The Study Of Chinese Characters Related To Sacrificial Culture In Shuowen Jiezi

Shuowen Jiezi written by Xu Shen not only reserves Xiao Zhuan, Da Zhuan and ancient character, but also analyses the meaning of the words based on the shapes, proves the early Chinese characters feature of expressing the meaning with the shapes and establishes the method of analyzing the words’shapes. At the same time, the book shows Chinese characters systematically based on the radical. It is the first dictionary arranged according to the radical in the history of China and a philology works that has a huge impact. Because Chinese character is ideogram and expresses meaning according to shapes, the ancients reflect their understanding of the nature and thoughts of life in the structure of Chinese character when they created Chinese character. So, the explanations of Chinese characters by Xu Shen have the display and interpreting of culture. Xu Chong, son of Xu Shen, wrote to the emperor that:" many books about Liu Yi are depended on Shuowen. And Shuowen records all things including heaven and earth, ghosts and gods, mountains and rivers, vegetation, animals, insects, sundries, regimes, etiquettes and matters." It is clear that Shuowen can be considered as an encyclopedia for virtue of its wide scope and rich content of ancient culture.The research object of the thesis is Chinese characters related to sacrificial culture in Shuowen Jiezi, this thesis includes four parts:Chapter one, the introduction, spells out the purpose and the meaning of the topic, expounds the current researching situation and deficiency of research specifically. It also summarizes the directive theory and research methods of this thesis.Chapter two, the classification of the Chinese characters on sacrificial culture in Shuowen Jiezi are described and analysed. I use Shuowen writed by Xu Shen and edited by Xu Xuan (Zhonghua Book Company,1963) as original copy, read the article word by word and collect136Chinese characters about sacrificial culture. Referencing The Note of Shuowen Jiezi writed by Duan Yucai, I classified and analysed the configuration of these Chinese characters in this chapter.Chapter three, The Chinese characters related to sacrifice are divided into nine types including sacrificial purpose, sacrificial names, sacrificial ways and sacrificial supplies from the cultural perspective. It is expounded by referencing other ancient literature. On the basis of this classification and the analyses, it points out the cultural connotation of Chinese characters about sacrificial culture and the existence significance in society.Chapter four, the thesis gets conclusion. At the same time, it concludes the value and meaning of sacrificial culturethe. The innovations and the problems are also concluded.