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TSR : Pictures : AnonMoos : Four variations of symbolic Chinese character
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Four variations of symbolic Chinese character
Four variations of the Chinese character for "slave" (Unicode character U5974) which contains the character for "woman" as its left half and an old character for "right hand" as its right half, and so can be given a visual interpretation "woman under master's hand", and is therefore considered by some to be an especially suitable symbol for female slaves.
(However the main function of the "woman" sub-character here is technically as a phonetic element, indicating approximate pronunciation, and the overall character is not always female-referring in Chinese and Japanese.)
Top left: The modern form of this character in a typical "serif" Chinese font.
Top right: The modern form of this character in a typical "sans-serif" font.
Bottom left: A schematized form of the earliest (quasi-pictographic) versions of character U5974, showing an apparent kneeling woman on the left side, and a depiction of a right hand on the right side. The exact visual symbolism of the upper half of the early "woman" character has been debated; probably it depicts her with her hands folded (or held close together, attending to some task), while the two small enclosed areas were also meant to suggest her breasts.
Bottom right: One quasi-calligraphic rendering of the modern character. In some other calligraphic versions of U5974, the "woman" character towers over the "right hand" character (which would seem to detract from the intended symbolic meaning...).
For three further interpretations, see picture 133114.
Last modified 23 Apr 07, 11:25 PM by AnonMoos
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