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A Dictionary
of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese
Life and Thought by Wolfram Eberhard.
Ian Myles Slater on: Revealing
Meaning - "A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols" is
the work of Wolfram Eberhard (1909-1989) A
German-born Sinologist and sociologist, and a
political refugee from Hitler, he spent eleven years
in Turkey introducing Sinology to that country at
Ankara University, and then most of the rest of his
career (1948-1976) at the University of California
at Berkeley, in the then-new Department of
Sociology. He published in German, English, and
Turkish, on both standard Sinological subjects and
Chinese and comparative folklore, and the local
cultures of China and adjacent areas. His
"Dictionary of Chinese Symbols" is based on a
lifetime of study, and an unusual diversity of
experience.
The bulk of Eberhard's publications (thirty-five
books, 195 articles, 300-some book reviews) are
usually fairly technical, or, if popular, rapidly
becoming obsolete. (His "History of China," first
published in German in 1948, was last revised in
1977, just before an explosion of archeological and
other work.) However, his "Folktales of China"
(1965), part of University of Chicago Press series
aimed at both college students and the general
public, should be accessible to most readers, if a
copy is available. The present volume was also
apparently aimed at a wider public, although it was
well-received by Sinologists.
The 1983 German edition of "Lexicon chinesischer
Symbole," translated by G. L. Campbell, as "A
Dictionary of Chinese Symbols," was his last major
work. It is the condensed -- in some ways perhaps
too condensed -- product of a lifetime of study. It
is organized not around the meaning of Chinese art
motifs as such, but around the symbolic associations
of the written characters of classical China, with
their fully pictorial counterparts as supporting
data; and it includes primarily verbal symbolisms as
well. It is primarily historical, and, inevitably,
very selective: "no more than an introduction to the
subject," according to the author. A topic is always
given its Chinese character, or set of characters;
and many are illustrated from traditional art,
mostly reproduced rather well. Eberhard uses the
traditional, or "full" forms of Chinese characters,
rather than the recent simplified forms, pointing
out that the symbolic associations may depends on
the perceived imagery of at least part of the
character, as well as on, or in addition to, its
phonetic reading.
Eberhard does use survival of ideas into modern
times -- by which he apparently means the first part
of the twentieth century -- as an important
criterion of selection. There is, however, no
attempt made to include specifically *modern* China,
whether the mainland or Taiwan, in any systematic
way. The reader who is interested in classic Chinese
literature, or traditional art probably will be far
better served than those interested in
twentieth-century innovations or drastic
adaptations. A history encompassing millennia is
given priority over recent decades. But, if
modernity as such is given short shrift, Eberhard
often notes the geographic and cultural distribution
of a concept or image within China, instead of
offering an impression of "all Chinese ... at all
times." To those without access to the primary and
secondary sources (the latter of which include some
of Eberhard's own publications), this feature is
very important all by itself.
First published at a time when the mainland
government was pressing the claims of its official
"Pinyin" system for Romanizing Chinese as the
international standard, the transliteration used in
the book, at least in its English-language version,
represents a compromise. It uses the character set
of Pinyin, instead of the old Wade-Giles system (or
a German equivalent), but breaks up the long
polysyllabic forms of the official version with
hyphens, in the Wade-Giles manner. This is, I am
sure, annoying to those who know and like the Pinyin
system, but it is a practical compromise. The
uninitiated, faced by, say, "huijiaotu" (Muslims)
are, I would think, at least as likely to try
pronouncing it as huiji-aot-u as they are to read it
as hui-jiao-tu, the form given here.
Eberhard was very much aware of theoretical issues,
and raises some in his brief Introduction, which
deals with written Chinese as itself a symbolic
system. He mentions, with regret, that he was not
able to include the symbolic systems of Chinese
craftsmen, and explains that Buddhist and Taoist
symbols are included only if they are meaningful to
ordinary Chinese. He adds that the full range of
Chinese symbolism, and its functions, remains to be
explored and evaluated, but he does not turn a
dictionary into a vehicle for promulgating his own
theories.
The main purpose of the "Dictionary" is to present
useful information in a condensed fashion. It
succeeds at this quite brilliantly. While not as
all-encompassing as Williams' antiquated (and not
always reliable) "Outlines of Chinese Symbolism,"
and lacking the sheer beauty of Fang Jing Pei's
"Symbols and Rebuses in Chinese Art: Figures, Bugs,
Beasts, and Flowers," it is dense with relevant, and
authentic, information. The simple indication of a
cross-reference, an arrow pointing at the head-word
of another article, is usually less distracting than
common alternatives, such as the use of italics,
small capitals, or boldface, although in a few
articles their abundance becomes an obstacle to
reading.
Informative - It seems to be general
consensus that this is one of the only books of its
kind. While its content is concise and informative,
it does seem to be dated. I had to double-check that
it had indeed been originally published in 1983
because stylistically speaking (in addition to the
weird romanization issues and lack of "modern"
symbology that others have mentioned), it seems to
stuck in the early 20th century and perhaps a little
tainted with the Edward Said notion of "Orientalism."
I can't help but get the feeling that it is from an
"outsider looking in" perspective, meaning I wish it
was written in a more intimate and warmer way, and
that if it were, perhaps the text would become more
alive.
I also found the method of cross-referencing
information (by peppering the text with a lot of
arrows -->) fairly distracting, and that the
descriptions of individual symbols did not really
"flow," but rather were written in a piecemeal
fashion.
Again, I am grateful that this information has
been compiled and assembled in this text; however, I
wish that it could be updated.
Fun with Chinese
Symbols Stencils by Marty Noble
Chinese Stencils - This is a small book of
cardboard stencils. They are great. I have been able
to reuse them and put stencils on many different
things including wood, paper and fabric. If you are
look for a few inexpensive Chinese symbols this is
the book for you.
Chinese Folk
Designs: A Collection of 300 Cut-Paper
Designs Used for Embroidery Together With 160 Chinese
Art Symbols and Their Meanings by Francess Hawley
Seyssel, W. M. Hawley and Willis Meeker Hawley.
Good Design Source - I have used this book
numerous times for the somewhat non-traditional
purpose of tattoo designs. My complaint is minor,
and it has to do with how the book is formatted. The
designs are white on a red or black background. This
makes it a little difficult to photocopy for use;
especially on the red pages.
Beautiful designs, nicely explained - I
ran across this title in a small shop in San
Francisco's Chinatown. I was running short on cash,
and was kicking myself within 24 hours for not
purchasing this book. Hawley provides 300 cut paper
designs used in traditional Chinese embroidery. Each
design is in white on a solid color background (red,
blue, black, brown, or purple). The designs are
clear and easy to see and enjoy. A brief
introduction gives a little background (I would have
liked more) on this folk art, and an index at the
beginning allows users to look up symbols of
specific interest. Do that, but browse the rest of
the book as well!
An eight-page supplement at the end illustrates
160 symbols (including ideograms, trigrams from the
I Ching, and pictorial symbols) used in traditional
decorative arts along with their meanings.
Fascinating!
For those interested in learning more about
Chinese art, or for those who just enjoy beautiful
designs, this is an excellent choice.
Symbols and
Rebuses in Chinese Art: Figures, Bugs,
Beasts, and Flowers by Fang Jing Pei, Jing Pei Fang.
