Introduction
Imagine for one moment that you wanted to find a way to remember the history of your family or people and record it for posterity. In addition, assume you also wanted to remember in particular the most important events in an easy way that you would never forget. How would or how could you achieve that?
- Perhaps you would draw or paint some pictures? The problem with pictures though is that they are easily lost or damaged.
- Perhaps you could make an inscription or monument? The problem is that it is weathered over time or subject to destruction by other people who do not understand it or like it.
- Alternatively, maybe you could write it down as text? After all, would not all the records could be copied much more easily. The problem is that the paper or papyrus or vellum is also subject to decay.
- Therefore, as an alternative to all the above, what about embodying the description within the shape of your words? If the words are pictograms or logograms, they become a visual and readable record of the events and thoughts you wish to convey. As a result, when you or others write a particular pictogram word both you and others are reminded of what happened all those years ago when you use those particular pictograms.
A pictogram is defined as a pictorial symbol for a word or phrase. Pictographs were used as the earliest form of writing such as hieroglyphics from Egypt or Chinese characters.
“A picture is worth a thousand words”. So goes a well-known English language adage.
The sentiments are also in sayings in many other languages. For example, Napoleon Bonaparte[i] said, “A good sketch is better than a long speech”. Famous painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci[ii] wrote that a poet would be “overcome by sleep and hunger before being able to describe with words what a painter is able to depict in an instant”.
Pictograms being the best idea, the question arises has it ever been used before? What story can we ascertain, if any from the hieroglyphs of Egypt or the Chinese characters?
This article is going to review the truth of the saying that pictures can tell such a story. In doing so we will find confirmation of the Bible record and hence must be an accurate source of records of the events written therein. Therefore, let us start in our search for pictograms that in pictures describe the major events in the Biblical records and in doing so confirm the Bible record from an unexpected source.
Background
Chinese history stretches back unbroken for about 4,500 years to approximately 2500 BC. This includes many written and inscribed records. While some of the shaping has changed over the centuries (as with all languages including Hebrew), the written language of Chinese today is still pictogram based. Although today China is renowned for its communist ideas and atheist teachings, many may not know or may wonder what beliefs the Chinese people held before the Chinese Communist Revolution of October 1949.
Going back in Chinese history we find that Daoism started in 6th Century BC, and Confucianism started in the 5th Century BC, as did Buddhism. It is known that Christianity appeared in China in the 7th Century AD during the Tang dynasty. However, it did not take root until the 16th century AD with the arrival of Jesuit missionaries. Even today, it is estimated there are only about 30 million Christians in a country with a population approaching 1.4 billion, just 2% of the population. Therefore, the influence of Christianity on the language would be very limited, not only in percentage terms, but also in terms of only relatively recently being exposed to Christianity.
Unknown to most of the world today, before the 6th Century BC, for the first 2,000 years of their history, the Chinese worshipped Shang Dì. Written as 上帝 [iii] (Shang Dì – God (maker)), the God of Heaven. Interestingly, this God of Heaven had many characteristics in common with the God of the Bible, Jehovah. Daniel 2:18,19,37,44 all contain this same phrase “the God of Heaven”, and Genesis 24:3 records Abraham saying, “as I must have you swear by Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth”. This same phrase “the God of the heavens” “the God of the heavens” is also repeated another 11 times in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and another 5 times elsewhere.
This worship of the God of Heaven continued even after the spread of Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. Even today, the Chinese New Year celebrations often include setting up an altar and making offerings to the God of Heaven – Shang Dì.
Furthermore, at Dongcheng, Beijing (Peking), China there exists a Temple complex including a Temple named Temple of Heaven. It was constructed between 1406 AD and 1420 AD and extended and named Temple of Heaven in the 16th Century. Interestingly there are no idols of any kind inside this temple unlike temples to Buddha and most temples of other religions.
Evidence in Chinese Writings
The Chinese culture has a long tradition of philosophers and writers. It is interesting to review what some have said. The first written records dated from the Shang Dynasty which was 1776 BC – 1122 BC and can be seen in museums.
Time Period: Before Christ
In the 5th century BC, Confucius in his 5 classics confirmed that during the Shang Dynasty they worshipped Shang Dì. He also writes that they believed Shang Dì had sovereignty over the nations. Also, that Shang Dì governs the wind, the rain and all the elements. They call him the Lord of the Harvest.
The Shang dynasty was conquered by the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC – 255 BC). The Zhou dynasty called God “tian”. 天. This is made of two characters 一, “one” and 大, “big” or “great”, so giving the meaning of “one above great”. This is very similar to the description of the God of the Bible recorded in Genesis 14:18, which states that Melchizidek “was priest of the Most High God”.
Historical Records (vol 28, Book 6, pg 621) confirms this when it says “Shang Di is another name for Tian. The spirits do not have two Lords”.
It is also interesting to note that they clearly viewed Shang Dì as Lord or master of the heavens and the other spirits (angels and demons).
In the 4th century BC, Zhuang Zhou was an influential philosopher. He wrote “- In the beginning of all things there was a void. There was nothing that could be named.”[iv] (Compare with Genesis 1:2 – “Now the earth proved to be formless and waste and there was darkness upon the surface of the watery deep”).
In the 2nd Century BC, Dong Zhongshu was a Han dynasty philosopher. He favoured the worship of heaven over the tradition of cults of the five elements. He wrote, “The origin is like the source. Its significance lies in its permeation of heaven and the earth from beginning to the end.” [v] (Compare Revelation 1:8 – “I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end”).
Time Period: 14th Century AD
Later in the Ming Dynasty (14th to 17th Century AD) the following song was written:
“Of old in the beginning, there was great chaos, without form and dark. The five planets[vi] had not yet begun to revolve nor the two lights to shine.[vii] In the midst of it, there existed neither form nor sound.
You, O spiritual sovereign, came forth in your sovereignty, and first did separate the impure from the pure. You made heaven; You made earth, you made man. All things became alive with reproducing power.” [viii] (Compare Genesis 1:1-5, 11, 24-28).
Also, in part of the Border Sacrifice Ceremony:
“All the numerous tribes of animated beings are indebted to Thy favour for their beginnings. Men and things are all emparadised in Thy love, O Te [Di]. All living things are indebted to Your goodness, but who knows from whom his blessings come to him? You alone, O Lord, are the true parent of all things.”[ix]
“He [ShangDi] sets fast forever the high heaven and establishes the solid earth. His government is everlasting.”[x]
“Your sovereign goodness cannot be measured. As a potter, You have made all living things.”
What stories can we find in the pictograms of the Chinese Language?
Evidence in Chinese Pictograms
If you wanted to remember the important parts of your history and culture by writing them down, what events would you document just as the Bible does? Would it not be such things as?
- the account of Creation,
- the fall of man into sin,
- Cain and Abel,
- the worldwide Flood,
- the Tower of Babel,
- the confusion of languages
Is there any trace then of these events in Chinese characters which are pictograms rather than an alphabet as common in European languages?
As many words are a combination of one or more pictograms making up another more complex pictogram we will start off with a small dictionary of basic words and add to them as necessary. Some constituent pictograms in more complex ones may be only a part of their own pictogram. These often exist as radicals. An example is the normal character used for “walking” is more than 辶 (chou - walking), but only this portion is added to other pictograms. (See KangXi radical 162.)
Basic Chinese Words/Pictograms for Reference
The Chinese words/pictograms were copied from https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary? and the radicals from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangxi_radical#Table_of_radicals. The mdbg.net site has also been very helpful as it will breakdown almost all complex characters / pictograms into its constituent parts with their individual meanings.[xi] This enables anyone to verify the understanding of the complex character parts. Please also note when looking up a character using the English transliteration of the pronunciation that it is sometimes without its accent(s)[xii]. Hence there may be a number of words associated with “tu” for example, each with different accents on the “u”.
土 (tǔ – soil, earth or dust) , 口 (kǒu – mouth, breathe) , 囗(wéi - enclosure), 一 (yī – one) , 人 (rén – man, people), 女 (nǚ – female), 木 (mù – tree), 儿 (ér – man, son, child, legs), 辶 (chou - walking), 田 (tián – field, arable land, cultivated), 子 (zǐ - offspring, seed, child)
More complex Characters
天 (tiān- heaven), 帝 (dì – God), 神 or 礻 abbrev. (shen, shì, – god).
A good example of a complex character is 果 (guǒ – fruit). You can see this is a combination of a tree 木 and a cultivated, arable land, i.e. food producing 田(tián). Hence, this character of “fruit” is a picture description of “the produce of a tree”.
果园 (guǒ yuán – orchard). This is a combination of two characters: that of fruit (guǒ) and the other character = one + son / child + enclosure = (yuán).
困 (kùn – surround) – tree in enclosure
告 (gao – report, declare, announce, tell)
生 (sheng – life, birth)
To be continued ………… Confirmation of the Genesis Record from an Unexpected Source – Part 2
[i] "Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu’un long discours” in French. Lived from 1769-1821.
[ii] Lived from 1452-1519.
[iii] https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?
[iv] Online Library of Liberty: The Sacred Books of China. The Texts of Taoism PatI: the Tao Teh King. The Writings of Kwang Ze books I-XVII. Pdf version page 174, para 8.
[v] http://www.greatthoughtstreasury.com/author/dong-zhongshu-aka-d%C7%92ng-zh%C3%B2ngsh%C5%AB-or-tung-chung-shu
[vi] Referring to the 5 visible planets of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
[vii] Referring to the Sun and the Moon.
[viii] The collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty, James Legge, The Doctrine of the Mean XIX, 6. The Chinese Classics Vol. I, p404. (Oxford:Clarendon Press 1893, [Reprinted Taipei, SMC Publ. Inc. 1994])
[ix] James Legge, The Shu Jing (Book of Historical Documents): The Books of Yu, 1,6, The Chinese Classics Vol III, p33-34 (Oxford:Clarendon Press 1893, [Reprinted Taipei, SMC Publ. Inc. 1994])
[x] James Legge, The Notions of the Chinese Concerning God and Spirits (Hong Kong: Hong King Register Office 1852) p.52.
[xi] Google Translate is not recommended, at least for translating an English word into Chinese. For example, the character for field give field in English, but reverse field and you get a different set of Chinese characters.
[xii] This is because not all sources used are easily copied and pasted, and it is extremely time consuming to do. However, every effort has been made to use transliterated words with the accent mark(s).
Archived Comments
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Comment by Alithia on 2020-03-14 21:52:15
Hello Leonardo. I have a few beliefs that underpin my understanding of the events we refer to as the flood in Noah’s day.
I understand that there is criticism of those who hold to the biblical idea that there was a worldwide flood that covered the very tops of the highest mountains, and where Noah constructed an Ark of particular dimensions and construction, and of Noah taking in animals of all kinds to repopulate the earth once the floods had subsided.
I find their criticism is mostly around logistical problems with the construction of the Ark, its capacity to accommodate Noah and his family and all of the animals, and for Noah to be able to care for the needs of his family and of the animals for the time that they were in the Ark for the duration of the flood until it subsided and they were able to exit the Ark. Also they point to some unexplained logistical problems as to how certain animals unique to certain locations on the Earth now, could have made their way from where the Ark finally settled after the flood to where they are now established.
A lot of the criticism however is based on scientific and logistic presuppositions and assumptions. And of course one major factor being that they do not believe in the supernatural. They do not believe in an Almighty God who can suspend nature’s laws or alter them as he pleases. God is not limited in what he can do. Nor is it necessary for God to have to explain how he is able to do these things. For those who believe in a Creator we are still learning about God’s handiwork not only on our planet earth but also in the universe! We only have to look at the vast universe and everything in it to consider the power of God and what he is capable of! And just because we cannot explain everything as to how he achieved this, does not mean that there is much that we can presently learn from! Just because we cannot explain most of it, in fact the great majority of this, does not mean that we can just simply discount it as never having happened even though we see evidence for it all around us. (This is the atheist argument). I find this analogous to those who are critics of the Genesis account of the great flood. As the saying goes, absence of evidence, is not evidence of absence.
And so the Genesis account of the flood may not have recorded everything that God did with regard to mankind and animal life and the flood itself.
Critics merely consider things from a naturalistic, and materialistic point of view. And that is based only on their current observations of nature’s laws and how they work today and have been operating possibly for billions of years without exception, (But for when God has intervened). They do not consider the supernatural, the existence of an almighty powerful God who is unlimited in power, wisdom, and with the ability to carry out what he has determined. It is important that we do not try to explain things from within the framework of the critics who have a materialistic worldview and do not believe in a supernatural almighty powerful wise God.
The simple fact is that no one was there that is alive today who witnessed the account. And so we have to rely on the biblical account as the only reliable explanation as to why it occurred, but not necessarily fully how it occurred. This is a big difference between those with a materialistic worldview and those who have a theistic worldview. Materialists focus on how it could have occurred, (discounting the supernatural) whereas those with a theistic worldview understand that the account is recorded in Scripture for us today primarily for the reason why it occurred!
The question remains though, does what the bible teach about the flood in Noah’s day reliable?
And if the Bible can be considered as being inspired of God and reliable? Then it would follow that what is taught in the Bible can be of value for us today can be considered as truthful.
However this is where we need to differentiate between what the Bible “teaches”, and some of what the Bible “says” as being true!
For example, should what Satan said to Jesus in a conversation as recorded in the Bible be considered as truth and reliably so? We know very well this is not truth, rather lies! We can think of the conversations between Job and his false comforters. These words were recorded in the Scriptures for us, however we need not consider these as truthful words, rather we know that they too are lies. And so just because words, stories and narratives are recorded in the Bible doesn’t necessarily mean they are true as biblical teachings. We need to discern what God is trying to teach us through his Word the Bible rather than obsessing on the mere written words which can so often lead us into a different direction from which they were meant to. However as the inspired word of God, and the purpose for why it was written, we can one hundred percent rely on biblical teachings as being true.
So with regards to the flood in Noah’s day, we may ask what does the Bible teach? It teaches that fallen mankind became so wicked that God wanted to reset the course in which mankind was going. And he proposed to do this by means of a flood. Obedient mankind was preserved through this judgement and punishment. And that the account serves as a warning for us today!
All of the scientific data, logistical problems, and many other questions that remain unanswered today are superfluous for the reason why this account has been preserved for us in Scripture. If God wanted to give us data and information on the physics, natural laws, eugenics, animal husbandry, boat building architecture, geology, the atmosphere and biosphere of planet Earth, where all of the water came from, where it went when the waters subsided, what the fossil record could show, genetics, logistics, psychology, population demographics, natural phenomena such as rainbows, animal and human migration patterns, and I could add to this list interminably! But I won’t. I think it is sufficiently long to understand that if God wanted the Genesis account of the flood to include all of these things he could have, rather he only included in Scripture what was necessary to teach us what the flood in Noah’s day was meant to, as mentioned above.
The many unanswered questions around those subjects that I listed above is the domain for the faithless, morally corrupt and God hating community similar to Noah's day and the domain for those who look to be critical of the existence of God.
Now with regards to those words in the Genesis account of the flood they could be understood from the point of view of an observer at the time, (Noah and his family) in their particular part of the world, in their circumstances, experience and how things turned out. This could be a very valid explanation that harmonises with what the Bible teaches. There are numerous accounts, considering the ancient near Middle Eastern culture and how they express themselves, which could help us see that there is harmony between the Genesis account and possibly what may have actually, and factually happened. I personally do not see any contradiction here or a disharmony that could discredit the word of God as being inspired and reliable in what it teaches! But critics ignore all of the above, and create their own artificial framework for understanding things that in advance excludes completely an Almighty God. Therefore what physical evidence that they can point to will lead them to false conclusions.
Another example of what the Bible really teachers as opposed to simply the words that can be found therein is with regard to the many parables that Jesus used. For example the parable of the mustard seed. Jesus said that the mustard seed is the smallest of seeds! And that if you have faith the size of the mustard seed you could move mountains!
As we very well know the mustard seed is by far not the smallest of seats that can be found! Does this mean that the Bible is unreliable, and that we cannot trust it as being truthful? Does this mean that the Bible is not inspired by God?
The key to understanding these words is to understand what Jesus was trying to do. He was trying to teach his listeners about faith, he was not giving them a lesson in botany, nor was he giving his listeners a lesson in the paranormal, in the ability of nonphysical things to have an effect on physical things such as the moving of mountains!
Culturally to the people he was talking to, they understood the mustard seed as being the smallest of seeds, and he used this in his parable to teach them how even very little faith could have a remarkable impact and effect. Period!
However critics as those in the above example of the flood in Noah’s day will point to these things as proof that the Bible is not inspired, is not truthful, and unreliable. It is obvious how mistaken they are.
I could add much more however in conclusion my view is, it is not required to bear down on all of the criticism and have to prove the Genesis account to the critics as it is criticised from an altogether different category. The Genesis account is in the category of a moral story not a scientific story! It leaves any reader in no doubt as to how God feels about things, his power, and how we should enact.Reply by Frankie on 2020-03-16 18:47:01
Thank you Alithia for very, very well written comment. And I think your thoughts in the last paragraph are crucial for all Biblical report.
My view is that there is no point in discussing a concept with someone if the basic principle of the subject of the debate is denied. In the case of biblical report, such a principle is God.
Some time ago, I discussed with an atheist whether the Sun could stand still all day in the Valley of Aijalon (Joshua 10:12-14). If he did not acknowledge the existence of God, there is no point in debating that matter, because he erased the basic principle of this biblical message.
But if almighty God exists, why He couldn't play with space-time in the area of Solar System, for example? Or do anything else (that we don't even know) in order this would happen. My position was: "Let's not discuss whether the Sun stood still in the Valley of Aijalon, but first of all let us discuss whether there is a God". At this point, the discussion has ended.
Thank you again Alithia, love to you and all here. Frankie
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2020-03-11 04:34:03
Hi Tadua, interesting stuff
A search on https://www.icr.org/article/genesis-chinese-pictographs/ shows chinese words for garden boat, and flood are made up of the following characters :-
Garden : Dust, earth, enclosure, two persons
Boat : Vessel, eight, mouth
Flood : Water, Total (together earth eight)
Thought you might like thisReply by Tadua on 2020-03-11 05:37:01
Hi Leonardo,
Thanks for your comment. Yes , I do like these characters. In fact you were not to know but they are covered in part 3. (already scheduled). It was these characters which I have known about for years that prompted me to do some more investigation and uncover a lot more. Hope you enjoy the next parts as much as I did preparing them.
Reply by Torso Boy on 2020-03-11 06:08:23
Hi LJ.
An Elder in my congregation has a sheet that he keeps in his witnessing bag with those Pictograms on it and the explanation for the way they represent the flood in Noah’s day. He has been showing it for years and it always fascinated me. This article from Tadua really helps to enforce how long ago, and how widespread the Genesis/creation account actually is. And if this is a 3-part article then I can hardly wait to see what other gems he has in store for us.
Comment by Alithia on 2020-03-12 22:27:26
This is wonderful cumulative proof of an event that happened in the distant past. The fact that this story is told and evidenced in many ways in so many far flung civilizations strongly suggests the truth of the Genesis account of the flood.
Critics of the Genesis account point to the commonality of the flood story, and the many variations in so many diverse cultures as reason to suggest the Genesis account is a borrowed story and fictional.
However in any court today, multiple lines of evidence from numerous independent witnesses relating events from many different angles and perspectives is considered proof of the evidence as being genuine and not merely a result of an imagination or a collaboration to manufacture a false story with an agenda.
Often the biblical accounts have evidence of Gods handiwork all over them. i think Tadua's presentation is one such demonstration where the evidence infers strongly that the flood really did happen.Reply by Leonardo Josephus on 2020-03-14 11:03:08
I was giving the talk on the flood of Noah's day over 40 years ago, and did some of the research referred to here. It is very clear that a catastrophic event took place. However, we must bear in mind that what happened at Babel meant that people took the account of the flood with them to wherever they were scattered. While this explains the common source, it is not enough to prove that the flood had been world wide, and if it was not world wide, then it is likely that some species were unaffected by such an event.
If Jehovah had done what he said in Genesis 6:7, nothing would have been left. Clearly he changed his mind regarding mankind, even if it was only for Noah and his family. Did he change his mind regarding animals in some parts of the world and limit the extent of the flood to disobedient mankind ? In loading animals onto the Ark, all of the species in the area of the flood would have been preserved.
I would appreciate your thoughts on this. To me, it does not affect the accuracy of the scriptures, just our ability to accurately interpret the few words of Moses describing a fantastic event.Reply by Alithia on 2020-03-15 01:54:48
Hello again, just too clarify,in my previous post, I am not trying to prove a world wide flood occurred as might be understood for a long time by many. All I was trying to do was to affirm the truthfulness of the genesis account of the flood as having occurred; supported by the Chinese writings and folklore from around the world.
My arguments were focused on discrediting the general criticisms that are popular.
With regards to all of the details, the bible does not provide them. But I think, as a result of not having all of the information around the flood, it is a non sequitur to then suggest that the story is false.
As far as positive proof of the flood actually happening I think of the following. God created the heaves and the earth and all things in it. All of the scientific data strongly suggests that the universe had a definite start some 14.5 billion years ago. Something caused it to come into existence, I believe it to be God. Jesus affirmed the Genesis account as he did the flood. So to my mind this line of reasoning is sufficient as positive proof the flood did occur. The full and exact details we may never know until we speak directly to those who were there, and even then they may only be aware of their personal experiences and not the full scope of what happened.
I have not considered any credible information to date on the matter other than of a world wide flood having occurred that wiped out all of disobedient mankind. I think it is of note that folk lore and hints like the Chinese writings attest to something definitely having happened in the past that harmonises with the biblical narrative.
Until then I think it is fallacious and perhaps futile to be drawn into a discussion by atheists who try to discredit the Genesis account based on materialistic explanations only.Reply by Leonardo Josephus on 2020-03-15 05:14:31
Hi Alithia, I always read your comments with interest. What you have said is both fair and builds faith. It is not upbuilding when Organisations insist that their interpretation is accurate, the only truth, and do not allow questions.
Thank you for your thoughts, which, I hope it is clear that I agree with.
It is so good to be able to discuss these subjects with like minded ones on this site.
Love to all.
Comment by Meleti Vivlon on 2020-03-15 09:06:46
Thanks for all the hard work and research that is going into this series.
Comment by Bobcat on 2020-03-15 10:00:15
For anyone's reference, here is a post on the DTT site that has the Bible's chronology back to Adam with the LXX/SP dating corrections figured in. The significance of this for this thread is that it allows for a Chinese history that dates back to c. 2500 BCE. Using just the MT dating, Chinese history would date back before the flood, an impossibility.
Comment by The Bible Book of Genesis – Geology, Archaeology, and Theology - Part 1 - Understand The Word on 2021-03-05 14:55:31
[…] Confirmation of the Genesis Record from an Unexpected Source [vii] – Parts 1-4 […]