Further Discussion From Primitive Record-keeping to the Invention of WritingTaking the generation of Chinese Characters as the Basic Object of Investigation

There are many treatises on the origin of characters, among which Wang Ningsheng’s article that From Primitive Record-keeping to the Invention of Writing has a wide influence. His greatest contribution is to introduce the three kinds of primitive records, such as objects, symbols and pictures preserved and discovered by primitive peoples, and to put forward important views on the invention of characters. On the basis of Wang’s article, this paper focuses on three issues. The first is the logical connection between the original way of recording and the invention of writing. The second is the external conditions that depend on from the original record to the original characters invention. The third is the sign of the invention of characters. This paper holds that the internal cause of the creation of characters can be called from the recording of events in material objects to the recording of events by artificial symbols, and then to the generation of characters. After the communication and collision of different social and cultural circles in which the ancestors lived, the kingship politics gave birth to the formation of characters, which can be called the external cause of the formation of characters. Only when internal and external factors work together can the development of Chinese characters be promoted. Only when the symbol corresponds to the language can it be used as a sign to judge the invention of words.