Abstract

The traditional liushu (Six Principles) theory, while effective in explaining the historical formation of Chinese characters, is not readily applicable to the analysis of modern character forms. This study proposes a structure-based interpretation grounded in the present forms of Chinese characters and reconstructs a classification system on this basis. At the classificatory level, the notion of structural motivation is redefined, and a revised fivefold system is proposed, consisting of pictographic, indicative, associative, phono-semantic, and symbolic characters. At the level of structural mechanisms, a tripartite functional model of components—semantic, phonetic, and symbolic—is introduced. The concept of “component languaging” is further proposed to account for the transformation of components from graphic units into functional linguistic units capable of participating in subsequent character formation. On this basis, a type–function model is established, integrating classification, structural mechanisms, and structure-based interpretation. This model provides a unified synchronic framework for the analysis of modern Chinese characters and offers a theoretically grounded and operational approach to their structure-based interpretation.

• Keywords: modern Chinese characters; liushu; structure-based interpretation; fivefold classification; component languaging; Chinese character pedagogy