Book

Chinese Characters Story

As Chinese characters have been used for thousands of years, this book invites readers to explore the evolution of these characters, especially those used for the topics of clothes, food, shelter and daily life from ancient times to today. The development and significance of the Chinese writing system is presented with photographs and three-dimensionally designed characters. Ranging from ancient oracle bone and turtle shell script to the calligraphy in Wang Xizhi’s book “Lantingji Xu” (Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion) from 353 and to the cursive seal script still used today in seal carving as well as modern font, the book pairs text and images to create a visualisation of the development and unique characteristics of single logograms or words. Following an authentic approach, it thus aims to bring the feel of the old scripts to life.

Statement by the Jury

This book provides extensive insights into the history of the development of the Chinese writing system. Individual characters paired with real photographs document how closely the development of Chinese characters was guided by people’s everyday lives. This book convinces with both its sophisticated structure and typography. It is perfectly designed in every detail.

Red Dot: Best of the Best

Credits

University:

Chihlee University of Technology, New Taipei City
Supervising Professor:

Shih-Lun Chen
Design:

Tsung-Chen Tsai, Hao-Wei Lin, Tsung-Chia Chou, Sheng-Han Chen, Chihlee University of Technology