--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a progression from pictographic…" description: "\"“There is a progression from pictographic, writing the picture; to ideographic, writing the idea; and then logographic, writing the word. Chinese scrip..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/686/james-gleick-2623_sun-moon_there-is-a-progression-from-pictographic_3027155.jpg" --- # There is a progression from pictographic, writing the… ![“There is a progression from pictographic, writing the picture; to ideographic, writing the idea; and then logographic, writing the word. Chinese script began this transition between 4,500 and 8,000 years ago: signs that began as pictures came to represent meaningful units of sound. Because the…” quote by James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/686/james-gleick-2623_sun-moon_there-is-a-progression-from-pictographic_3027155.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/686/james-gleick-2623_sun-moon_there-is-a-progression-from-pictographic_3027155.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/686/james-gleick-2623_sun-moon_there-is-a-progression-from-pictographic_3027155.jpg) > ““There is a progression from pictographic, writing the picture; to ideographic, writing the idea; and then logographic, writing the word. Chinese script began this transition between 4,500 and 8,000 years ago: signs that began as pictures came to represent meaningful units of sound. Because the basic unit was the word, thousands of distinct symbols were required. This is efficient in one way, inefficient in another. Chinese unifies an array of distinct spoken languages: people who cannot speak to one another can write to one another. It employs at least fifty thousand symbols, about six thousand commonly used and known to most literate Chinese. In swift diagrammatic strokes they encode multidimensional semantic relationships. One device is simple repetition: tree + tree + tree = forest; more abstractly, sun + moon = brightness and east + east = everywhere. The process of compounding creates surprises: grain + knife = profit; hand + eye = look.”” [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chinese characters evolved from pictures to ideas to words, allowing diverse spoken languages to communicate through a shared written system, using many symbols to encode complex meanings. **In simple terms:** Chinese writing turned pictures into words, linking many languages. Key Takeaway Understand how visual symbols can bridge language gaps. Themes language writing communication history semantics Mood analytical reflective Type educational informative philosophical When to use this quote - language learning - cross‑cultural communication - educational technology - translation studies - cognitive linguistics Key Concepts logography iconicity compounding semantic encoding Questions to Reflect On - How do visual origins affect modern literacy? - What challenges arise from a large character set? A Different Perspective Complex system requires memorizing thousands of symbols, limiting literacy speed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chinese Script](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese-script-2306427/) [Logographic Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logographic-writing-4928126/) [Pictographic Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictographic-writing-4928125/) [Script Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/script-began-4928127/) [Sun moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun-moon/) [Writing Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-picture-1247418/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [For Mandarin scripts, there's software now where you can just insert the Chinese script, and it comes out all in pinyin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-wu/for-mandarin-scripts-there-s-software-now-where-you-can-just-insert/) [Daniel Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-wu/) > [I have trouble writing if I can't picture how things are going to look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kirkman/i-have-trouble-writing-if-i-can-t-picture-how-things-are-going-to-look/) [Robert Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kirkman/) > [When you start writing a picture book, you have to write a manuscript that has enough language to prompt the illustrator to get his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/when-you-start-writing-a-picture-book-you-have-to-write-a-manuscript/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [For children: I'm writing a picture book about the Big Dipper and a novel about a cricket, a firefly and a vole. For grownups:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/for-children-i-m-writing-a-picture-book-about-the-big-dipper-and-a/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [I think of writing--particularly of writing picture books--as a kind of choreography. A picture book must have pace and movement and pattern. Pictures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-schenk-de-regniers/i-think-of-writing-particularly-of-writing-picture-books-as-a-kind-of/) [Beatrice Schenk de Regniers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-schenk-de-regniers/) > [The process for writing a picture book is completely different from the process of writing a chapter book or novel. For one thing, most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weeks/the-process-for-writing-a-picture-book-is-completely-different-from/) [Sarah Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weeks/) > [My writing is a picture of the mind moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-whalen/my-writing-is-a-picture-of-the-mind-moving/) [Philip Whalen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-whalen/) > [I love writing picture books because they are very child-centered and family-focused. The idea of creating a story within 2-5 typewritten pages is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerdine-nolen/i-love-writing-picture-books-because-they-are-very-child-centered-and/) [Jerdine Nolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerdine-nolen/) > [I've said it before, and I'll say it again: writing picture books is an art - the art of word choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-serle/i-ve-said-it-before-and-i-ll-say-it-again-writing-picture-books-is-an/) [Rebecca Serle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-serle/) > [Writing a picture book is like writing 'War and Peace' in Haiku.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/writing-a-picture-book-is-like-writing-war-and-peace-in-haiku/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [The planets are not hunks of stuff out there but nodes of vibration that resonate in multiple dimensions that enfold themselves into one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/the-planets-are-not-hunks-of-stuff-out-there-but-nodes-of-vibration/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [Poverty comes from Hell. Prosperity comes from Heaven. Adam had complete dominion over the earth and all it contains. A. Adam could fly like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/poverty-comes-from-hell-prosperity-comes-from-heaven-adam-had/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [I Have 3 Friends in World Sun, Moon and You Sun For Day Moon For Night Your For Ever ..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-have-3-friends-in-world-sun-moon-and-you-sun-for-day-moon-for-night/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-lawrence-knowles/the-night-walked-down-the-sky-with-the-moon-in-her-hand/) [Frederic Lawrence Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-lawrence-knowles/) > [... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-country-encapsulates-our-childhood-and-those-lanes-byres-fields/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## More by James Gleick > [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“No one has even a definitive spelling for Cawdrey’s name (Cowdrey, Cawdry). But then, no one agreed on the spelling of most names: they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/no-one-has-even-a-definitive-spelling-for-cawdrey-s-name-cowdrey/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Where, then, is any particular gene—say, the gene for long legs in humans? This is a little like asking where is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/where-then-is-any-particular-gene-say-the-gene-for-long-legs-in/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. On the other hand, we may have reached a point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/alphabetical-order-had-to-be-invented-to-help-people-organize-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [As a technology, the book is like a hammer. That is to say, it is perfect: a tool ideally suited to its task. Hammers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/as-a-technology-the-book-is-like-a-hammer-that-is-to-say-it-is/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [The universe is computing its own destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-universe-is-computing-its-own-destiny/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [A book is not necessarily made of paper. A book is not necessarily made to be read on a Kindle. A book is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/a-book-is-not-necessarily-made-of-paper-a-book-is-not-necessarily/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“From this point of view, the laws of science represent data compression in action. A theoretical physicist acts like a very clever coding algorithm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/from-this-point-of-view-the-laws-of-science-represent-data/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Children and scientists share an outlook on life. If I do this, what will happen? is both the motto of the child at play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/children-and-scientists-share-an-outlook-on-life-if-i-do-this-what/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Your body moves always in the present, the dividing line between the past and the future, but your mind is more free. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/your-body-moves-always-in-the-present-the-dividing-line-between-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“The Difference Engine stands—for a replica works today, in the Science Museum in London—as a milestone of what could be achieved in precision engineering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-difference-engine-stands-for-a-replica-works-today-in-the-science/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [It is significant that one says book lover and music lover and art lover but not record lover or CD lover or, conversely, text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/it-is-significant-that-one-says-book-lover-and-music-lover-and-art/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“quoting Tolstoy: “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/quoting-tolstoy-i-know-that-most-men-including-those-at-ease-with/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) [Explore all 157 James Gleick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## More Sun moon quotes > [... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-country-encapsulates-our-childhood-and-those-lanes-byres-fields/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-lawrence-knowles/the-night-walked-down-the-sky-with-the-moon-in-her-hand/) [Frederic Lawrence Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-lawrence-knowles/) > [I Have 3 Friends in World Sun, Moon and You Sun For Day Moon For Night Your For Ever ..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-have-3-friends-in-world-sun-moon-and-you-sun-for-day-moon-for-night/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Poverty comes from Hell. Prosperity comes from Heaven. Adam had complete dominion over the earth and all it contains. A. Adam could fly like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/poverty-comes-from-hell-prosperity-comes-from-heaven-adam-had/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [The planets are not hunks of stuff out there but nodes of vibration that resonate in multiple dimensions that enfold themselves into one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/the-planets-are-not-hunks-of-stuff-out-there-but-nodes-of-vibration/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [Perhaps these ancient observatories like Stonehenge perennially impress modern people because modern people have no idea how the Sun, Moon, or stars move. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/perhaps-these-ancient-observatories-like-stonehenge-perennially/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I want America to see me as a combination of the Rev. Sun Moon and a singing star. That's the image I want them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demis-roussos/i-want-america-to-see-me-as-a-combination-of-the-rev-sun-moon-and-a/) [Demis Roussos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demis-roussos/) > [The capacity of the mind is broad and huge, like the vast sky. Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/the-capacity-of-the-mind-is-broad-and-huge-like-the-vast-sky-do-not/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [Women and men(both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same sun moon stars rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/women-and-men-both-little-and-small-cared-for-anyone-not-at-all-they/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [I love both the sun and the moon, day and night. But I enjoy the day the most because I live in Rio and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodrigo-santoro/i-love-both-the-sun-and-the-moon-day-and-night-but-i-enjoy-the-day/) [Rodrigo Santoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodrigo-santoro/) > [“I will never endanger you. Never harm you. Never neglect you in any way. You will never want for anything that is necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-lane/i-will-never-endanger-you-never-harm-you-never-neglect-you-in-any-way/) [Jessie Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-lane/) > [“just remember, ‘Three things cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-l-bevill/just-remember-three-things-cannot-be-hidden-the-sun-the-moon-and-the/) [C.L. Bevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-l-bevill/) > [“You are the sun and the moon to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-duey/you-are-the-sun-and-the-moon-to-me/) [Kathleen Duey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-duey/) > [“I carry the Sun in a Golden Cup, the Moon in a Silver Bag.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-carry-the-sun-in-a-golden-cup-the-moon-in-a-silver-bag/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You're the first, the last, and my everything and the answer to all my dreams. You're my sun, my moon, my guiding star, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-white/you-re-the-first-the-last-and-my-everything-and-the-answer-to-all-my/) [Barry White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-white/) [Browse all 128 Sun moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun-moon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is a progression from pictographic, writing the picture; to ideographic, writing the idea; and then logographic, writing the word. Chinese script began this transition between 4,500 and 8,000 years ago: signs that began as pictures came to represent meaningful units of sound. Because the basic unit was the word, thousands of distinct symbols were required. This is efficient in one way, inefficient in another. Chinese unifies an array of distinct spoken languages: people who cannot speak to one another can write to one another. 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