Why did the ancient books read vertically and from right to left?

Ancient people wrote vertically, and from right to left. This habit seems absurd and awkward to us. Why is this so? /824ab18972bd4786d2c5357899e51eb39e4? X-BCE-process = image/resize, m _ lfit, w _ 45, h _ 6, limit _ 1/quality, q _ 85

Some people say that the most direct reason should be related to writing with a brush and writing on bamboo slips.

let's talk about vertical arrangement first. Because the bamboo slips used by the ancients to write are piece by piece, it is only possible to write from top to bottom, piece by piece, and it is absolutely impossible to write from left to right, so it is impossible to write. And suppose the bamboo slips are broken, fallen off and mixed together, it is basically impossible for you to rearrange them. Or a piece is rotten, and it is very troublesome for you to change it.

why write from right to left again? Because bamboo slips are rolled up to write, it is best to spread them to the left. If you want to write from left to right, the rolled bamboo slips will block your hand and make your writing very inconvenient and unsmooth (some people say that the ancients wrote one piece of bamboo before wearing it). Also, the writing brush is characterized by being slow, thin and hanging. Only when you write from right to left, and there is ink on the bamboo slips on the right, will you not put your hand on them.

These statements seem reasonable, but they are not. Why? Because we need to know that Chinese characters didn't begin to be written with bamboo slips, and writing tools weren't the earliest brush. The earliest Oracle Bone Inscriptions was carved with a carving knife on the bones of tortoise shells and animals, and on stones. Looking closely at Oracle Bone Inscriptions, we will find that the characters on the bones of tortoise shells are also arranged vertically and carved from right to left. How to explain this? Tortoise shell animal bones and carving knives, there is no such problem as bamboo slips and writing brushes. Why is this still the case? In other words, the ancient people's habit of arranging vertically and writing from right to left did not start with bamboo slips and brushes, but it has been like this since ancient times. /9c16fdfaaf51f3ded69aeac9feef1f3b29791a? X-BCE-process = image/resize, m _ lfit, w _ 45, h _ 6, limit _ 1/quality, q _ 85

In fact, the formation of any collective habit of a nation should not be understood in a physical and materialistic way, but should be a long-term psychological accumulation of this nation.

There is a joke: Why do ancient books have to be arranged vertically? Because the ancients respected books very much and believed what the author said, when he was reading, he only nodded his head from top to bottom to express his approval. Nowadays, when people study, they don't respect books enough, and they don't believe what the author wrote, so they go from left to right. What he means is constantly shaking their heads. This joke is used to satirize modern people's shoddy writing, but it also shows the ancient people's respect for words and books. /728da9773912b31b6b79dbe18d18367adbb4e1e5? X-BCE-process = image/resize, m _ lfit, w _ 45, h _ 6, limit _ 1/quality, q _ 85

This is also the case. Huainanzi records: Cangjie creates words, it rains and millet, and ghosts cry at night. This shows that the ancients regarded characters as a very sacred thing, and because they were sacred things, they deserved enough respect.

In terms of cultural psychology, the ancients were right-oriented. Why is the right the biggest? This should be out of respect for the most diligent right hand, because our right hand always does the most things. That is, the ancients always wrote from right to left. This respect is not only reflected in writing habits, but also before writing. We ancient people used to burn incense and bathe our hands before writing.

Let's talk about the writing habit from top to bottom, which embodies the ancient people's thought of "the unity of heaven and man". The ancients believed that wisdom comes from heaven and is given by heaven. Writing from top to bottom means connecting heaven and earth and opening the way to heaven. /4d86e61d95a7bf1258c1d162d9f3d3c9e5? X-BCE-process = image/resize, m _ lfit, w _ 45, h _ 6, limit _ 1/quality, q _ 85

The embodiment of the thought of "taking the right as the biggest" and "harmony between man and nature" in writing is not stipulated by one person, but in people's long-term writing. And we modern people don't respect books, don't respect words, have no fear of writing, make things up, and lack a sense of ceremony. Think about our ancients, we should really blush!