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 The water radical on the left has been replaced by a stream of water, and the 母 (mother radical) has been made to look like a flag - which suits what it is designed to represent.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
