Pig Under a Roof:

How Sporky made me more

Chinese

Or why we need
a substructuresearchable
database of
Hanzi

Agenda
First some pictures of my pet pig
Sporky, who lived with us from 19891993. (When our daughter was born,
we gave Sporky to a vets assistant
who lived on an acre of land.) Sporky
will help us understand animal
behavior.
Then an analysis of a few relevant
Chinese characters.
Then some more pig photos.

Here is
Sporky in
our kitchen:

his home, circa 1989

Someone has
spray
painted his
side
(with nontoxic paints of
course!)

for a
Halloween
party.

I wanted a pet
But I was allergic to cats and dogs

So I bought a pig

Sporky started small

But he became a hog

which means over 120 pounds
Sporky topped out at about 250
Here he is on the cover of a Los
Angeles newspaper!

The pig taught me about persistence

Did he get the latch open because

hes smart?
Or because he tried it 10,000 times?

To a pig it doesnt
matter!!

Pigs are very smart

It turns out, smartness isnt
necessarily something you want in a
pet
Childpro
of latch
Note:
Not
pigproof!

The pig is a lesson in what its like to

own something that doesnt want to be
owned

This is Frances Bacon, Sporkys best friend

The only thing you cant teach

a pig is to not eat.

Sporky loved pumpkins

Sporky and Frances had to have a

pig fight first
But then they
became best
friends

Sporky
had been
fixed
( ),
Frances
had not.
Sporky
lost all 6
rounds.

Pigs fight in order to establish

dominance.

Sporky
was a
mama
s pig.

Like humans, pigs are

hunters

As this bird at the top of the screen well knows

In the wild, pigs are

aggressive animals
Notice Sporkys big
tusks that we had to get
the vet to file off with
metal dental floss, and
then eventually the vet
had to use bolt cutters,
which did not hurt
Sporky, but Sporky
didnt like the pig snare.
Pigs dont like to be
controlled.

Just like humans.

Pigs establish territory

Just like humans

Because territory makes us

comfortable

Frances Bacon is on the right

And she takes up most of the cou

Territory provides stability

Territory is necessary for the

propagation of our genes because we
thrive when we have a stable place
to raise our offspring.

his is a stable. Its where animals sta

Why a pig under a roof is home

A pig can be dinner.

A pig is warm.
A pig can mean future piglets.
All the parts of the pig can be used, like the
bladder. In the US, this is called pigskin,
and it is synonymous with football because
that was outside covering of the ball.
A pig is entertainment.
A pig can be a pet.

Why is there no man under

a roof?
= home (pig under a roof)
= peace, safe (female under a
roof)
= prison, animal fold (cow
under a roof)

A safe is where you lock your

valuables. These characters are
all about keeping track of ones
possessions.

The image of stability

A field of green plants ensures a future

The image of stability

The character miao2 depicts such a
field

sprouts
field

The image of stability

A European family crest also depicts

such a field
New growth signifies youth, offspring, progeny, children

Divided into plots for the future

A stake in the ground:

10
We have 10 fingers
When we hold on to something,
we are tenacious. We have a
tendency to use our tendons in
order to tend to our tender
tenants: our babies.

A stake in the ground:

10
We have 10 fingers
When we hold on to something,
we are tenacious. We have a
tendency to use our tendons in
order to tend to our tender
tenants: our babies.

A stake in the ground:

10
We have 10 fingers
When we hold on to something,
we are tenacious. We have a
tendency to use our tendons in
order to tend to our tender
tenants: our babies.

A stake in the ground:

10
We have 10 fingers
When we hold on to something,
we are tenacious. We have a
tendency to use our tendons in
order to tend to our tender
tenants: our babies.

A stake in the ground:

10
We have 10 fingers
When we hold on to something,
we are tenacious. We have a
tendency to use our tendons in
order to tend to our tender
tenants: our babies.

A stake in the ground:

10
We have 10 fingers
When we hold on to something,
we are tenacious. We have a
tendency to use our tendons in
order to tend to our tender
tenants: our babies.

A stake in the ground:

10
We have 10 fingers
When we hold on to something,
we are tenacious. We have a
tendency to use our tendons in
order to tend to our tender
tenants: our babies.

10 fingers mean a tight grip

The syllable ten signifies for
something that holds tight, like ten
fingers.
It is a kind of metaphor.

Metaphor
When something is unknown, two knowns
are assembled to describe the unknown.
For example, a panda is a bear + a cat

A field is where
things grow
sprout
tribe

is a symbol which has

metaphorical meanings: it
is both a sprout and a
tribea similar concept at
a different magnification.

Both of these mean

sprout

Miao2

meng2

Both of these mean

sprout

Both of these mean

sprout

Both of these mean

sprout

Both of these mean

sprout

Both of these mean

sprout

ou see that structurally they are also very sim

Because pattern can be

taught
we need a program that
analyzes the structure of every
Chinese character and sorts for
meaning so that characters like
miao2 and meng2which
share structure and meaning
can be correlated. It would
make learning Chinese easier.

Both of these also mean

attractive

Miao2

meng2


These two characters together mean slender,
slim, graceful and therefore: attractive.
Slender is attractive because it means one
hasnt become a mother.
Not having been a mother means one is free to
bear a mans children having previously borne
no other mans children.
A sprout is something small and tender, like a
child or a woman who hasnt yet been a mother.
It is a metaphor.

Women = night

Female

Male

Womenaredepicted as
themoon, men as the
sun.

The moon comes out at night.

Eve and Evening

Dusk is laid atop womanin

order tohighlight
theirstructural similarities.
Whencharacters are

 Night Divine =
outside

Women have always

beenassociated with the
night,for example: is used
for onesmothers, sisters or

Fallopian
? tubes?

ovum
hatch
pretty girl

Notice
what is
missing

This is key

These characters are synonyms:

they mean the same thing.

The Stability of Mio

More
similaritie
s:

=rivet

Pattern helps us learn

If we can detect pattern
in language, we can use
this pattern to aid new
learners in accessing
language skills faster.

Hanzi is the
Periodic Table of
Language

Hanzi is the
Periodic Table of
Language
Chinese writing is the
key to understanding
all languages.

And now

A few more pictures

of Sporky

A pig under
the roof is
home

Sporky
loved to
be
vacuume
d

Swine Croquet

Famil
y
photo

 Thank you!
Thank you to Pharmaron,
Wuxi Pharmaceuticals, and
ChemPartner for supporting
this linguistic endeavor.
For more info:
www.OriginofAlphabet.com