云大师谈“日月系列”：“日”子的写法 | Master Yun on "Sun and Moon series": Thoughts on the Chinese Character 日

我一直对“日”子的写法有点儿想法。
I always have some thoughts about why the Chinese character 日 (reads ri, means the sun) is so written.

疑点是，日字为什么不画一个圈？中间为什么加上一个点（或一横）？
My questions are…why wasn't the 日 drawn a circle, but four straight lines instead? And why did we add a dot (or a line) in the center? 

当年念古文字学的时候，课本上是说：日字是画个太阳的形。不画圈而竖写是因为甲骨文是用刀具来刻，刻圈不容易。中间的黑点是指太阳里头燃烧不均，出现黑斑的现象。
When I studied Chinese Etymology, the textbook said that ancient Chinese drew the shape of the sun. But they drew straight lines because they were carving with knives on the bones and turtle shells. It was easier to carve straight lines then curves. And the block dot in the centre was that they observed the occasional incomplete combustion of the sun that created the black spots.

可是不对呀！甲骨文之后的其它书体，都是用较柔软的工具，如毛笔，书写的。可以十分方便地换四方的直线为一圈的圆线。
But no…after the most ancient bone oracles, most of the time Chinese used soft writing instruments like Chinese brush to write. It is definitely easier to draw a circle than to write four strokes.

而且，历史上，中文字不是一昧地约定俗成。更多的时候是由上而下，领导人委任知识精英的研究而统一改革。
Historically, Chinese characters are not totally formed by convention in a democratically “natural” manner. It has gone through many stages of official reformation, whereby the political leaders appointed the intellectual elites to canonize words after much research and pondering.

换句话说，中文字不是无厘头变成我们今天这个模样的。它包含了中国上乘的文明与智慧。
In other words, Chinese words are not evolved to what they are now through illogical arbitrary. The forms contain the highest wisdom of our civilization.

中国比西方国家早一千年发现了“日心说”。並在很早很早的时侯发觉地球围太阳公转至四个不同角落便是四个季节。
For instance, Chinese was a thousand years earlier than the West to discover that the earth revolves around the Sun. And in very ancient times, we Chinese already knew that when the earth traveled to four different corners around the sun, we get our four seasons.

所以，我认为中国人说的日，不单只指＂太阳”（那是“日头”）。日的字型代表了太阳在太阳系里发挥的能量与效果。
Thus, I believe when the ancient Chinese said 日ri, we were not only referring to the sun itself (that is 日头 ritou, meaning “the head of the ri”). 日 ri represents the full solar system and the energy and effects the sun in this system can give.

“曰”有四角四竖，代表了四季。也代表了太阳系中的规则。准时准点，春夏秋冬便来了。
The character 曰 ri, has four corners and four straight lines, representing the mathematical regularity the system observes. On the dot of time, spring, summer, autumn and winter arrive.

光线在地球人眼中是直线的。最重要的是阳光是型而上的＂阳”气。故“日”字里头也是直线。
When sunlight falls onto earth, we see it as straight lines. Most importantly, the lights are physical expressions of the metaphysical idea of Yang energy. Yang is represented by straight lines.

我画的“日”在四边的竖线打了小圈代表了太阳系里头的各行星与卫星。中间是太阳。
The 日 ri I drew has small rounded knots on the four straight lines. The knots represent the stars in the solar system. And center of 日 is the sun.

“日”代表乾阳之气。自强不息。令周边各星旋转起来。

日 ri represents the energy of greatness and Yang. It is self sustaining and magnificently strong (like the sun). And it is the one that makes the stars around move and evolve.

 

-- 云龙子大师 Master Yun Long Zi