Alchemy
Although the number of sight words is about 23% of the general use kanji, it nonetheless would be a great advantage if these 490 signature characters and compounds were part of a system that would integrate them in a coherent way. Given the long history and development of Chinese characters, it is appropriate to try to relate the ancient social and religious environment that is conveyed through these characters to a pre-industrial Western belief system. This will provide an original and appropriate framework for classifying kanji.
The Chinese writing system that Japan inherited (Han Characters or kanji) opens up a “window in time” on early human society and reveals fascinating aspects of pre-modern civilization. The composition of kanji clearly reflects the needs and preoccupations of a pre-industrial society. Agriculture, warfare, religion, trade and a range of other areas feature prominently in the structure of kanji. Some elements refer to weapons, others to wealth and resources while many other characters relate to ceremonies and religious activities. There is evidence that the first characters were used for divination, an activity that of course also featured prominently in astrology. It is the latter system that, when combined with the forerunner of modern chemistry, alchemy, reflects an environment that meshes quite well with the notions of a pre-industrial Asian society. I propose to go back in time and to attempt to associate kanji with a more archaic universe, a pre-modern cosmos (literally order) that used to be at the basis of Western scientific thought before the achievements in the 16th Century made this world view obsolete. In the traditional Western astrological system, the five planets and the sun and moon also express very similar notions of pre-modern society. If both systems share common elements in terms of well-defined social areas, it is fairly straightforward to associate for example the god or the planet of war, or the goddess or planet of love, with kanji that explicitly refer to these concepts. The great advantage in doing so would lie in the fact that then it would be possible to impose some order on 490 signature characters and by extension, on 2136 General Use and also on the entire range of 6460 kanji.
In order to aid better memorization of kanji, the process becomes more manageable if these characters are part of a small number of categories that would “pre-define” them. By using a traditional schedule based on Western alchemy and astrology, the broad flow of 2136 kanji can be subdivided into 7 distinct, smaller streams. Astrology is a form of divination whose main tenet is the belief that the movement of celestial bodies can influence human affairs. Alchemy refers to an artisanal pursuit concerned with the technologies of minerals and metals. The two systems intersect (and diverge as well) in a number of ways.
The geocentric model of the universe together with the traditional attributes that rule each planet provides an appealing and efficient way to categorize kanji. Saturn hovers at the far end of the universe –in relation to Earth in the center- followed by Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon occupying the position closest to Earth. The order is fixed and each planet (the Sun and Moon are luminaries, strictly speaking) has specific attributes or “correspondences” that provide a rich layer of associations. Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury have distinct categories but the greater and lesser luminaries, however, have more diffuse connotations.
There is an extensive tradition of attributing relationships or correspondences to planets in the form of a wide range of tangible and non-tangible objects such as deities, metals, elements, colors, herbs, stones, days of the week, smell, taste, gender and even psychological and emotional traits. The Renaissance in particular saw the emergence of elaborate systems that aimed to show the shared elements between microcosm, (wo)man and macrocosm, the universe. Although the Japanese system of elements is based on the Chinese tradition, the Japanese convention of associating the 5 major planets with the 5 elements in addition to the Sun (太陽) and Moon (月) makes it relatively straightforward to incorporate this into the system. The elements are: earth (土Saturn), wood (木Jupiter), fire (火Mars), metal (金Venus), and water (水Mercury).
The Chinese writing system that Japan inherited (Han Characters or kanji) opens up a “window in time” on early human society and reveals fascinating aspects of pre-modern civilization. The composition of kanji clearly reflects the needs and preoccupations of a pre-industrial society. Agriculture, warfare, religion, trade and a range of other areas feature prominently in the structure of kanji. Some elements refer to weapons, others to wealth and resources while many other characters relate to ceremonies and religious activities. There is evidence that the first characters were used for divination, an activity that of course also featured prominently in astrology. It is the latter system that, when combined with the forerunner of modern chemistry, alchemy, reflects an environment that meshes quite well with the notions of a pre-industrial Asian society. I propose to go back in time and to attempt to associate kanji with a more archaic universe, a pre-modern cosmos (literally order) that used to be at the basis of Western scientific thought before the achievements in the 16th Century made this world view obsolete. In the traditional Western astrological system, the five planets and the sun and moon also express very similar notions of pre-modern society. If both systems share common elements in terms of well-defined social areas, it is fairly straightforward to associate for example the god or the planet of war, or the goddess or planet of love, with kanji that explicitly refer to these concepts. The great advantage in doing so would lie in the fact that then it would be possible to impose some order on 490 signature characters and by extension, on 2136 General Use and also on the entire range of 6460 kanji.
In order to aid better memorization of kanji, the process becomes more manageable if these characters are part of a small number of categories that would “pre-define” them. By using a traditional schedule based on Western alchemy and astrology, the broad flow of 2136 kanji can be subdivided into 7 distinct, smaller streams. Astrology is a form of divination whose main tenet is the belief that the movement of celestial bodies can influence human affairs. Alchemy refers to an artisanal pursuit concerned with the technologies of minerals and metals. The two systems intersect (and diverge as well) in a number of ways.
The geocentric model of the universe together with the traditional attributes that rule each planet provides an appealing and efficient way to categorize kanji. Saturn hovers at the far end of the universe –in relation to Earth in the center- followed by Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon occupying the position closest to Earth. The order is fixed and each planet (the Sun and Moon are luminaries, strictly speaking) has specific attributes or “correspondences” that provide a rich layer of associations. Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury have distinct categories but the greater and lesser luminaries, however, have more diffuse connotations.
There is an extensive tradition of attributing relationships or correspondences to planets in the form of a wide range of tangible and non-tangible objects such as deities, metals, elements, colors, herbs, stones, days of the week, smell, taste, gender and even psychological and emotional traits. The Renaissance in particular saw the emergence of elaborate systems that aimed to show the shared elements between microcosm, (wo)man and macrocosm, the universe. Although the Japanese system of elements is based on the Chinese tradition, the Japanese convention of associating the 5 major planets with the 5 elements in addition to the Sun (太陽) and Moon (月) makes it relatively straightforward to incorporate this into the system. The elements are: earth (土Saturn), wood (木Jupiter), fire (火Mars), metal (金Venus), and water (水Mercury).
The image on the top left is a representation of the traditional geocentric universe and the correspondences of the planets. The left side shows the fixed order of the planets and the symbols of the appropriate metals. The right sight features the symbols of the planets themselves and the Japanese association with the elements. Note that the earth is in the center and constitutes the axis around which the plants turn. Saturn represents the starting point and is therefore number 1, lead is the metal in the lower left corner, its planet symbol is in the upper right hand corner and the ruling element is earth.