I think I may have unlocked the mystery behind 無 as a pictogram but it could be a stab in the dark...no pun intended.
According to [en.wiktionary.org] : 無 (radical 86, 火+8, 12 strokes, cangjie input 人廿火 (OTF), breaks down into 4 components: 𠂉,卌, 一, 灬 which in pictogram form is person+40+1+fire which to me describes a cremation event hence the meaning of none, without, have not, nothing.
According to [www.grunge.com] the life expectancy in ancient China was around 25 years old so the chances of being dead by 40 was pretty realistic hence the component 卌 which in Cantonese is pronounced sei3, a homonym for death.
[blog.martinoakscemeteryandcrematory.com] The use of cremation in China, just as in many other areas worldwide, goes back to the Neolithic or New Stone Age. At that time, cremation was stigmatized and primarily used by ethnic minorities and religious groups. However, cremation’s popularity increased over time, beginning during the Tang period and increasing throughout the Five Dynasties and Song periods. Increased interaction with northern ethnic groups, the introduction of Buddhism to China, and the increasing convenience of cremation during periods of warfare and political upheaval are the three main influences on cremation in China during these periods that historians agree on.
I have seen on Chinese gravestones in the West as well as ancient Chinese funerary stele monuments [en.wikipedia.org] in the Central Plains of China
that prefer to use numbers in contraction form like 廿 instead of 二十, 卅 instead of 三十, and 卌 instead of 四十 so the number 卌 in contraction form could be connected to death as 4 is symbolic of death in many Asian cultures.
The Chinese Lunar calandar and I believe the Chinese Farmers's Almanac also likes to use contracted numbers signifying an association with time which death is a marker of time. And so the Chinese character of 無 from a pictogram point of view is an aspect or condition relative to time.
So that is my stab in the dark...no pun intended.
According to [en.wiktionary.org] : 無 (radical 86, 火+8, 12 strokes, cangjie input 人廿火 (OTF), breaks down into 4 components: 𠂉,卌, 一, 灬 which in pictogram form is person+40+1+fire which to me describes a cremation event hence the meaning of none, without, have not, nothing.
According to [www.grunge.com] the life expectancy in ancient China was around 25 years old so the chances of being dead by 40 was pretty realistic hence the component 卌 which in Cantonese is pronounced sei3, a homonym for death.
[blog.martinoakscemeteryandcrematory.com] The use of cremation in China, just as in many other areas worldwide, goes back to the Neolithic or New Stone Age. At that time, cremation was stigmatized and primarily used by ethnic minorities and religious groups. However, cremation’s popularity increased over time, beginning during the Tang period and increasing throughout the Five Dynasties and Song periods. Increased interaction with northern ethnic groups, the introduction of Buddhism to China, and the increasing convenience of cremation during periods of warfare and political upheaval are the three main influences on cremation in China during these periods that historians agree on.
I have seen on Chinese gravestones in the West as well as ancient Chinese funerary stele monuments [en.wikipedia.org] in the Central Plains of China
that prefer to use numbers in contraction form like 廿 instead of 二十, 卅 instead of 三十, and 卌 instead of 四十 so the number 卌 in contraction form could be connected to death as 4 is symbolic of death in many Asian cultures.
The Chinese Lunar calandar and I believe the Chinese Farmers's Almanac also likes to use contracted numbers signifying an association with time which death is a marker of time. And so the Chinese character of 無 from a pictogram point of view is an aspect or condition relative to time.
So that is my stab in the dark...no pun intended.
Quote
Robert
Hi,
I'm already familiar with the meaning of the word 無 (http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/350/)
I was just wondering if someone could tell me what the pictogram itself represents, ie: what its supposed to be a picture of / what other pictograms its composed of, and how they relate to the meaning of "none/negative/nothing", etc.
Thank you in advance!