I popped across the border from HK to China a couple of weeks ago (I have a multi-entry visa, so I may as well use it!), and happened to see a couple of really clever stylised Chinese characters that felt more arty than just characters - certainly very cleverly put together.
The
first one I took off the side of a box of tissues - which in itself is pushing the boundaries of what qualifies as art! Take a look ...
To my rather untrained eye, it looks like this character:
威 (wēi) - which has a dictionary definition of "power
/ might
/ prestige", and a Heisig keyword of 'might'. I actually think it's quite beautifully done!
This is the
second character I saw, at the China Ferry Terminal building:
This one was easier to identify, being
海 (hǎi) - meaning "sea / ocean / maritime". I left the full picture in, so you can see it is the logo for the Marine Department. The water radical on the left has been replaced by a stream of water, and the 母 (mother radical) has been made to look like a flag - which suits what it is designed to represent.
These are not the first times I've seen characters written up so artistically, but this time I happened to take pictures of them. If you have seen other characters done unusually, please include links below ...
iGoogle collection of "Learn Chinese" feeds
How interesting! I always imagined that these existed back when I began my studies and always wondered how I would be able to read them. We have them in the US everywhere with our letters so I knew they had to be in China. Glad to see them and understand what they mean. Thanks, Greg!
ReplyDeleteActually, that was my secret little victory as well, when I saw *and* recognised the characters. Being surrounded with so many fonts in the signs around me on a day-to-day basis, I'm certainly getting better at recognising non-standard styles.
DeleteAlthough handwriting, I'm afraid, still evades my comprehension.
Ha! Handwriting is so crazy, but think about it -- if you can read the different fonts now, you'll be able to read handwriting soon enough!
DeleteI always like interesting Chinese typography! Cool pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks Niel. Let us know if you come across any unusual version. Out of curiosity, because I never noticed at the time, are most of the 'Chinese' people in South Africa from mainland China? Or HK?
DeleteAbout your question above. Most Chinese South Africans are from Taiwan and Guangdong. You can read their history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_South_Africans
ReplyDeleteAlso here is a cool photo - taken at a restaurant I often visit to eat Gong Bao chicken 宫保鸡丁 Gōngbǎo Jīdīng). They use the idea of spicy chillies representing the char 川 which is short for 四川 Sìchuān - it took me seeing this about 2 or 3 times before I made the connection. http://instagram.com/p/QYgY3slrcE/
Hey Peckish, thanks for the link - just finished reading it ... really interesting to finally understand the background of Chinese in SA like that, thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnd that photo is really clever - appreciate your posting the link.
Hi Greg, Do you mind if I add your images to the Typography section on ChineseHacks with attribution? ( http://chinesehacks.com/category/typography/ )
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Yes, that would be great - please go ahead. (I didn't know that page existed - looks really good!)
Delete