Four-corner method: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:16, 5 August 2018

Revision as of 17:17, 20 December 2018

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==Origin==

The Four-Corner Method was invented in the 1920s by [[Wang Yunwu]] (王雲五), the editor in chief at Commercial Press Ltd., China. Its development was based mainly on contributions by the Russian orientalist scholar [[Otto Rosenberg]] in the 20th century,<ref>Karenina Kollmar-Paulenz (ed.). "Otto Ottonovich Rosenberg and his Contribution to Buddhology in Russia," Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde. Heft 41, 1998.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wason.library.cornell.edu/iaol/Vol.44/barlow_3.pdf |title=The Mysterious Case of the Brilliant Young Russian Orientalist... |author=John Barlow |accessdate=2007-04-12 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609113225/http://wason.library.cornell.edu/iaol/Vol.44/barlow_3.pdf |archivedate=2007-06-09 |deadurl=yes |df= }}</ref> in the early 20th century, as well as experiments by [[Lin Yutang]] and others.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}. Its original purpose was to aid telegraphers in looking up [[Chinese telegraph code]] (CST) numbers in use at that time from long lists of characters. This was mentioned by Wang Yunwu in an introductory pamphlet called "Sijiaohaoma Jianzifa" in 1926. Introductory essays for this pamphlet were written by [[Cai Yuanpei]] and [[Hu Shi]].

==How it works==

The four digits used to encode each character are chosen according to the "shape" of the four corners of each character. In order, i.e.these thecorners are:

# The upper left corner,
# the upper right corner,
# The lower left corner, and
# The lower right cornerscorner.
# the lower right corners.

The shapes can be memorized using a Chinese poem that Hu Shi composed, called ''Bihuahaoma Ge'', as a "memory key" to the system:

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Line 80 ⟶ 88:

Several other notes:

* A single stroke can be represented in more than one corner, as is the case with many curly strokes. (e.g. the code for 乙 is 1771)

* If the character is fenced by {{Linktext|囗}}, {{Linktext|門}} (门), or {{Linktext|鬥}}, the lower corners are used to denote what is inside the [[Radical (Chinese character)|radical]], instead of 00 for 囗 or 22 for the others. (e.g. the code for 回 is 6060)

There have been scores, maybe hundreds, of such numerical and alpha-numerical systems proposed or popularized (such as Lin Yutang's "Instant Index", Trindex, Head-tail, Wang An's Sanjiahaoma, Halpern); some Chinese refer to these generically as "sijiaohaoma" (after the original pamphlet) though this is not correct.