Sui script: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
WikiEditor50 (talk | contribs) Rescuing 3 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.8.1 |
WikiEditor50 (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 21: | Line 21: | ||
| footnotes = <!-- (Some information about the writing system) --> |
| footnotes = <!-- (Some information about the writing system) --> |
||
| ipa-note = <!-- (set to "none" to cancel IPA warning) -->}} |
| ipa-note = <!-- (set to "none" to cancel IPA warning) -->}} |
||
The '''Sui script''' (Sui: ''le1 sui3,''<ref>“水书”及其造字方法研究 |
The '''Sui script''' (Sui: ''le1 sui3,''<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2005 |title=“Shuǐshū” jíqí zàozì fāngfǎ yánjiū |script-title=zh:“水书”及其造字方法研究 |journal=Qiánnán mínzú shīfàn xuéyuàn xuébào |volume=25 |issue=1 |script-journal=zh:黔南民族师范学院学报}}</ref> [[Simplified Chinese]]: 水书, [[Traditional Chinese]]: 水書, [[Pinyin]]: ''Shuǐshū)'' or '''Shuishu''', is a [[logographic]] writing system with some [[pictographic]] characters that can be used to write the [[Sui language]] (Wei 2003:xxix).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zhou |first=Minglang |url=http://site.ebrary.com/id/10772593 |title=Multilingualism in China: The Politics of Writing Reforms for Minority Languages, 1949–2002 |date=2003 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |location=Berlin |pages=132–135 |language=en}}</ref> However, traditionally only shamans were familiar with the writing system, and it is not utilized for everyday use by ordinary Sui people. This system is used for [[geomancy]] and divination purposes. There are at least 500 different Sui characters, known as ''le1 sui3'' in the Sui language (Wei 2003:xxix). According to tradition, these characters were created by ''ljok8 to2 qong5'' (Chinese: Lù Duógōng 陸鐸公). Some of these characters are pictoral representations, such as of a bird or a fish, and a few are schematic representations of a characteristic quality, such a snail represented by a drawing of an inward curving spiral. Many of these characters appear to be borrowings from [[Chinese character]]s and are written backwards, apparently for increased supernatural power. |
||
==History== |
==History== |
||
It has been proposed by some that the Sui script bear somewhat similarities to the Xia Tao symbols in the [[Erlitou culture|Erlitou site]], [[Yanshi]], [[Henan]]. The Sui script can be used to roughly interpret its meaning, which has attracted the attention of the archaeological community. Furthermore, the possibility has risen that the ancestors of the Sui people originally came from more to the north or that the Xia Tao symbols influenced the Sui script.<ref> https://www.chinafolklore.org/web/index.php?NewsID=4752</ref><ref>{{Cite |
It has been proposed by some that the Sui script bear somewhat similarities to the Xia Tao symbols in the [[Erlitou culture|Erlitou site]], [[Yanshi]], [[Henan]]. The Sui script can be used to roughly interpret its meaning, which has attracted the attention of the archaeological community. Furthermore, the possibility has risen that the ancestors of the Sui people originally came from more to the north or that the Xia Tao symbols influenced the Sui script.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-07-09 |title=Gǔlǎo Shuǐshū: Jiǎnshí wénmíng de jìyì |script-title=zh:古老水书：捡拾文明的记忆 |url=https://www.chinafolklore.org/web/index.php?NewsID=4752 |website=Zhōngguó mínsúxué wǎng |language=zh |script-website=zh:中国民俗学网}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ren |first=Chaoliang 任朝亮 |last2=Sui |first2=Xuan 穗宣 |date=2014-04-09 |title=Zhūjiāng shàngyóu de Shuǐzú shì Zhōngyuán guìzú hòuyì (tú) |script-title=zh:珠江上游的水族是中原贵族后裔(图) |language=zh |work=news.163.com |url=http://news.163.com/14/0409/07/9PCEC8FN00014AED.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2017-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726072121/http://news.163.com/14/0409/07/9PCEC8FN00014AED.html |archive-date=2018-07-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-03-14 |title=Zhuānjiā zài pòyì “Shuǐshū” guòchéng zhōngzhōng zhǎodào 18 gè xià táo wénzì |script-title=zh:专家在破译“水书”过程中中找到18个夏陶文字 |url=http://news.qq.com/a/20050314/000121.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726104136/https://news.qq.com/a/20050314/000121.htm |archive-date=2018-07-26 |access-date=2017-07-19 |website=news.QQ.com |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zhou |first=Furong 周芙蓉 |date=2004-09-15 |title=Xiàngxíng wénzì huóhuàshí "Shuǐshū" chuánchéng shuǐzú lìshǐ |script-title=zh:象形文字活化石"水书"传承水族历史 |url=http://www.huaxia.com/20040915/00243087.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041028224836/http://www.huaxia.com/20040915/00243087.html |archive-date=2004-10-28 |access-date=2017-07-19 |website=huaxia.com |language=zh}}</ref> |
||
The Sui script is in acute danger of [[language death|extinction]], although the Chinese government is currently attempting to [[language revitalization|preserve]] it.<ref>{{ |
The Sui script is in acute danger of [[language death|extinction]], although the Chinese government is currently attempting to [[language revitalization|preserve]] it.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 1, 2004 |title=Books in Rare Ancient Characters of Shui Group Retrieved |language=en |work=[[People's Daily]] |agency=Xinhua |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/01/eng20040401_139182.shtml |access-date=2008-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003065208/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/01/eng20040401_139182.shtml |archive-date=2012-10-03}}</ref> In 2006, Shuishu was placed on the Chinese [[intangible cultural heritage]] list.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2006 |title=Shui Included in China's Intangible Cultural Heritage List |url=http://www.ipr.gov.cn/ipr/en/info/Article.jsp?a_no=10296&col_no=99&dir=200608 |url-status=dead |access-date=2008-08-28 |publisher=National Working Group for IPR Protection, [[Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China]]}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> |
||
<gallery> |
<gallery> |
||
| Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
The Sui script was handed down from generation to generation, and its shape is similar to the [[Oracle bone script]] and the [[Chinese bronze inscriptions|Bronze script]]. It is mainly used to record cultural information such as astronomy, geography, religion, folklore, ethics, philosophy and other cultural information. The Sui script is not phonetic and one needs special knowledge to interpet a text.<ref>http://fy.folkw.com/view.asp?id=843|中國非物質文化遺產名錄數據庫系統</ref> |
The Sui script was handed down from generation to generation, and its shape is similar to the [[Oracle bone script]] and the [[Chinese bronze inscriptions|Bronze script]]. It is mainly used to record cultural information such as astronomy, geography, religion, folklore, ethics, philosophy and other cultural information. The Sui script is not phonetic and one needs special knowledge to interpet a text.<ref>http://fy.folkw.com/view.asp?id=843|中國非物質文化遺產名錄數據庫系統</ref> |
||
The script is written mostly vertically downward and from right to left, and does not employ punctuation. The script can not fully represent the Sui language.<ref name="Unicode1">{{ |
The script is written mostly vertically downward and from right to left, and does not employ punctuation. The script can not fully represent the Sui language.<ref name="Unicode1">{{Citation |title=Preliminary Proposal for Encoding Shuishu in the SMP of the UCS |date=2015 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15285-n4696-prelim-shuishu.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614230345/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15285-n4696-prelim-shuishu.pdf |language=en |access-date=2021-09-23 |archive-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> |
||
===Characters=== |
===Characters=== |
||
The Sui script contains three types of characters: Chinese variants, primitive pictographs and abstract symbols. Each character expresses a concept and stands for a syllable. The characters can be classified in three categories: logographs, dubbing characters and prompting characters. About half of the Sui characters are derived from mirrored, upside-down or slightly twisted Chinese characters. The other half of the characters are original creations and some are primitive pictographs. Lastly, dubbbing characters supplement syllables in a sentence, while prompting characters indicate that the reader should read or sing the sentence aloud.<ref name="Unicode1"/> |
The Sui script contains three types of characters: Chinese variants, primitive pictographs and abstract symbols. Each character expresses a concept and stands for a syllable. The characters can be classified in three categories: logographs, dubbing characters and prompting characters. About half of the Sui characters are derived from mirrored, upside-down or slightly twisted Chinese characters. The other half of the characters are original creations and some are primitive pictographs. Lastly, dubbbing characters supplement syllables in a sentence, while prompting characters indicate that the reader should read or sing the sentence aloud.<ref name="Unicode1" /> |
||
==Unicode== |
==Unicode== |
||
As of 2018, discussion on Sui script integration into [[Unicode]] were ongoing.<ref>{{ |
As of 2018, discussion on Sui script integration into [[Unicode]] were ongoing.<ref>{{Citation |last=West |first=Andrew |title=Analysis of Shuishu Character Repertoire |date=2018 |url=https://unicode.org/wg2/docs/n4956-Shuishu-repertoire.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613101315/https://unicode.org/wg2/docs/n4956-Shuishu-repertoire.pdf |language=en |access-date=2021-09-23 |archive-date=2021-06-13 |last2=Chan |first2=Eiso |author-link=Andrew West (linguist)}}</ref> |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 15:19, 24 September 2021
| Sui script Shuishu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Script type | |
| Direction | Top-to-bottom, columns right to left |
| Languages | Sui language |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Shui (530), Shuishu |
| Unicode | |
| U+1B300 to U+1B4FF | |
The Sui script (Sui: le1 sui3,[1] Simplified Chinese: 水书, Traditional Chinese: 水書, Pinyin: Shuǐshū) or Shuishu, is a logographic writing system with some pictographic characters that can be used to write the Sui language (Wei 2003:xxix).[2] However, traditionally only shamans were familiar with the writing system, and it is not utilized for everyday use by ordinary Sui people. This system is used for geomancy and divination purposes. There are at least 500 different Sui characters, known as le1 sui3 in the Sui language (Wei 2003:xxix). According to tradition, these characters were created by ljok8 to2 qong5 (Chinese: Lù Duógōng 陸鐸公). Some of these characters are pictoral representations, such as of a bird or a fish, and a few are schematic representations of a characteristic quality, such a snail represented by a drawing of an inward curving spiral. Many of these characters appear to be borrowings from Chinese characters and are written backwards, apparently for increased supernatural power.
History
It has been proposed by some that the Sui script bear somewhat similarities to the Xia Tao symbols in the Erlitou site, Yanshi, Henan. The Sui script can be used to roughly interpret its meaning, which has attracted the attention of the archaeological community. Furthermore, the possibility has risen that the ancestors of the Sui people originally came from more to the north or that the Xia Tao symbols influenced the Sui script.[3][4][5][6]
The Sui script is in acute danger of extinction, although the Chinese government is currently attempting to preserve it.[7] In 2006, Shuishu was placed on the Chinese intangible cultural heritage list.[8]
-
19th-century Shuishu manuscript from the Shui archives in Libo, Guizhou -
Manuscript in Sui script -
Manuscript in Sui script
Characteristics
The Sui script was handed down from generation to generation, and its shape is similar to the Oracle bone script and the Bronze script. It is mainly used to record cultural information such as astronomy, geography, religion, folklore, ethics, philosophy and other cultural information. The Sui script is not phonetic and one needs special knowledge to interpet a text.[9]
The script is written mostly vertically downward and from right to left, and does not employ punctuation. The script can not fully represent the Sui language.[10]
Characters
The Sui script contains three types of characters: Chinese variants, primitive pictographs and abstract symbols. Each character expresses a concept and stands for a syllable. The characters can be classified in three categories: logographs, dubbing characters and prompting characters. About half of the Sui characters are derived from mirrored, upside-down or slightly twisted Chinese characters. The other half of the characters are original creations and some are primitive pictographs. Lastly, dubbbing characters supplement syllables in a sentence, while prompting characters indicate that the reader should read or sing the sentence aloud.[10]
Unicode
As of 2018, discussion on Sui script integration into Unicode were ongoing.[11]
References
- ^ ""Shuǐshū" jíqí zàozì fāngfǎ yánjiū" “水书”及其造字方法研究. Qiánnán mínzú shīfàn xuéyuàn xuébào 黔南民族师范学院学报. 25 (1). 2005.
- ^ Zhou, Minglang (2003). Multilingualism in China: The Politics of Writing Reforms for Minority Languages, 1949–2002. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 132–135.
- ^ "Gǔlǎo Shuǐshū: Jiǎnshí wénmíng de jìyì" 古老水书：捡拾文明的记忆. Zhōngguó mínsúxué wǎng 中国民俗学网 (in Chinese). 2006-07-09.
- ^ Ren, Chaoliang 任朝亮; Sui, Xuan 穗宣 (2014-04-09). "Zhūjiāng shàngyóu de Shuǐzú shì Zhōngyuán guìzú hòuyì (tú)" 珠江上游的水族是中原贵族后裔(图). news.163.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ^ "Zhuānjiā zài pòyì "Shuǐshū" guòchéng zhōngzhōng zhǎodào 18 gè xià táo wénzì" 专家在破译“水书”过程中中找到18个夏陶文字. news.QQ.com (in Chinese). 2005-03-14. Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ^ Zhou, Furong 周芙蓉 (2004-09-15). "Xiàngxíng wénzì huóhuàshí "Shuǐshū" chuánchéng shuǐzú lìshǐ" 象形文字活化石"水书"传承水族历史. huaxia.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2004-10-28. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ^ "Books in Rare Ancient Characters of Shui Group Retrieved". People's Daily. Xinhua. April 1, 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ "Shui Included in China's Intangible Cultural Heritage List". National Working Group for IPR Protection, Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. August 8, 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) [dead link] - ^ http://fy.folkw.com/view.asp?id=843%7C中國非物質文化遺產名錄數據庫系統
- ^ a b Preliminary Proposal for Encoding Shuishu in the SMP of the UCS (PDF), 2015, archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-14, retrieved 2021-09-23
- ^ West, Andrew; Chan, Eiso (2018), Analysis of Shuishu Character Repertoire (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-06-13, retrieved 2021-09-23
External links
- "Cracking the Chinese code", People's Daily Online, September 16, 2008
- "China to hold int'l symposium on rare ancient characters of ethnic Shui group", People's Daily Online, December 28, 2005