Original Creation of a new hanzi character for bitcoin.
比特幣的新原創漢字
ビットコインの新しい漢字のオリジナル作成
.hanzi
Han characters are logosyllabic writing system for written Chinese and other East Asian languages, namely Japanese Kanji (漢字), Korean Hanja (Hancha, 한자) and in the past by Vietnamese Chữ Nôm (𡨸喃) and Okinawan Uchināguchi (沖縄口, ウチナーグチ).
It is one of the earliest form of written language dating back five thousand years evolving from the Oracle Bone Inscriptions (Jia Gu Wen 甲骨文) during the Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1046 B.C.)
.bitcoin
In Hanzi bitcoin is written as 比特幣 (Traditional Chinese, abbrv. TC) or 比特币 (Simplified Chinese, abbrv. SC). 比特 [bǐ tè] as being the closet phoneme to bit, and 币 [bì] literally means coin in Hanzi. In old Chinese, the character 幣 can also be written as 幤.
.impetus
Cryptocurrency is an decentralised digital currency that is secured by cryptography. Based on blockchain technology and Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency invented in 2008. And yet the word 币/幣 is use to represent this new form currency – a digital currency. A character that have been use since barter trade (幣皮,幣馬), gold and silver (金幣,銀幣) and fiat currency (紙幣，外幣，硬幣)
A new Hanzi character is needed to represent this world changing innovation. And so I was awaken by this thought in the middle of the night in January…
The word 比 appears since the oracle bone script (甲骨文). It has the meaning of competition, comparison, versus etc. (eg. 比赛。比附。对比。评比).
比 is also a common radical use in other character (eg. 毖, 毕, 毙, 毘, 琵, 毗, 毚) as a phonetic component or to differentiate the pronunciation to definition.
In both SC & TC, the first two character 比特 (bit) are written the same. Only the last character 幣 (coin) has been modified and 币 is the simplified version.
In 幣, the top compound character 敝 [bì] was completely replaced by a simple horizontal stroke of 丿.Coincidentally this stroke was called 撇 [piě] – 敝 [bì] with a radical扌[shǒu]. Is this a clever or a lazy way of simplification? 敝 sits on top of the retained 巾 [jīn] , a radical itself, as a component to form 幣 [bì].
.development
For weeks many versions of the new logogram was tried with a different character for the simplified and traditional. Eventually I decided it should be simple, recognisable and yet differentiate itself to be the new currency. The new character should be universally adaptable to all Hanzi – simplified and traditional, Kanji and Hangu user
.final
比 being the first character for both in SC & TC, pronounced exactly the same [bǐ] and sound closely to bit. 比 means to compare, similarly to how blockchain technology does it authentication and validation.
Itself a common radical will be use atop of 巾 [jīn]. This combination of components which does not exist in the history of Hanzi before. I decided to remove the horizontal stroke of 丿[piě] structured on top of 币 [bì]. The latter was the simplification of 幣 [bì], the TC version of 币. Apart from simplification and freeing up space for design of different typeface. I have other idea to represent the character…
Circulating and historical currency with double line/stroke
₡ • € • ₴ • ₾ • ₺ • ₦ • ₱ • ₹ • ₮ • ₩ • ¥ • ₳ • ₤
With the top 丿[piě] removed. In order to keep the relevancy of the character to means coin or currency. Similarly to the bitcoin logo ₿, a double stem 豎 [shù] was use to represent itself as a symbol in affiliation as a form of currency, most recognisably to its predecessor – cifrão (the double stroke dollar sign)
Once again, the double stem in use is unexampled and incorporated for the first time historically in the Hanzi component. The closest example will be the 弗 [fú] and 开 [kāi] with the radical 廾 [gǒng], though these are with the combination of a stroke and stem.
This is the final design…
The top radical 比 [bǐ] and 币 [bì] are pronounced similarly. This final design will not deviate from its intended representation. Native user are above to rightly pronounce it and the meaning of 币 are retained – coin, currency. Differentiate by the top structure 比 to means this is a new logogram to represent bitcoin [比特幣].
.pronunciation
How to pronounce the new logogram ?
It should be the third tone of Bĭ
Bĭ – Starting at a neutral tone then dip to a lower pitch before ending at a higher pitch.
It is the same tone as 比.
.is this Chinese, Kanji or Hanja?
It can adopted by any language or by itself a standalone. It is available to any one to use visually. Similar to bitcoin, it is decentralised. While it is conceptually originated and developed from Hanzi character. It is up to the community to adopt and use, until the day it is make an official Hanzi character, Kangi or Hangu etc…
Creation. 甲