| Abstract: | When did Chinese characters come into this world? Ancient Chinese mythology claims this took place on an April 20, or so, some 5,000 years ago. Legend has it that Cangjie, the Grand Historiographer of Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor), one of the most legendary Chinese sovereigns and cultural heroes, had been tortured by the inaccurate results of keeping track of historical records via the tying of knots. One day, having been inspired after taking closer note of animal tracks, Cangjie felt compelled to create written characters that would replace the errorprone process of knot-tying, signaling a new era of Chinese civilization. |
