The Representation of Human and Universe in Chinese Language and Culture

The relationship between the language and the thought in the understanding of universe has been always regarded as one of the long standing intellectual concerns in human sciences, and studying the relationship between these variables has turned into a scientific and academic activity. But according to some theories such as ‘linguistic turn’ and the related criticisms, nowadays, the language has lost its importance as a tool for thought transition and has been presented as a means for shaping and revelation of the outer world. The present article studies the relation between the human and the universe in Chinese language system and focuses on the importance of correlation between the language and the thought based on philosophical and ontological reflections in Chinese language and characters. In this article, Chinese written system, as the only universal written system which has been developed as an interconnected chain since 8000 BC and survived as a bearer for transferring Chinese culture and intellect, can now at least function in the form of Chinese civilization, as a black box in understanding and discovering human’s ontological foundations. Accordingly, in addition to studying the Chinese written system in ancient time, the present article, from a cultural point of view, tries to find that how the relationship between the human and the universe has been reflected in Chinese written system using the doctrines of some prominent contemporary language theories