魅力汉字

魅力汉字

ON THE CHARACTER

Del v i n g i n t o the an nals of l in g ui sti c s t o fin d c reat ivi ty i n catastro phe

创新的过程从来都不是一帆风顺, 从挫折中汲取力量才能到达全新的彼岸

Whether you’re a writer, an artist, an entrepreneur, or any one of the thousands of jobs in the world that require imaginative solutions, creativity, or 创造力(chuàngzàolì), is what drives many of us forward. However, staying creative—in light of all the self-doubt, criticism, and hard work—is no easy task. It involves drawing the status quo into question and actively destroying preconceptions, often at great personal risk. This vantage point puts us in a better position to tackle one very special character: 创. It’s a character that means both “to start something new” and “wound or trauma”, with a slight variation in tone. With its dual meanings, the character for creation signi fi es the arduous journey endemic in creating something entirely new.

To create, you have to suffer fi rst. Judging by the evolution of the written form, we know that the character 创, meaning “wound”, appeared much earlier than the one for creativity. More than three millennia ago, it fi rst appeared in the form of bronze script. Some have posited that the script’s pattern indicates a person lying on the ground with incisions on the limbs; others claim it’s actually a blade dripping with blood.

BRONZE SCRIPT

SEAL SCRIPT

CLERICAL SCRIPT

CURSIVE SCRIPT

REGULAR SCRIPT

Either way, its original de fi nition was not debatable, meaning “to cut wounds”. As the character developed, the original pattern was simpli fi ed and became a radical, and at the same time another radical, 倉 (cāng), was added on its left to denote pronunciation. The end result is創, the traditional form of the character创. When it refers to “wound” as a noun, the fi rst tone (chuāng) is used.

Many words and phrases rely on the character, and all relate to its painful origins. 创口 (chuāngkǒu, wound) is a word you will most likely hear from surgeons, and when discussing a surgery, you may want to choose a plan of action that uses the least invasive techniques, which is 微创 (wēichuāng). Surgeons refer to surface wounds as 创面 (chuāngmiàn) when they are discussing its cleaning or healing.

Of course, the character does not just refer to physical wounds, but also psychological or emotional trauma. For instance, the word 创伤 (chuāngshāng) can mean both physical and psychological injury. For instance, “战争给人们的心灵留下了深深的创伤 (Zhànzhēng gěi rénmen de xīnlíng liú xià le shēnshēn de chuāngshāng)” means“War leaves deep wounds in people’s hearts.” To refer to the pain and suffering caused by such injuries, use the word 创痛 (chuāngtòng). The meaning of “wound”also expands to include setbacks on other general matters. For example, when the economy takes a hit, we say 经济受创(jīngjì shòuchuāng); when one’s career is on the rocks, it’s 事业受创 (shìyè shòuchuāng); and when someone’s ego gets hurt, we can even say 自尊心受创 (zìzūnxīn shòuchuāng).

创 also means “to start something new”, and when it’s used as a verb, the fourth tone (chuàng) is used. Originally, this meaning belonged to the character刱 with the same pronunciation. But the former became immensely more popular in daily usage, so much so that the character was rendered obsolete.

创造 (chuàngzào), or “to create”, is the word you want to remember when describing creation on a grand scale, such as in 创造文明 (chuàngzào wénmíng, to create a civilization), 创造历史 (chuàngzào lìshǐ, to create history), 创造纪录 (chuàngzào jìlù, to set a record), and even 创造奇迹 (chuàngzào qíjì, to create a miracle). For something speci fi c, it depends on what you are creating. If it’s literature or art, use 创作 (chuàngzuò); if it’s a publication, use 创刊 (chuàngkān); and if it’s to establish a school, a company, or an organization, use创办 (chuàngbàn), with the founder of the organization being 创始人 (chuàngshǐrén). To start a website, use the word 创建 (chuàngjiàn) and to create a new school of thought or a new theory, use 创立 (chuànglì). But, this is not to be confused with 创利 (chuànglì), which means “to create a pro fi t”. To do that, we have to start an enterprise fi rst, which is 创业 (chuàngyè). Entrepreneurs are actually 创业者 (chuàngyèzhě). With all this in mind, it should be clear that the subject at hand decides what verb should be used.

We celebrate and appreciate genuine creativity and out-of-the-box thinking; the word 创意 (chuàngyì) represents just that,“a brand new concept or fresh ground”, often in an artistic sense. In the modern world where technology grows ever more integrated, 创新 (chuàngxīn), or “to bring forth new ideas”, is often heard in regard to science and technology. In a world of innovation, the route to the unprecedented is the quickest to success; it’s the best way to ensure that your idea will be an 创见(chuàngjiàn, original idea) and your work will be 创举 (chuàngjǔ, pioneering work). What are you waiting for? Set your mind free and go to be creative, it’s the easiest and most painful thing in the world.

— BY HUANG WEIJIA (黄伟嘉) AND LIU JUE (刘珏)