The origins and the
historical use and
development of ‘Ancient Scripts’ is
important to understanding the civilisations of the present day.
Following
the hieroglyphic script
presentation of ‘The Pharaohs’ Sailor are proud to present the latest
edition
in this series – “Hanzi”. These original Ancient Chinese
characters originated from the very
famous ‘Oracle bone script’ which is the claimed origin
of the Ancient Chinese ‘Hanzi’ characters ( Kanji in Japanese).
‘Oracle bone script’
originates in the Yin
Chinese dynasty dating back almost 4800 years and is the oldest
recorded
Ancient Chinese characters. The script was hand carved onto animal
bones or
turtle shells. The
characters developed from a form of
hieroglyphic symbols and recorded at the time the important events.
They were
used in ‘divinations’ by wise men of the period by boiling the bones or
shells
in water and interpreting the cracks that appeared. Hence the term
‘Oracle bone
script’.
These
original ‘Hanzi’ Chinese scripts were then later also
recorded onto bronze tripods and plates to honour and praise the Gods
of
Heaven, ministers and aristocrats of the time. This was known as Bronze
Script.
It is a very well rounded script. One of the most famous Bronze scripts on a
bronze tripod – ‘Mao Gong Ding’ recorded
the achievements of Duke Mao.
This
special Limited Edition fountain pen
from Sailor is uniquely etched with the original record of
‘Hanzi’ ‘Oracle bone script’ characters from
this bronze. The pen
is in 925 Sterling Silver with Rhodium plated accents and the
legendary
Sailor ‘Naginata Togi’ nib in various
nib grades.
We
are sure you will enjoy this special
writing instrument.
‘Oracle
bone script’ (cap) in Kanzi
The
cap depicts a number of divinations (predictions) made
by the fortune tellers (wise men or Oracles) of the time. The
stories illustrated are of good and bad fortune and
include predicted curses and the resulting sacrifices to the Gods by
the Kings.
These divinations were originally carved onto the animal bones and were
taken
extremely seriously.
Bronze
Script ( barrel inscription) in Kanzi
One
of the most famous Bronze scripts– the ‘Mao Gong Ding’
was made in the Zhou Chinese dynasty. It is the longest ancient ‘bone
script’ inscription
cast onto a bronze tripod and it has 32 lines and 497 characters.
The story tells of the great achievements of the rulers and
politicians of the time. The inscription has 7 columns and it says:
‘When
King Xuan of Zhou succeeded to the throne - he entrusted
Duke Mao with the political responsibilities and revival of the nations
prosperity. The King praises him because Duke Mao served diligently
without any
self-benefit. Duke Mao commissioned the brass tripod to pass his
achievements
down to his descendants.
This
very special Limited Edition pen is available to pre-order now for
delivery in September 2007.