忙 represent a unique pair within the Chinese writing system. The two characters have exactly the same radical component 心 忄and the same phonetic component 亡， yet their meaning is different and so is their pronunciation. In this video you will learn the pronunciation and the stroke order of the characters. My problem with the two chracatcesr is that the radical is not written consistently and that the so-called phonetic component leads to three different pronunciations https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DrQXvfysjtQ

Schwarzenegger's Nose and the Painful Reality of Chinese Writing

This video means to tackle with the difficult reality of some easy-to-recognize-but-painfully-difficult-to-write characters. One such character is the character 齉 which is written with 36 strokes. How hard can that be? Watch the video to understand the composition of the character, how the meaning and the sound are constructed. If you like language challenges, this video is for you. You won't believe what connects Arnold with the Chinese characters. href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHLuGFWGFxIeg8cayyE0gYSmPhPPMNe_Zz0EzYCmNX4AeQC-4ImlderoBMQd_37HbnKX3XrgcWc6L-S76Pi7ThJFjfbPFFUBrJhAeQwvJmyRa0HCfwvh-AO374Zw8o_0g5pWfes-2cNabliPcjJadTOPXa7ibQDYjNJZWbg4DSEucw07E7rEq7zL9vow2/s1571/K%C3%A9perny%C5%91felv%C3%A9tel%20%281116%29.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; ">

Easy yet difficult Chinese characters - Semantic Onions of multiple layers #防御defend

Premiere on the 8th of october 12.00 a.m.

Many frequent Chinese characters are simply impossible to write from memory. All this despite the fact that these characters are partly pictographs, that is to say they are supposedly pictographic representations of the real world. If you look at the character 御 in its various forms and shapes along its millennia-old evolution you'll notice that some parts of the character look like a four-legged animal, a swine, maybe a dog or, who knows, a horse even. Premiere on the 8th of October.