Floor Perquin
This column covers all kinds of different aspects of the Chinese language. Floor Perquin is an interpreter, translator and Chinese language teacher.
秋 About grain and fire
By now it is the time of year when the days are slowly getting shorter and colder again: it is autumn, or 秋天 (qiūtiān, pronounced tjoo-tjèn). Autumn is also the harvest season in China, and this is evident in the character itself. The radical of the character, 禾 (hé, pronunciation ghuh), gives meaning to the character and can be translated as grain or rice. The other part, 火 (huǒ, pronunciation hwooh) means fire, and although it is also seen as a sound element it naturally gives an image of a warming wood fire for those who want to see it. In addition, Chinese fields were often set on fire after harvesting in order to prepare the land for the next harvest, again, of course, with that same fire.
History and spelling
When the classical Chinese script was replaced by today’s simplified script, the 秋 character escaped the dance. It was always by itself fairly simple and thus easy to understand. Anyone who wants to learn to write Chinese characters would do well to observe the following basic rules:
- Balance. Chinese culture is all about balance. Of course, we are all familiar with yin and yang, which, as opposites, attract each other and themselves carry a portion of that opposite pole, but balance is also sought within character writing. When practicing writing a character, it is therefore advisable to use checkered paper and make sure that the entire check, or if necessary the whole of four checks, are filled in a balanced way.
- From top to bottom. Chinese characters were traditionally written on bamboo sticks, which were then placed side by side. Later, the well-known Chinese ink was used. With both the bamboo sticks and the use of ink, it is important to start at the top, because otherwise smudges can be caused with the ink.
- From left to right. Starting at the top of the left section, finish the left part of a character first (i.e., in the case of 秋, 禾) and then continue at the top of the right section.
Words and proverbs in which this character appears :
中秋节 mid-autumn festival, a traditional holiday that includes eating the famous moon cookies
秋天/秋季 autumn
秋风 autumn wind
