Chapter 44: Cangjie — 倉頡 — The Four-Eyed Scribe Who Invented Writing
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A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
On the Matter of Cangjie — 倉頡 — The Four-Eyed Scribe Who Invented Writing
His name is Cangjie — 倉頡.
Cang — 倉 — means granary. Storehouse. The place where grain is kept. The place where what is valuable is preserved.
Jie — 頡 — means upright. Straight. The character shows a person with a straight neck. One who looks up. One who sees what is above.
Together — 倉頡 — the Granary Scribe. The One Who Stored Knowledge. The One Who Preserved What Would Otherwise Be Lost.
He is also called the Four-Eyed Scribe — 四目史官 — Si Mu Shi Guan. He had four eyes. Two to see the patterns of heaven. Two to see the patterns of earth. He saw what others could not see. He recorded what others could not remember.
He is also called the Inventor of Writing — 文字發明者 — Wen Zi Fa Ming Zhe. He created the first Chinese characters. He gave humanity the ability to record. He gave humanity the ability to remember. He gave humanity the ability to transmit knowledge across time and space.
He was a minister of the Yellow Emperor — 黃帝 — Huang Di. The Yellow Emperor commanded him to invent writing. He obeyed. He observed the world. He created characters. He gave them to humanity. The world was transformed.
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On the oldest records of Cangjie.
The name Cangjie appears in the earliest Chinese texts.
The Xunzi — 荀子 — written by Xun Kuang — 荀況 — approximately 250 before the common era — mentions Cangjie.
It states: There were many people who created writing. But only Cangjie's writing was passed down. He was the one who succeeded. He was the one whose work was preserved.
The text does not claim that Cangjie invented writing alone. It acknowledges that others tried. Others created writing systems that did not survive. Cangjie's system survived. Cangjie's system became the foundation of Chinese writing. He was the one whose work endured.
The Han Feizi — 韓非子 — written by Han Fei — 韓非 — approximately 250 before the common era — also mentions Cangjie.
It states: Cangjie created writing. The characters were named after the things they represented. The character for horse was shaped like a horse. The character for cow was shaped like a cow. The people could read them. The people could understand them. Writing spread across the land.
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On the second record. The Huainanzi — 淮南子.
The Huainanzi — 淮南子 — compiled under Liu An — 劉安 — around 139 before the common era — contains the most dramatic account of Cangjie's invention.
It states: When Cangjie created writing, heaven rained millet — 天雨粟 — tian yu su. The ghosts wept at night — 鬼夜哭 — gui ye ku.
Heaven rained millet because writing allowed humanity to store knowledge. Before writing, knowledge was passed down by mouth. It was forgotten. It was lost. It was distorted. After writing, knowledge could be stored. It could be preserved. It could be transmitted unchanged. Heaven rained millet because humanity would no longer go hungry for knowledge.
The ghosts wept because writing exposed their secrets. Before writing, the dead could hide. Their deeds were not recorded. Their misdeeds were forgotten. After writing, everything was recorded. Nothing was hidden. The deeds of the dead were preserved. The ghosts could no longer escape judgment. They wept.
The Huainanzi also records: Cangjie had four eyes — 四目 — si mu. He saw the patterns of heaven with two eyes. He saw the patterns of earth with two eyes. He saw what others could not see. He recorded what others could not remember.
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On the third record. The Shiji — 史記 — Records of the Grand Historian.
The Shiji — 史記 — by Sima Qian — 司馬遷 — written approximately 100 before the common era — does not include Cangjie in its main narrative. But the commentaries to the Shiji record his story.
The Tang dynasty — 唐朝 — Tang Chao — commentator Sima Zhen — 司馬貞 — wrote in his supplement to the Shiji: Cangjie was a minister of the Yellow Emperor. He was the first to create writing. He observed the tracks of birds and beasts. He observed the patterns of the stars. He observed the lines on the palm. He created characters to represent these patterns. The characters were square. They were upright. They were the foundation of all writing that followed.
Sima Zhen also records: Cangjie served as the Yellow Emperor's historian. He recorded events. He kept the records. He preserved the history of the age. His records were the first history. Without him, the age of the Yellow Emperor would be forgotten. Without him, the Chinese people would not know their origin.
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On his four eyes — 四目 — Si Mu.
The accounts all agree on one point. Cangjie had four eyes.
Two eyes were on his face like ordinary eyes. Two eyes were above them, on his forehead. Or below them, on his cheeks. The positions differ across depictions. The fact of four eyes is constant.
He had four eyes because he saw what others could not see. He saw the patterns of heaven. He saw the patterns of earth. He saw the tracks of birds. He saw the markings on animals. He saw the lines on the palm. He saw the stars in the sky. He saw the ripples in the water. He saw everything.
With his four eyes, he observed the world. He saw the shapes that things made. He saw the patterns that things followed. He saw the essence of things. He recorded what he saw. He created characters that captured the essence of things.
A person with two eyes sees the surface. A person with four eyes sees the depth. Cangjie had four eyes. He saw the depth. He recorded it. He gave his recordings to humanity.
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On how he invented writing — how he saw the patterns.
The accounts describe how Cangjie invented writing. He observed the world. He saw patterns everywhere. He drew what he saw.
He observed the tracks of birds — 鳥跡 — niao ji. Birds left tracks in the mud. Each bird left different tracks. The tracks were distinct. The tracks could be recognized. He drew the tracks. He made characters from them.
He observed the markings on animals — 獸紋 — shou wen. Animals had patterns on their fur. Stripes. Spots. Whorls. Each pattern was unique. Each pattern could be recognized. He drew the patterns. He made characters from them.
He observed the lines on the palm — 掌紋 — zhang wen. Every hand had lines. The lines were different for every person. But the patterns repeated. The patterns could be recognized. He drew the lines. He made characters from them.
He observed the stars in the sky — 星辰 — xing chen. The stars made patterns. The constellations were shapes. The shapes could be recognized. He drew the shapes. He made characters from them.
He observed the ripples in the water — 水波 — shui bo. The water made patterns. The patterns were repeated. The patterns could be recognized. He drew the patterns. He made characters from them.
He observed the cracks in the earth — 地裂 — di lie. The earth cracked in patterns. The patterns were not random. They followed laws. He observed the laws. He drew the patterns. He made characters from them.
He observed everything. He drew everything. He created characters that captured the essence of everything.
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On the first characters — the first writing.
The accounts describe the first characters. They were pictographs — 象形字 — xiang xing zi. Pictures of the things they represented.
The character for sun — 日 — ri — was a circle with a dot in the center. The shape of the sun.
The character for moon — 月 — yue — was a crescent. The shape of the moon.
The character for mountain — 山 — shan — was three peaks. The shape of a mountain.
The character for water — 水 — shui — was flowing lines. The shape of a river.
The character for tree — 木 — mu — was a trunk with branches. The shape of a tree.
The character for bird — 鳥 — niao — was a bird with wings. The shape of a bird.
The character for fish — 魚 — yu — was a fish with scales. The shape of a fish.
The character for horse — 馬 — ma — was a horse with mane. The shape of a horse.
These were the first characters. They were pictures. They were drawings. They were records of what Cangjie saw.
Later, characters became more complex. Pictographs were combined to form ideographs — 會意字 — hui yi zi. The character for good — 好 — hao — combines woman — 女 — nü — and child — 子 — zi. A woman with a child is good.
Later still, pictographs were combined to form phonetic compounds — 形聲字 — xing sheng zi. One part indicates meaning. One part indicates sound. The character for river — 河 — he — combines water — 氵 — shui — and can — 可 — ke. The water that sounds like ke.
All of these developments came from Cangjie's first characters. He created the foundation. All later writing was built on what he built.
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On heaven raining millet — 天雨粟 — Tian Yu Su.
The most famous event in Cangjie's story is heaven raining millet.
When Cangjie completed his characters, heaven rained millet. Millet fell from the sky like rain. The ground was covered with grain.
The meaning of this event is recorded in multiple texts. Heaven rained millet because writing allowed humanity to store knowledge. Before writing, knowledge was lost. Each generation had to learn again what the previous generation had learned. Humanity could not build. Humanity could not advance. Humanity could not create civilization.
After writing, knowledge could be stored. What one generation learned could be passed to the next. What one person discovered could be shared with all. Humanity could build on what came before. Humanity could advance. Humanity could create civilization.
Heaven rained millet because humanity would no longer go hungry for knowledge. The grain that fell from the sky was the grain of knowledge. It was the nourishment that would feed the minds of all future generations. It was the foundation of civilization.
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On the ghosts weeping — 鬼夜哭 — Gui Ye Ku.
The second event in Cangjie's story is the ghosts weeping.
When Cangjie completed his characters, the ghosts wept. They cried at night. Their wailing was heard across the land.
The meaning of this event is recorded in multiple texts. The ghosts wept because writing exposed their secrets. Before writing, the deeds of the dead were not recorded. They could hide. They could pretend to be virtuous. They could escape judgment.
After writing, everything was recorded. The deeds of the dead were written down. Their misdeeds were preserved. They could no longer hide. They could no longer escape judgment. The ghosts wept because their secrets were exposed.
The ghosts also wept because they would be remembered. Before writing, the dead were forgotten. After a few generations, their names were lost. Their deeds were forgotten. They faded into nothing. After writing, the dead could be remembered. Their names could be preserved. Their deeds could be recorded. They would not fade. The ghosts wept because they would be remembered forever. They would never be forgotten. They would never rest.
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On Cangjie and the Yellow Emperor — 黃帝 — Huang Di.
Cangjie was a minister of the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor commanded him to invent writing.
The Yellow Emperor was the unifier of tribes. He established the first Chinese state. He needed a way to record laws. He needed a way to keep records. He needed a way to communicate across distances. He needed writing.
He summoned Cangjie. He said: create writing for the people. Create characters that can record our laws. Create characters that can preserve our history. Create characters that can be understood by all.
Cangjie obeyed. He observed the world. He created characters. He presented them to the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor examined them. He approved them. He ordered them to be taught to the people.
Cangjie served as the Yellow Emperor's historian. He recorded the events of the reign. He recorded the battles. He recorded the laws. He recorded the inventions. He recorded the names of the officials. He recorded the deeds of the people. He wrote the first history of China.
Without Cangjie, the Yellow Emperor's deeds would be forgotten. Without Cangjie, the founding of Chinese civilization would be unknown. Without Cangjie, there would be no record of the age of the sages. Cangjie preserved what would otherwise be lost.
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On the Cangjie character dictionary — 倉頡篇 — Cangjie Pian.
The Cangjie Pian — 倉頡篇 — the Cangjie Chapter — was the first Chinese character dictionary. It was compiled during the Qin dynasty — 秦朝 — Qin Chao — approximately 200 before the common era.
The text was a primer for learning characters. It listed characters in groups. It explained their meanings. It taught their pronunciations. It was used for centuries to teach children to read.
The text was attributed to Cangjie. The attribution is traditional. The text was compiled from earlier sources. It was compiled from the accumulated knowledge of centuries. The name Cangjie was attached to it because he was the inventor of writing.
The Cangjie Pian is lost. Fragments survive. It is quoted in later texts. Its influence is still felt. Every Chinese character dictionary traces back to the Cangjie Pian. Every Chinese character dictionary traces back to Cangjie.
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On his tomb.
His tomb is said to be in Shouguang — 壽光 — in Shandong province — 山東省 — Shandong Sheng.
The Cangjie Mausoleum — 倉頡陵 — Cangjie Ling — is a large tomb complex. It has been maintained for over two thousand years. Scholars made offerings at the tomb. Writers made offerings at the tomb. Students made offerings at the tomb.
The tomb receives pilgrims to this day. They come to honor the inventor of writing. They come to honor the four-eyed scribe. They come to honor the one who gave humanity the ability to record. They come to honor Cangjie.
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On what he represents.
He represents the beginning of recorded knowledge.
Before Cangjie, there was no writing. There were no records. There was no history. There was no literature. There was no law. There was no science. There was no philosophy. There was no civilization as we understand it.
After Cangjie, there was writing. There were records. There was history. There was literature. There was law. There was science. There was philosophy. There was civilization.
He is not a god. He is a human. He is the first human to create writing. He is the first human to record knowledge. He is the first human to preserve the past for the future. He is the first human to give humanity the ability to build on what came before.
He observed birds. He observed animals. He observed stars. He observed water. He observed everything. He drew what he saw. He created characters. He gave them to humanity.
Heaven rained millet. The ghosts wept. The world was transformed.
He is Cangjie. He is the Four-Eyed Scribe. He is the Inventor of Writing. He is the one who gave humanity the ability to remember.
END OF CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR