"Six Books" are six laws summarized by the ancients when explaining the structure and usage of Chinese characters. The name of "Six Books" was first found in the history of Guan Bao in Li Zhou Dynasty. Later scholars named it pictograph, indication, cognition, pictophonetic characters, Zhuan Zhu and borrowing. Xu Shen, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, defined the "six books" as pictographic characters, taking paintings as objects, satirizing them in style, and the sun and the moon; Pointer, see and know, view and see, up and down is also; People you know are friendlier than others, so that you can see each other? Wu Xin is also; Voice, in the name of things, examples complement each other, rivers also; Those who pass notes and build classes agree to accept each other and keep taking exams; Under the guise of people, this book does not have a word, but also distinguishes things by sound.

concept

It is the generalization and induction of the rules of ancient Chinese characters in Shuo Wen Jie Zi [1] written by Xu Shen in the Eastern Han Dynasty, that is, "pictographic, indicative, knowing, pictophonetic, annotating and borrowing words". Pictographic characters, ideographic characters, comprehensible characters and pictophonetic characters are the methods of creating characters, while annotation characters and loanwords refer to the methods of using later developed characters. Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi? Syria: "When I entered primary school at the age of eight, Bao Jiaoguo had six books:

A pictogram, a pictogram, painted into its object, the sun and the moon also;

Second, refer to things, refer to things, see and know, see and see, up and down;

Three words: bosom friend, bosom friend, friendship, to see its meaning? Wu Xin is also;

Fourth, sound and sound, sound and sound, in the name of things, examples complement each other, rivers also;

Fifth, turn notes, turn notes, build classes, agree to accept each other and test from time to time;

Sixth, the cover of borrowing, the cover of borrowing, there is no word in it, but also depends on the sound. "

The concept of "Six Books" first appeared in Zhou Li's History of Guan Bao. "Bao's remonstrance against the evil of the king and the cultivation of the son of the country by Tao are the skills of six religions ... five words and six books." Zheng Xuan in the Eastern Han Dynasty quoted Zheng as saying: "Six books, pictographs, knowing, transferring notes, doing things ①, borrowing, and harmony ②" (Note: ① doing things, that is, "pointing things"; 2 homophonic, that is, "pictophonetic characters"). Ban Gu's Records of Han Shu Literature and Art defines the names of the six books as pictographs, images, images, images, sounds, notes and loans. Xu Shen's Preface to Shuo Wen Jie Zi defines the names of six books as: referring to things, pictographs, pictographs, sounds, knowledge, annotation and borrowing. It is generally believed that pictographic characters, fingering, knowing characters and pictophonetic characters in the six books belong to the word-making method, that is, the provisions of Chinese character structure; Transfer notes and loanwords are both ways of using words.