XV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2023

History of the Chinese language

Chinese is one of the most ancient of the existing languages. It also has the oldest writing system currently in use. The Chinese hieroglyphics, along with their own alphabets (kana, hangul), are used by Japanese and Korean, the latter currently only in the Republic of Korea.

The oldest corpus of written documents documenting the existence of the Chinese language are fortune-telling inscriptions on the bones of sacrificial animals and turtle shells. They testify to the existence of a formed language system already in the Shang-Yin period. However, their discovery dates back to the beginning of the XX century, the study continues to this day and is still far from completion.

The main element that cemented the Chinese language tradition was the official written language of Wenyan. The dominance of a single written system became a unique phenomenon that allowed the existence of heterogeneous dialects that developed for some time within the framework of independent states. (See Ancient Chinese)

For political reasons, the dominant meaning in the Chinese language was acquired by the northern dialects, which were more uniform in comparison with the southern ones. On their basis, the "language of officials", Guanhua, was formed, which acquired the status of the official language of the empire. Together with him, the so—called Baihua, the spoken language of the common people, also developed.

A cardinal turn in the history of Chinese culture was the written use of the spoken language; it is believed that the primacy in this belongs to Jin Shentan. The movement for the democratization of literacy in the early twentieth century marked a revolutionary transition to Baihua as the main language of written communication and the beginning of the unification of Chinese dialects.

The vocabulary of the Chinese language has gone through two stages of transformation: the adaptation of a new semantic layer that arose with the penetration of Buddhism into China in the first century AD — and merging with the world lexicon of Modern times, the most accessible carrier of which was the Japanese language: since the beginning of the XX century, the penetration of many Western concepts adapted through the once borrowed Chinese characters, but already formed in Japan, and so on. for the Chinese language, they are borrowings.

Most linguists classify all varieties of Chinese as part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages and believe that there was an original language, the so-called Proto-Sino-Tibetan, like Proto-Indo-European, from which the Sinitic and Tibeto-Burmese languages originated. The relationship between Chinese and other Sino-Tibetan languages is still unclear, and an attempt to restore the Proto-Sino-Tibetan language is in the field of active research. What follows is a modern revision of the classification system by the Swedish linguist Bernhard Karlgren.

Chinese Culture

To the best of the possibilities of modern technology and the development of culture, many Europeans and Americans believe that the cultural development of the Chinese lags behind the modern world. All this is due to the fact that China has long remained closed to other peoples and an isolated state.

But, probably, it was isolation from the world and general development that helped to preserve a peculiar culture here and maintain long-standing traditions in the form in which they originated.

Foreigners were not allowed here until 1949 (except in cases related to the trade sphere). After other countries received admission to the country, some traditions were banned in China, and they decided to introduce progressive European visions. This has made its mark on the spiritual culture of the Chinese.

It was only in 1980 that the Chinese authorities began to realize that such actions did not have a positive impact on the development of the Chinese, the introduced progress could completely destroy all the cultural heritage and traditions that had accumulated for thousands of years. Since that time, the old cultural traditions and ideology began to awaken again. Today, Chinese culture is a unique phenomenon that combines modern Art Nouveau and old traditions.

Features of Chinese culture

If we do not talk about each of the spheres of culture, but characterize in general, then we will be able to highlight such features:

It is characterized by uniqueness and originality. It is aimed at a realistic existence on Earth. An important stage of their life is participation in traditional rituals and customs.

Nature is inextricably linked with Chinese religion. Almost all the forces of nature are deified. Nature is also a "muse" for architects, lyricists, and artists.

The Chinese, both in life and in science, do not like complex structures, they are used to being content with what they have, to show emotions at a minimum.

They are thrifty and enterprising in their actions.

Closed politics played the greatest influence on the formation of their peculiar mentality, writing and culture.

Characteristic features and values of Chinese culture

Chinese culture has its own values. It was formed under the influence of certain religious, mythological and philosophical knowledge.

The most pronounced characteristic features of Chinese culture are:

Ideas about the location of China in space and on Earth represent the notion that the state is the center of the world, a unique Celestial Empire.

Special attention is paid to numerical symbolism. They are used in almost all spheres of culture and traditions.

The hierarchy is clearly traced. The Emperor of China is revered and respected as the "Son of Heaven" and the main ruler. According to the Chinese, he is a kind of messenger between divine beings and ordinary people. The veneration of the emperor is manifested in political ideology, archeology and even painting.

The cult of the sun also dominates in the local culture.

Any phenomena of nature and everything connected with it should be respected, because world harmony depends only on nature.

Resources

https://www.nativespeakers.ru/languages/chinalang/

Shchichko V.F., Radius L.A., Abdrakhimov L.G. - A course of lectures on the history of the Chinese language

https://mykitai.ru/strana/istoriya/traditsionnaya-kultura-kitaya-ot-drevnosti-do-nashih-dnej.html

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