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Name - educational story


Name - educational story
Photo Information
Copyright: Bill Laucp (trekks) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1561 W: 118 N: 2574] (9948)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-01
Categories: Daily Life, Architecture, Artwork, Abstract
Camera: Nikon D80 Digital SLR, 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6GED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Ni, SD 2GB, 67mm UV
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Colors [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-05-02 3:04
Viewed: 324
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Well, never mind if this photo is not going to attract many viewers or critiques, or simply plain boring to some. Sometimes, we just feel happy shooting when we feel the urge and find things we must do along the learning curve. This is one of those photos that I need to take this time.

I happened to pass by Lau King Howe Memorial center (used to be Hospital built on land donated by philanthropist) and saw artwork carving on wood. This particular Chinese character is unique because it is also my root - family name passed through from generations ago in China, meaning this philanthropist carried down the same root as my forefathers in China. The original full version differs and has more strokes (China established simplified version of Chinese characters). In English, this character is read as Lau, Liu, Liew or Law through pronunciation. My Russian Maths professor (in Canada) could not call it correctly and everytime he spoke as 'Lou', but as I was the only one with that syllable, no one competed with me in answering that name.

The Chinese commonly are named by a family surname, followed by 2 first names. Although exceptions of only 2 words (1 surname + 1 first name) or 4 words (2-word surname + 2 first name) are also found, they are not majority. AND YES, we write our name with surname/family name in front, followed by first names. When we are in western countries, we have to reverse that order, placing the family name from front to behind the first names, eg, Lau XY (in Asia) will become XY Lau (in the West).

Some links about Chinese character history
wiki
Chinese character 1
Chinese character 2
A brief history

INFORMATION
The history of the Chinese scripts started in Sheng Dynasty (1600 - 1100 B.C.). People engraved symbols or pictures onto the shells of turtles to express their views or feelings. Later, they engraved them onto the bamboo. Those symbols or pictures were shaped and developed through the Chou Dynasty ( 1027 - 222 B.C.), Chin Dynasty ( 221 - 201 B.C.) and it was not till the Han Dynasty (202 B.C. - 220 A.D.), that the shapes of symbols and pictures were developed to a formal script which we are using nowadays. Chinese writing made a great leap with the discovery of paper making by Choi Lan ( 100 A.D.) and the use of a brush made from bamboo and goat hair.

In the dictionary made during the Han Dynasty, there were over 9,000 characters. The most recent dictionary developed in the Ching Dynasty (1800 - 1911), included nearly 48,000 characters but some of these words are rarely used. Knowledge of about 4,000 characters is necessary for reading a newspaper and for most other common purposes. The most common computer encoding system in Taiwan and Hong Kong incorporates about 13,000 characters and the system in China incorporates about 6,5000 character.

In Taiwan and Hong Kong, people are still using the traditional fonts for writing. In Mainland China, they use the simplified fonts which contain fewer strokes per character - this was developed by the Chinese Communist Party in 1952.

Does Chinese have an alphabet?

No. It is different from English, Chinese characters are not formed from alphabets. They are formed by strokes. Every character corresponds to a single or a few syllables in Chinese.

How are the characters drawn?

The art of drawing chinese characters is called calligraphy. The characters are made up from eight basic strokes. See how these strokes are drawn by watching this Chinese stroke animation. Also see how the character for 'forever' is drawn - this character is made up by all eight basic strokes.

Is the size and shape of the characters important?

Yes. Essentially a complete character needs to be written within a square. This may mean that when the complete character is drawn different parts of it may be squashed or even simplified to fit the shape of a square.

Does it matter how long you draw each individual stroke that makes up a character?

Yes. Different 'words' can be made up of exactly the same strokes. The length of each stroke, the position in relationship to each other and whether they touch or overlap will determine the meaning of the character.
dareco, wieyos, Ivan, spacebar, Janone, tsesler, Ramdan, milas, jusninasirun has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • dareco Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1270 W: 17 N: 629] (11553)
  • [2008-05-02 3:07]

Don't be so hard on yourself :) this just jumps right out of the gallery, and I find it very interesting as is your note. Very nice bright colors too. TFS

Hi Bill,

i love so much the detail of the wood's texture & the carving. it's a superb sharp & clear image.

is it on a belian, selangan batu or kapor?

TFS & have a great WE
Regards
Agoes

I already had the opportunity to appreciate the shy sweet smile of the girl at Nabula market...
this one is well cropped, focused and brilliant (both in colors and in contents...) :-)
TFS
Ciao, Antonella

  • Great 
  • Ivan Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 474 W: 110 N: 264] (3678)
  • [2008-05-02 3:14]

Hi Bill,
I love the way that the light enhance the details in the wood. The colours contrast is eye's catching and the artwork in itself is not only beautiful but well captured also. Well see, TFS,
Ivan

  • Great 
  • Janone Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3445 W: 96 N: 3039] (19582)
  • [2008-05-02 3:19]

Hello Bill.
Thanks for your explanation. Its always confusing for us in the west, what first name (and Family name) they have.
The picture is good looking cos of the hard red colour with the deep contrast in it. Very well done.
Regards from Jan

Hi Bill,

Good capture..
EXCELLENT TONES.
Fine moment..
All the best.

jp

Hi Bill,
very well seen and
really nice capture with the detailes
well done and tfs,
taner

Hi Bill,
It actually look very attractive, even from its thumbnail, Bill. The clarity and sharpness of the texture of the woods and the Chinese character carved on it are very good. I like the colors too. Very nice shot, with very good note.
Regards,
Ramdan.

  • Great 
  • milas Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2164 W: 385 N: 2277] (24652)
  • [2008-05-02 7:45]

Merhaba myfriend Bill....
Excellent job with beautiful photo, wonderful colors and a very beautiful frame!
Selamlar...
Milas...

Hello Bill. This image deserve to be in one of your top rated collection. Simplicity at its best Bill with excellent work with the lens. I like everything here from the texture of the wood and the carving painted in bright red making this so stunning in vertical lines perspective. Thanks for sharing and very well done. Best regards. Jusni

Hi Bill,
Great graphism...
Nice shapness colours.
I like it.tfs.
Dr.Seyfettin Güner

Hi Bill
Well I don't know ... I found this intriguing enough to visit and have a closer look. Still trying to make up my mind how I feel about it. Good textures and colours, an interesting subject choice ... I think it's good to experiment, sadly TL doesn't often reward experimentation though, "tried and true" formula shots receive the more praise.
Rew

  • Great 
  • marijo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 199 W: 0 N: 51] (1159)
  • [2008-05-02 15:56]

Hi Bill,
I loved this photo. The contrast between red and the colour of wood fixes our look.
Regards
Maria

Hi Bill,

I think the colors, contrast, shapes and lines in this shot make it a for more interesting shot to watch than most posts on TL. Maybe I would have gone for a less diagonal view and shot more straight on.


TFS,
Pedro

Hello Bill,
Sharp and clear details.
The red color captured without any OE. TFS
Vandana
later

  • Great 
  • jawa Gold Star Critiquer [C: 1701 W: 0 N: 1] (11482)
  • [2008-05-03 10:11]

Hi Bil
beautiful composition and lines working.
Gr Jos

Hi Bill,
Great image and words my friend,I like it..
Full of details,great sharpness with beautiful colors,light and contrast..
Great done my friend.

Anan

Later :]

  • Great 
  • karith Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 971 W: 46 N: 893] (6148)
  • [2008-05-05 10:09]

This deserves much credit for being unique and meaningful, not to mention well done. The red draws attention to the beautiful design of the character etched into the wood and accented by the vertical lines. I like how the combination creates an abstract pattern and artistic effect. Good shot:)

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