"Please enlighten me, Mr. Fang." Zeng Yuan had completely lost the assertiveness he had shown while arguing with Fang Yun earlier.
Fang Yun said, "Everything has a core. When ordinary people buy houses, their core needs differ. Some want a house surrounded by the shade of lush green trees, some want a house in the city center, some want a cheap house, and some want a street-front shop to rent out. For another example, a spear's core purpose is to kill enemies, while a shield's is to protect, and so on. Then what do you think the core purpose of written characters is?"
Fang Yun's earlier words had already battered down Zeng Yuan's confidence. He hesitated for a long while before saying, "My understanding of a core purpose may differ from yours. In my view, the most important thing about written characters is that they convey meaning."
Fang Yun nodded and said, "You're right, but to put it more comprehensively, the core of written characters is their utility. The Human Race had spoken language before it had writing. Language itself is a tool, the most fundamental tool of communication. Written characters are also tools: they carry information and allow us to communicate accurately. But beyond utility, characters also have artistic qualities. Master calligraphers, for example, can display the beauty of characters at its pinnacle. Still, artistry is only a secondary quality of writing, far less important than its core purpose. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Zeng Yuan said.
"The development of human writing has always strengthened its utility. Bell and cauldron script, for example, was extremely simple, but because it was too simple, it could not convey information effectively. So humans continually made it more complex, producing greater seal script. During the Qin Dynasty, to make writing easier for humans