Repolode
Submit
Ivan666jjj

Ivan666jjj/yigezi

A single-page web tool that shows a Chinese character's oracle bone, small seal, traditional and simplified forms, plus pronunciation, Shuowen definition and phonetic family.

View on GitHubWebsite
Stars
115
Forks
23
Open issues
1
Last commit
2 days ago

What is it?

Enter any Chinese character and the page shows four dimensions of it: form (oracle bone, small seal, traditional and simplified glyphs on a timeline), sound (modern pinyin, Middle Chinese readings and Old Chinese reconstruction), meaning (Shuowen Jiezi text, fanqie, radical and volume), and family (phonetic-series characters that link to each other).

The project is a static HTML app with inline data and no framework. Fonts are subset and embedded, so it works offline without the viewer installing the glyph fonts. Characters can be exported as JPG images or animated GIF evolution charts, and a URL fragment such as #z=江 opens a specific character directly.

The project notes its limits openly: oracle bone coverage is 1,425 characters, Middle Chinese and Old Chinese data cover subsets of characters, and Shuowen explanations are shown as written rather than corrected.

Key features

  • 01Shows oracle bone, small seal, traditional and simplified forms on one timeline.
  • 02Displays pinyin, Middle Chinese readings and Old Chinese reconstruction.
  • 03Presents Shuowen Jiezi text, fanqie, radicals and phonetic-series groupings.
  • 04Exports single characters as JPG or evolution charts as GIF.
  • 05Opens a specific character through a URL fragment and works offline.

Use cases

  • Studying Chinese philology or etymology and comparing character forms across eras.
  • Making teaching slides or sharing the origin of a character with students.
  • Looking up the phonetic family of a character to see related characters.
  • Creating exportable character images for design or educational materials.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Open the live demo in a browser

  2. 2

    Or download index.html, seal.woff2 and orac.woff2 into the same folder and double-click index.html

Things to know

  • Oracle bone glyphs cover only 1,425 characters, and Shuowen, ancient and Middle Chinese phonology do not cover every character.
  • The Shuowen Jiezi explanations contain known systematic errors, which the page annotates but does not correct.
  • Middle and Old Chinese readings are academic reconstructions, not historically verified pronunciations.

Topics

#chinese-characters#etymology#oracle-bone-script#seal-script#shuowen-jiezi#digital-humanities#static-site#chinese-philology#hanzi#single-file

FAQ

What is yigezi?
A single-page web tool that shows a Chinese character's oracle bone, small seal, traditional and simplified forms, plus pronunciation, Shuowen definition and phonetic family. Enter any Chinese character and the page shows four dimensions of it: form (oracle bone, small seal, traditional and simplified glyphs on a timeline), sound (modern pinyin, Middle Chinese readings and Old Chinese reconstruction), meaning (Shuowen Jiezi text, fanqie, radical and volume), and family (phonetic-series characters that link to each other).
Is yigezi free to use? What license does it have?
yigezi is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is yigezi still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to yigezi was on Oct 18, 2026.
What can I use yigezi for?
Studying Chinese philology or etymology and comparing character forms across eras. Making teaching slides or sharing the origin of a character with students. Looking up the phonetic family of a character to see related characters. Creating exportable character images for design or educational materials.
How do I install yigezi?
Open the live demo in a browser Or download index.html, seal.woff2 and orac.woff2 into the same folder and double-click index.html
Where can I get yigezi?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/Ivan666jjj/yigezi

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

Related projects