A very important Chinese character Xi3

Hi, this is Happy Chinese study center. We have always been bringing the Chinese culture, especially its language to you for a long time. Welcome to join us in today’s new article to learn Mandarin online. In accordance with our practice, today’s key word is 喜(Xi3). I believe that most of foreigners may see the double Xi3 when there is a wedding in someone’s family. You can easily understand that this word can transmit a kind of happiness in Chinese culture.

This character has changed dramatically in the long way to learn Chinese online or offline. The top is a part of Gu3 (drum) and the bottom is a part of Kou3 (mouth). Gu3 means hitting the drum, which represents cheerfulness, while the bottom Kou3 means happy expression must be transmitted through speaking. This character did not change greatly in the development from the period of Oracle bone script to modern times. But has this character always meant happiness from ancient time to present? It’s true. This word in Oracle Bone Script was an associative compound. It was stabilized in the Han Dynasty. The best way to learn Chinese language development is to combine the primitive Chinese characters and modern Chinese words.

According to Chinese culture, it was considered as a kind of culture of delight. Chinese nationality is a optimistic people in which people solve their problems from the attitude of perspective rather than the tool, because there were so many difficulties in the process of production. All Chinese people solve problems in a happy way, so happiness serves a basic state of the Chinese people.

Let us talk about the double 喜喜Xi3 (happiness) that appears in marriage only. So it just implies the meaning that a man and a woman are combined into family. They become a family. For example, in western culture, two persons become a spouse and get married, but they are still independent individuals. So we can see that western girls can boast her husband with abilities and success. However, Chinese women do not do that. When someone praises your husband, you may say: “na3 li3, na3 li3 (thank you)”, because of you and your husband as a whole. The character Xi3 expresses happiness that two persons combined into one. So the pattern of 喜喜 looks like as if two people are holding hands and stand together.

Now let us tell you what kind of things making the ancient Chinese happy? In ancient times, there are four happiest things in someone’s life. The most important two things for adult men were the Imperial Examination and marriage. It was said that Wang Anshi passed the Imperial Examination in the capital, just before encountering a beauty and got married with her. Faced with success in career and love, Wang Anshi wrote a big character Xi3 (happiness) by wielding a brush, meaning passing the Imperial Examination and getting married. Two happy events came at the same time. Later on, someone added another two things, which is a sweet rain falling after a long drought and encountering an old friend in a distant place. These four things were considered as the happiest thing in one’s life, being passed down to nowadays.

That is end of today’s class of mandarin Chinese for children online. Have you mastered how to use today’s key word?