Logographic writing systems and Chinese characters

Abstract This chapter investigates the use of iconicity in Chinese characters, of both imagic and diagrammatic iconicity. Previous studies mainly focus on the application of imagic iconicity in pictographic Chinese characters. This chapter emphasizes iconicity in pictograph-based compound characters not only because they constitute the majority of Chinese characters but also because their more complex structures have more iconic potential than simple pictographs. When pictographs work as components of compounds, the positions and/or relations between the components can be motivated by what they refer to, which involves diagrammatic iconicity. The use of both structural and semantic diagrams will be instantiated. Examples of lost and controversial iconicity will also be discussed to show that the correspondence between form and meaning can be subject to historical changes and different worldviews.