Why are Chinese characters called "square characters"?

Chinese characters were invented and improved by the ancestors of the Chinese nation in ancient times. At present, the exact history can be traced back to the ancient stone inscriptions and Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Zhang Wen and Jin Wen in the Shang Dynasty about 1300 BC. Then the seal script of the Qin dynasty developed into the official script of the Han dynasty, which became the standard of handwritten fonts used today in the Tang dynasty-block letters.

Chinese characters are unique to our Chinese nation and a symbol of Chinese civilization. In the primitive times tens of thousands of years ago, ancient people learned to express themselves in words, and later they learned to use gestures, but some things were difficult to express in words and gestures, so some people came up with a method of marking, but there were too many marks, which were easy to forget, and then they used graphics to express themselves.

For example, the "sun" is drawn in a circle and the "tree" is drawn in the shape of a tree. This is how the earliest hieroglyphs were produced. ?

Chinese characters refer to the characters from stone carvings, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Dazhuan, inscriptions on bronze, calligraphy and Xiaozhuan to official script, cursive script, regular script and running script. In a narrow sense, it refers to Chinese characters with block letters as the standard writing method, and it is also a modern Chinese character widely used today.

Extended data:

1, Chinese character characteristics

Chinese characters are one of the oldest characters in the world and have a great influence on the surrounding areas. They are the letters of other characters. This is a written symbol for recording events. Formally, it has gradually changed from a figure to a square symbol composed of strokes, so Chinese characters are generally called "square characters". It has evolved from hieroglyphics (ideographs) to linguistic signs with both phonetic and semantic meanings, but the whole system is still ideographs.

Therefore, Chinese characters have the characteristics of integrating image, sound and meaning. This feature is unique in world writing, so it has unique charm. Chinese characters are the treasure of China's culture for thousands of years, and they are also our lifelong mentor and friend, and everyone's spiritual home. Chinese characters can often arouse our wonderful and bold associations and give people beautiful enjoyment.

Chinese characters are the bond of national soul. Making a living in a foreign country, Chinese characters are a kind of sustenance. Even if it is a plaque or a piece of paper, the square words on it will attract you like a magnet and make you feel the goodwill from your motherland.

Because China people's feelings have been condensed into the simplest. Every stroke is written by the rules of China's game. Overseas, whether you are successful or drifting, as long as you have Chinese characters, you will have as much comfort and sustenance as possible.

Because every word, whether pictographic or indicative, knowing or pictophonetic, has a profound origin, and every China person is the soul of a square character.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Chinese Characters