Ancient characters come alive on memes甲骨萌表情

王大明

甲骨文，这种最早刻在龟甲和动物肩胛骨上的中国书写文字。清华大学美术学院陈楠教授钻研甲骨文19年并将其制作成表情包，如今这些表情包活跃于中国互联网，在年轻一代中逐渐发展成为一种新的网络语言。

Jiaguwen， the earliest Chinese writing inscriptions（刻印文字） carved on tortoise shells and animal scapulas（肩胛骨）， comes alive on Chinese internet and evolves （逐渐发展） itself as a new online language among the young generation.

“I never imagined that I can use Jiaguwen to communicate with my friends. I thought they can only be seen in my textbooks and understood by a few researchers. Also， these memes（表情包） look so creative and cute，” said Sina Weibo user Daodan Xiaopan.

“The digitization of Jiaguwen is a brilliant idea to promote traditional Chinese culture， and I hope the designers can launch more memes for me to learn the ancient characters，” WeChat user Xin Wenxu added.

Chen Nan， who designs Jiaguwen memes， is happy to know that Chinese netizens like his works. “At present， most people think Jiaguwen is hard to understand and ignore the great historic value of it. Through using Jiaguwen memes， I truly hope that more people can develop the interest of the ancient characters and make it accessible to more people's daily life，” Chen said.

“Jiaguwen is mainly the pictograph（象形文字） with regular strokes（笔画）and beautiful forms， and it can be dated back to the Shang Dynasty （1600—1046 BC）， which is regarded as the primary form of modern Chinese characters，” Chen added.

Graduating from the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University， Chen has devoted himself to studying Chinese characters' design for 17 years.

“The design and promotion of Jiaguwen should follow the trend rather than turn it into a cultural symbol that is difficult to understand and unpredictable. Chinese characters are the cultural genes（基因） of our nation， which ensures the strong vitality of Chinese fine culture，” Chen said.

1.What do Chinese netizens think of Jiaguwen memes？

A.They think the memes ignore the historic value.

B.They think it is hard to understand the memes.

C.They find the memes amazing and like them.

D.They regard the memes unpredictable.

2.How do you like Chen Nan's idea of creating Jiaguwen memes？ （no more than 15 words）

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3.Can you think of other ways to spread Jiaguwen？

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Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.launch v. 發动

2.ignore v. 忽视

3.accessible adj. 易接近的;容易理解的

4.unpredictable adj. 不可预测的

5.vitality n. 活力;生命力

6.historic value 历史价值

7.develop the interest of 培养……兴趣

8.devote oneself to 致力于;献身于……

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the vocabulary given above.

1.They have launched a program to make science __________ （access） to young people.

2.No one can assure you of the __________ （predict） result. You just need to fight for your goal.

3.Without continued learning， a man will lose his intellectual __________ （vital）.

4.People don't like to ask questions for fear of appearing __________ （ignore）.

5.这门选修课旨在帮助培养孩子们对中国诗歌的兴趣。（develop the interest of）

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6.这就是我的老师，一个非常努力的人，致力于教学研究很多年。（devote oneself to）

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