【史】 Shi History
|
This is the Kanji 史 ‘Shi’ from 歴史 ‘Rekishi: history.’ Surprisingly, the background of the meaning of 史, however, is not known. In China, historiography started at a very early stage in history. This fact is closely related to the character. The first character form already appears in the tortoise plastron and bone characters. As in 信・吉・哲 and the like, the part 口 here also is a ‘norito’ prayer receptacle. It shows the form of holding a wooden stick which is attached to the ‘norito’ prayer receptacle. It is the form of the ritual of worshipping the spirits of the king’s ancestors. Like 祭る ‘matsuru: to worship,’ 史 also has the reading 史る ‘matsuru: to worship.’ From the meaning of worship itself its meaning shifted to that of the person who conducts the act of worship. The world of ancient China is not based on the principal of separation of religion and state. The role of holding and carrying the ‘norito’ prayer receptacle is a religious service typical for a cleric and at the same time like that of a public servant in the Royal household.
使 and 事 are characters of the same lineage. Worship of the Royal ancestors became the model for ancestor worship of the whole people and it can be said that its record is history itself.
使 and 事 are characters of the same lineage. Worship of the Royal ancestors became the model for ancestor worship of the whole people and it can be said that its record is history itself.
- name
- Editoral supervision: Dr. Christoph Schmitz, Researcher of Shirakawa Kanji Science, General and Japanese History of Philosophy and Thought
- hp
- http://nippon-kichi.jp/article_list.do?p=5332