Semiotics of the Chinese Hieroglyph: From Iconic and Indexical Sign to Symbolic

Abstract

Chinese hieroglyphic writing has developed ways of recording meanings that differ from those in alphabetic systems, which generates interest in the hieroglyph as an object of research. This study complements the semiotic theory, which is usually applied to alphabetic systems, while looking for a complementary way to describe the ambiguous semiotics of Chinese writing. The study relied on a cross-disciplinary approach, i.e., the theory of semiosis in synthesis with the cultural-historical concept and a tertiary artifact as a link between them. A tertiary artifact corresponds to the semiotic sign-symbol, which is an implicit valuable textual category that cannot be manifested in a specific sign. The theory of artifacts was used in conjunction with a semiotic approach to the analysis of Chinese writing, both at the level of individual signs and at the text level. Diachronically, Chinese hieroglyphic signs tended towards symbolic semantics as they evolved, especially in cases where object nomination was motivated. As a synchronic example, the authors used a compositionally complex text of Wang Wei’s poem Magnolia Valley (辛夷坞), which illustrates the symbol both implicitly and explicitly. The analysis proved that semiotic ideas applied to alphabetic languages can be applied to Chinese writing but with the following caveat: in Chinese text, the implicit semantics of the symbol, being associated with a visually vivid imagery, hints at the symbol hidden behind the lines. Unlike letters, the hieroglyph possesses an additional technical potential for constructing an explicit series of images, thus contributing to a more effective comprehension of the main idea and morals, the emergence of which is regulated by its symbolic mode.