Many have probably seen the Chinese character茶 on tea packages from various manufacturers more than once or seen it in the logos of many tea companies, but few people know that the character 茶 is one of the oldest and most popular Chinese characters.
The etymology of the hieroglyph 茶 its meaning. Hieroglyph translation
The history of the development of the Chinese character 茶 dates back more than one century. According to one version, the character 茶 appeared during the reign of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). However, in ancient Chinese writings, there was a more ancient character , which meant "decoction of bitter plants" and was pronounced (tú) "thu". Even before the advent of the Tang Dynasty, the people of China knew that if you brew tea for a long time, you get a bitter aftertaste. Over time, the Chinese managed to eliminate the bitterness of the popular drink and give it a rich taste and persistent aroma. With the advent of the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese character tea 荼 was slightly simplified: one trait was removed. Thus a hieroglyph with a completely different meaning and pronunciation was formed. Today, all those interested in the Chinese character know this character meaning tea (Russian translation of the character), and pronounce it (chá) “cha” with an upward intonation in their voice.
“Respect” for the hieroglyph 茶
The transformation of the Chinese character 茶 can be considered as a manifestation of respect for tea, as the grapheme 禾 "grass" in the old character was replaced by the key 木 "tree" in the new character.
Hieroglyph 茶 in the works of ancient Chinese writers
For the first time, the hieroglyph “tea” in an amended form appeared in the work of Emperor Shen Nong's “Treatise on the Properties of Herbs”. In the 8th century, the famous Chinese poet and writer Lu Yu created the first written treatise on tea and tea drinking “The Tea Canon”, using the character used to this day.
Digital symbolism of hieroglyph keys 茶
In Chinese culture, digital symbolism is given special importance, since, according to the Chinese, it is numbers that can reflect reality. The Chinese are distinguished by their love of symbolism, they associate symbols with numbers. In the character 茶, the people of China see a symbol of longevity. What is the number in Chinese numerology associated with a similar symbol? The answer to the question lies in the structure of the character in question, or rather, in the number of its features.
Character 茶 consists of three keys. At the top of the character is a key 艹 "grass", the number of features of which is three. In the center is the key 人 "person", consisting of two traits, and below - the key 木 "tree", containing four features. The sum of all the traits is nine. The number 9 in Chinese numerology is the number of the emperor and a symbol of eternity. No wonder the Chinese have Chengyu: 茶 寿 老人 "Tea prolongs the lives of older people."
Chinese people associate the character 茶 with a natural way of life. By the way, “naturalness” is a key concept of Chinese culture and philosophy. The keys of the hieroglyph 茶: grass, man and tree - symbolize "a man among grasses and trees", that is, among wild, untouched nature. In other words, the hieroglyph 茶 represents the unity of man and nature. Today, the world is overwhelmed by violence, consumption, mistrust. People forgot what peace of mind and harmony of life are. But, daily tasting the aroma of tea, they find balance, happiness and begin to appreciate life.
Writing a hieroglyph 茶
So, the modern character tea 茶 consists of 9 features, the spelling order of which can be seen in the video below.
According to the rules, the character is written from top to bottom, from left to right. As you can see, you can write beautiful hieroglyphs without much effort.
"Tea" in the languages of the world
It is known that tea is the oldest drink in the history of all mankind, not counting water. A scientific expedition confirmed this fact by finding the remains of tea leaves in the tomb of the Chinese emperor Ching-di from the Han Dynasty, who ruled more than 2000 thousand years ago. Citizens respected their ruler so much that they decided, along with jewels, to please the emperor in the next world and tea.
In ancient times in China, different hieroglyphs were used to denote the concept of “tea”: 槚 “jia”, 荼 “thu”, 荈 “chuang”, 蔎 “tskha”, 茗 “min”. In modern Chinese, these hieroglyphs have lost their paramount importance and transferred to the status of graphic elements.
The vast majority of China, speaking the Canton and Putonghua dialects pronounce the hieroglyph 茶 as (chá) “cha”, Fujian residents who speak the Ming dialect pronounce the same character as (tě) “tae”. An interesting fact is that the European name for tea comes from Pinyin (tě). It was from the Fujian port that the Portuguese sailors who founded the Macau colony near the largest shopping center of Guangzhou, first began to export tea to European countries. Therefore, in English, "tea" (Russian translation) sounds like tea, and in German - tee. The Italians say te, and the French use the word the. The Scandinavian countries have a similar word: Sweden, Denmark, Norway. The Portuguese decided to borrow the phonetic version of the word “tea” from the Cantonese dialect, however, according to Portuguese phonetics, the word “tea” should be pronounced “sha”. As a result of borrowing the phonetic form of the Cantonese hieroglyph 茶, the population of India and Pakistan pronounces this word as “chai” or “zhai”.