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