ThyWhoDevourstheSoulsofMen
Registered Collector
Registered: 10-2013
Location: Arcata, CA
Posts: 87
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Chinese Radicals and The Door
So, I noted something a couple years ago, and forgot because, I'll be honest, it really has no meaning.
Chinese is a pictographic syllabaric language; basically that means that every character originated as an image or set of images which depict the idea it conveys. When you come across an abstract idea, for example 'East' or 'Upside-down' or 'Purple,' you have to get creative.
When multiple images come together to form one character, the individual images are called radicals. There are two radicals I'd like to call attention to:
The first is 门 and is pronounced 'Men.' It means 'door,' which is evident if you stare at it long enough; the stroke in the corner is the hinge connecting the edge of a wall [ the leftmost line ] to the door[ the upside-down 'L' ].
The second is 日. It is pronounced 'Rih,' and its meaning is 'sun.' It evolved from a circle [ presumably of radiating light ] around a dot. Over time, the circle straightened out and the dot connected to either side.
What's interesting is that when you put a sun on a door[ much like The Sunshine Motel had ], 间, it means room; space; a break or an interval, not unlike The Room itself.
To me this resonates as very relevant to TLR, and so I thought I'd share it. I'm sorry if the characters are not visible, as they do not show up on some devices.
Also, note, I am not a native speaker/writer of Mandarin/Chinese; simply a linguist. If I've made a mistake and you know better, please tell me. I'd rather find out that way.
Last edited by ThyWhoDevourstheSoulsofMen, 11/10/2014, 7:41 pm
--- My name is semantically correct in limited circumstances.
Ille desideratur illud quod intes est tenebris. Nos omnes eam volunt.
|
11/7/2014, 11:54 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to ThyWhoDevourstheSoulsofMen
Send PM to ThyWhoDevourstheSoulsofMen
Blog
|
Jintosh
Registered Collector
Registered: 06-2009
Posts: 1581
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Chinese Radicals and The Door
Interesting.
If you attach the sun to the door along one side, then it looks like an open door and doorway.
门日
--- Jintosh, The KeyMaster, OA, RMC
Prop Replicas at http://www.TheLostRoom.org
|
11/8/2014, 12:48 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to Jintosh
Send PM to Jintosh
|