Posted 2017/7/10
In the small seal script, the character “哭” (ku, cry) looks like a vivid abstract painting – the upper part is a “吅” (xuan, yell out), which highlights a wide-opening mouth; the lower part is the form of a human figure which seems to beat the breast and stamp. Some others hold that it is an ideograph, which has two “口” (kou, mouth) in the upper part and a “犬” (quan, dog) in the lower part. Originally, the character delivered the meaning of the dog shedding tears and whining. Later, all the mood of shedding tears and whining has been called “哭”. The form of the character in the regular script, which is what we look as it is now, is a simplified version of that in the small seal script.
Crying is not only a display of physiologic mood, but also a way for human beings to express emotion. Ruan Ji, the great thinker and litterateur of the Wei State in the Three Kingdoms Period, would return home wailing from his depression-relief journey whenever he could not find way to continue his travel. And it is said that there was a man named Tang Qu in the Tang Dynasty who would cry each time he read articles and would cry too when he drunk. The ancient Chinese would often chant loud or write poems to replace crying or wailing, so as to give vent to sorrow and indignation in their heart.
