The Discrepancy of Pianpang Shapes in Font Patterns for Korean Computers and Suggestions for its Modification
Jun-soo Kim · Korea Journal of Chinese Linguistics · 2023
It is obvious that, because Chinese characters have complicated structures and many strokes, they are more difficult to learn than other phonograms. As such, it is necessary to abandon the conventional learning method of rote memorization and adopt a systematic approach using Pianpang and phonetic series. A variety of Chinese character fonts currently used in Korea have a problem of considerable discrepancy in Pianpang shapes, which is an obstacle to a systematic education of Chinese characters. Therefore, it is needed to properly refine the patterns of Chinese characters so that they are easy to learn or teach based on academic principles. In this regard, suggestions of this study are summarized as follows.1. The shapes of ‘天’ used alone and Pianpang ‘天’ included in ‘添’ and ‘吞’ are unified into ‘天’[二+人].2. The shapes of Pianpang ‘壬’ included in ‘望’, ‘聖’, ‘廷’, ‘庭’, ‘呈’, ‘程’, ‘聽’ and ‘廳’ are unified into ‘壬’[ノ+土].3. The shapes of Pianpang ‘㕣’ included in ‘沿’, ‘鉛’ and ‘船’ are unified into ‘㕣’[八+口].4. A shape of ‘□’ corresponding to ‘皀’ in ‘飠’ which is a variant of ‘食’ used in left Pianpang and the various shapes of Pianpang ‘皀’ which are included in ‘即’, ‘節’, ‘既’, ‘慨’, ‘概’, ‘鄉’, ‘響’ and ‘卿’ are unified into ‘□’.5. The shapes of Liangdianshui (冫) included in ‘冰’, ‘凍’, ‘冷’, ‘冬’, ‘終’ and ‘寒’ are unified. Considering the consistency of Bushou system, the use of ‘冰’[冫+水] instead of ‘氷’[丶+水] is recommended.6. The shapes of ‘免’ used alone and Pianpang ‘免’ included in ‘勉’, ‘晚’, ‘娩’, ‘挽’ and ‘挽’ are unified into ‘免’[a total of 7 strokes].7. The shapes of Pianpang ‘甬’ included in ‘勇’, ‘通’, ‘痛’, ‘桶’, ‘誦’, ‘踊’, ‘蛹’ and ‘俑’ are unified. Considering the consistency of phonetic series, the use of ‘勇’[甬+力] instead of ‘勇’[マ+男] is recommended.8. The shapes of ‘玆’ used alone and Pianpang ‘玆’ included in ‘慈’, ‘磁’ and ‘滋’ are unified into ‘玆’[䒑+幺+幺].9. The shapes of ‘兼’ used alone and Pianpang ‘兼’ included in ‘廉’, ‘嫌’ and ‘謙’ are unified into ‘兼’[丷+□].10. The shapes of ‘害’ used alone and Pianpang ‘害’ included in ‘割’, ‘轄’ and ‘憲’ are unified into ‘害’[宀+丰+口].11. The shapes of Pianpang ‘囱’ included in ‘窗’, ‘總’, ‘聰’ and ‘蔥’ are unified. Considering the consistency of phonetic series, the use of ‘窗’[穴+囱] instead of ‘窓’[穴+厶+心] is recommended.