Radical 32-1 米mǐ,grain of rice

Radical 32-1米mǐ,grain of rice

“Seeing a bowl of perfectly white shining rice, fills us with joy, tranquility and satisfaction. The best thing is that the rice has such a lovely smell and is delicious !!!”

“Three grains of rice at the top and three at the bottom”. The character on the left shows the way in which rice was depicted in ancient characters carved on tortoise shell. The line in the middle symbolises a wooden stick used to divide the various qualities of rice. On the right, the modern character shows a stylised rice plant, with its roots, leaves and fruit.

米 mǐ does not mean the plant but the single grains of the cereal. When rice is ready to eat we say米飯Mǐfàn , steamed rise. In fact, if we want to create a two-syllable word we need to add a second character. In daily life, we can come across lots of words made up of these characters: 米粉Mǐfěn rice noodles, 米酒 Mǐjiǔ rice liqueur, 米糕 Mǐgāo rice cake. 

 Rice is the Chinese people’s main food. It is the symbol of fertility, of plenty, of good health and wholesomeness. It is strictly linked to Chinese culture and traditions and holds a central role in festivals, songs, proverbs and legends. It is not just a simple food source but an important element of Chinese culture. One famous proverb says 一粒米養百樣人 Yī lì mǐ yǎng bǎi yàng rén, which literally means:

“A single grain of rice can feed a hundred people” This can be interpreted as meaning: “Everything can be interpreted in many different ways” or “Everyone has their own way of seeing things”. Source  https://kidshoubo.jimdo.com

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

Radical 04-1 夕Xī, sunset

 Radical 04-1 夕Xī, sunset

“Oh, the sun is setting beyond the horizon. Sunset is the time of the day when the sun hides behind the mountains.It is the time of the day when we make our way home and rest”

In the character’s original form 夕Xī we can see only part of the sun, as if it was partially covered by a mountain. The pictogram clearly represents half of the sun.

Together with the character Yang it becomes 夕陽 Xīyáng “sunset” Furthermore, it can be used with reference to the evening:

1.朝夕 Zhāoxì “morning and evening”, 前夕Qiánxī “the evening before.”

Radica 2-1-2 汐Xì, tide

“Wonderful! It is the time when the sea rises…it’s great to see the moon that keeps it company! “

Have you ever been on a beach and seen the level of the water rise and then fall gain after a while, leaving the beach dry?

This cycle repeats itself every day, without fail.

This phenomenon is called 潮汐 Cháo Xì “ the tides.”

The rise and fall of the sea is caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon. The Chinese call the changes of direction of the daytime tidal movements 潮Cháo, in the evening as know, the experession 汐Xì is used, together they form the expression 潮汐 CháoXì, the tides.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

Radical 09-1申Shēn, lightening

Radical 09-1申Shēn, lightening

“Look out!!! A lightning strike! Let’s get inside as soon as possible! "

Have you ever seen lightning strike at the same time as hearing thunder? The beauty and the majesty of Nature astound us. Thousands of years ago, our Chinese ancestors carved the character 申Shēn on tortoise shells and whalebones. It represents lightening that explodes from the sky, breaks up and reaches down towards the earth. We can read it like the letter S.

申Shēn also means to extend, the length, if we add 人 Rén  person to the left, we make the ideogram伸Shēn, to Reach, with which we can make the words:

l 伸長Shēncháng to stretch

l 伸展Shēnzhǎn to reach out

Many years ago, the ancient Chinese did not know how to measure time. They did not even know how old they were. In order to understand the concept of time they invented a method using Yin, Yang and the five elements. They divided the sky into 10 parts and the earth into 12 parts. This traditional way of dividing the year was based on two concepts: a cycle of 十天干 Shí tiāngān or cycle of the 10 Celestial Trunks and a cycle of 十二地支 Shí'èr dìzhī or cycle of the 12 Earthly Branches.

Each year is made up of two of Celestial Trunks and one of the Earthly branches. For example, 2016 is called 丙申 in which 申Shēn is the 7th Earthly Branch. As we have already seen, it is represented in nature by a bolt of lightning. This is because the 7th month in the Chinese calendar, equal to the 8^th month in the western calendar, August, is the time of the year in which Yang energy is at its utmost and the time when it is unleashed. This has symbolic significance: 2016 will be, for example, a year that resembles Lightening, a year of great movement and progress.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

Radical 08-1 雨Yǔ, rain

Radical 08-1 雨Yǔ, rain

“ Watch the rain ! The splendor of a drop of water help us relax !!! "

How many times have you watched the rain fall. More often than you can remember! But how often have you stopped to carefully observe those tiny drops of water, or follow the paths they take on a window: a moment of meditation, of silence, and of enchantment.

The ancient form of the character雨Yǔ
carved onto tortoise shells or ox bones甲骨文 Jiǎgǔwén is made up of a horizontal line which represents the sky and of six vertical lines which symbolise the drops of rain. To give the idea of the verb to rain the ideogram Xia, underneath, objects underneath:  下雨Xià yǔ to rain (rainfall)

下雨天Xià yǔtiān  rainy

滴水Dī shuǐ are known in Chinese architecture as the "Pearls Hanging", the particular roof tiles located in the edges of the roof. On rainy days the raindrops are restored in these structures and then fall down by forming long rows of pearls, creating an imaginary picture in the rainy days !

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry
  

Radical 07-1天 tian " sky "

Radical 07-1天  tian " sky "

“In ancient Chinese symbolism, man’s body was compared to nature, so it was that the Sky was thought to be round like man’s head while the Earth was square like man’s square feet.”
 

Just as we humans have Eyes and Ears as our main sense organs, so the Sky has the Sun and the Moon as main celestial bodies and sources of light.

In ancient Chinese symbolism, man’s body was compared to nature, so it was that the Sky was thought to be round like man’s head while the Earth was square like man’s square feet.

The four seasons were man’s arms and legs, while the five elements of nature were his movements.

The 365 days of the year were his bones and the wind and rain his emotions.

The ancient character 天  tian " sky " depicts a man with a square shape above him. This derives from even more ancient symbolism than the one we have just described.

Just as in Greek culture, it was believed that the sky was square and rested on four enormous columns rising up from the Earth. In the Bronze age (shang?) Chinese astronomers changed their mind maintaining that the sky was circular and the Earth square, and therefore giving the square-shaped "tian" a new round form. This was subsequently simplified into a horizontal line.

In Chinese, we have the expression “Father Sky and Mother Earth” which we also use to refer to the whole Universe. Tian, “sky” is one of the primordial energies and source of life.

Man cannot influence its celestial movements because they are much bigger and much more powerful than he is, but he can understand them, follow them, respect them, and therefore live in harmony with them. This means being one with the Sky. 

Source https://kidshoubo.jimdo.com/

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry