Let’s enjoy a video clip of the interesting and charming Chinese characters.

Can you make out any of these Chinese characters?

甲骨文金文 战国文字 小篆 Oracle Bone Inscriptions Bronze Inscriptions Lesser Seal Characters

王曦之《兰亭序》 行书 楷书 Formal Script Running Script

马 The development of Chinese characters

Learning aims:Learning aims: 1.You will learn about the development and formation of Chinese characters 2.You will design a booklet to explain the Chinese character by the way it forms.

Find out the whole structure para1 p2p3p4p5 p1p2p3 p4 p5 p1p2 p3 p4 p1 p2p3 p4 p5 A D C B Skimming

Para.1 Para.2 L10 Para.2-4 Para.5 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

A. The origin of Chinese characters. B. Simplified Chinese characters. C. Brief introduction of Chinese characters. D. Form and development of Chinese characters. Para.1 Para.2 Para.2-4 Para.5 Main idea C A D B

Careful reading Part1(para1) What makes the Chinese language differ from many Western languages? The Chinese language differs from Western languages in that, instead of an alphabet, it uses characters which stand for ideas, objects or deeds.

Careful reading Part2(p2-4) Cang Jie saw the tracks of animals in the snow and he got the idea he could use different shapes or pictures to represent objects. Who is said to have invented Chinese characters? What fired his idea of inventing Chinese characters?

仓颉也称苍颉，是传 说为黄帝的史官，汉 字的创造者。传说中 仓颉生有 “ 双瞳四目 ” 。 目有重瞳者，中国史 书上记载只有三个人， 虞舜、仓颉、项羽。 虞舜是禅让的圣人， 孝顺的圣人，而仓颉 是文圣人，项羽则是 武圣人。

2. Four types of Chinese characters Careful reading Part2(p2-4) meaning (1) 山 Represent________ (2) 休 Express _______ (3) 上、下 Express___________________ (4) 姥、帽 One part of a character indicates the ______ and the other suggests the _________. objects ideas directions or numbers pronunciation pictographs 象形字 Ideographs 会意字 Indicatives 指事字 Pictophonetic 形声字

Sun Moon Mountain Sheep 象形字 HumanWoman

木 燕 禾 泉 舟 车 网 鱼 象形字 : drawings of physical objects

What character is this ? kid

会意字 combine two or more characters man + tree = rest

采 尖 家 旦 Examples:

形声字 One part indicating meaning + the other suggesting pronunciation 砖 编 聆 骂砖 编 聆 骂

Let’s design our booklets! Booklet is a small book with a paper cover that contains information about a particular subject.

Preparing 4. ConclusionConclusion 1. Introduction 2. Method 3. Findings 1. the characters your group would like to research 2. the Internet/ books/ TV/ radio…

Useful expressions: 1. The character for… was at first…, then became…, and over time turned into… 2…. be made by combining … and … together … be made up of the characters for…and … … be formed with… 3. The left/right/upper/lower part indicate … and the other suggest…

When people in (ancient) China wanted to express their ideas, they Conclusion: combine two or more characters together use drawings of physical objects have one part of a character indicating the meaning and the other suggesting the pronunciation How are Chinese characters formed?

My booklet Character: Method: the Internet Findings: It shows a person in a profile, standing upright with arms hanging down. In another interpretation a person is marching with two legs. The character, often in a slender form, appears in many composite characters: with a tree 休 xiu (rest), a person resting against a tree; with a mountain 仙 xian (hermit or immortal), a person secluded in a mountain. Conclusion: People in ancient china combined two or more elements together when they wanted to express their ideas. A possible example:

Pictograph SunMoon Mountain Sheep Bull 象形字 HumanWoman

会意字

土 土 Please move the boxes around to make a character to match the English word. sit man rest good forest 木 木 木 木 木 木 人 人 木 木 人 人 人 人 子 子 田 田 力 力 女 女

Good What character is this ?