March 07, 2009

The Chinese language went through different changes during the Shan era. It was standardised during the Chin dynasty and 3,300 signs were officially introduced

Archaeologists found thousands of clay solders during excavation in China in 1974. This clay-made army was buried along with the dead emperor in 210BC in order to protect the ruler even after his death.

Experts got to know a lot about Chinese army with the help of these statues. The clay soldiers provided facts about army uniform, their weapons and also depicted the excellence of Chinese art.

Language

The Chinese language is one of the oldest languages of the world. Its script was developed in order to preserve it in the written form. The Chinese language went through different changes during the Shan era. It was standardised during the Chin dynasty and 3300 signs were officially introduced for writing purpose.

Everyone should be aware of the fact that the Chinese language is the language of signs and symbols. Each sign or symbol represents an alphabet. With the passage of time more signs were added in the language. When first Chinese dictionary was launched in 121AD, it contained 9000 signs. Later on the figure reached 40,000.

When China got united as one political power, it adopted one standardised version of the language. The Chinese script was adopted by Japan, Korea ands Vietnam as well.During ancient times, Chinese used to write on bones. Later on silk was used as a material to write on. Old cloths and bamboo pieces were also used as writing stuff. Chinese invented paper in 3AD according to an estimation. The invention of paper brought a drastic change in the world of writing and it made easy to spread the knowledge.

Three arts

It was essential for all educated people in China to have expertise in calligraphy, painting and poetry.

The richness in the language gave rise to development in the fields of literature, philosophy and science in China.

Songs written in that era portrayed the daily lives of people and their various ceremonies such as marriage, hunting and war. These songs are a great source to get the insights of Chinese culture. The rulers of the Zhao dynasty patronised the poets by having them in their courts. During this era, elegies were written which became a significant feature of that time. During the Han period, simple and beautiful writing style was adopted to pen down the thoughts on philosophy and ethics.

Besides poetry, the art of calligraphy enjoyed a higher status in the civilised China. Calligraphers used to write artistically by using a brush made from the animals’ hair. They had to practise for years to get perfection and excellence in beautiful writing.

Painting was regarded as one of the branches of calligraphy. Painters also used animal hair brushes. They used to paint the pictures of cities, villages, animals, dragons, trees, mountains, rivers and flowers. The beauty of these paintings was in the wonderful choice of colours and beautiful representation of objects.