The Nature of Chinese Characters

How to determine Chinese characters' nature scientifically involves the construction and understanding of the system of Chinese characters, which has been academic circles' focal point ever since the 20th century with great differences. The nature of Chinese characters is the core of the research on the basic theory of Chinese characters. In this paper, five representative viewpoints on the nature of Chinese characters are analysed. From the induction and analysis of various theories, it can be seen that Chinese characters' different stages have their own characteristics, thus summarizing Chinese characters' essential characteristics, and expounding one's own shallow understanding of this problem.