Template:ACClicense/Strokes

This is NOT a template - it just is part of the ACClicense template tutorial

The draw= parameter in the Template:ACClicense allows a classification of the glyph according to its number of strokes. The parameter automatically classifies the character in one of the Category:Ancient Chinese characters by number of strokes sub-categories.

• If you don't know how to use it, or are not sure, just leave that parameter empty. It can be reviewed afterward through collaborative work.
• If you have good reasons to change a stroke count, do not hesitate to do so - stroke counts for old scripts are easily confusing.

Purpose : Identification of unknown components

四 : three strokes in the seal script (the pen can circle round), five in modern script.

The purpose of that classification is to help identify unknown ancient characters or character components.

The number of strokes is therefore the number of strokes needed to draw the ancient character glyph (not the modern form, which would be a useless information for that purpose).

For instance, the «unidentified» character on the right can be drawn with three strokes in the seal script (the pen can circle round). It must therefore be looked after in the Category:3-stroke ancient Chinese characters, and will be found there, as being script-四.

Indeed, the 四 character is drawn with five strokes in modern scripts, but that is irrelevant when looking for an unknown seal script character. Script-四 should therefore be classified as three-strokes character, whatever the modern stroke count happens to be.

If the number of strokes is illegible, there is no way a stroke count can be used for identification. In that case, the parameter should be left empty, or be set to 0. This is often the case, for instance, for silk and bamboo scripts, which are rather cursive and ligatured, and where the stroke count is arbitrary.

When not to use that parameter

To facilitate character retrieval, sub-categories must not contain to much characters.

In order not to overload sub-categories, this parameter should only be used for simple characters (and derived characters), not compound ones where the total number is obviously the sum of the components. Compound characters should be retrieved by identifying either component, then looking for composed characters that use that component in one of the Category:Ancient Chinese characters by components sub-categories.

Use |draw=0 for character that are useless for component identification:

• compound characters;
• duplicate simple ones, for which yet another sample is useless.
• illegible characters, when counting strokes is hopeless and cannot be used for character identification.

Characters thus flagged as «useless as far as count number is concerned» are classified into category:0-stroke ancient Chinese characters.

If you are not sure whether the stroke count is legible, or can be useful, just leave that parameter empty. It can be reviewed afterward through collaborative work.

category:-stroke ancient Chinese characters holds the characters where the |draw= parameter has not been filled. If that category is not empty, it should be reviewed to classify newly uploaded characters. When reviewing that category:

• If the character is a compound one, set |draw=0. If possible, identify the character components so it can appear in the Category:Ancient Chinese characters by components sub-categories.
• If the character is non-compound, and counting the strokes is possible, set the |draw= parameter to the number of strokes (your best guess, see below).
• If the character seems hopelessly illegible, set |draw=0.

How to count the number of strokes?

Seal scripts

Seal scripts are quite legible in their stroke counts, because lines are always traced with a single stroke. The small seal glyph is standardized, but the big seal one is not, and may have different shapes with different stroke counts.

Please note that for seal scripts, the "strokes" are pen-drawn, not brush-drawn, and may bend or curve round or upward (which differs from the brush count). A new line must be counted only if the pen has to move up to draw the line, not if it can draw it by following a curve, including when the curve bends upward. Thus, a circle counts for a single stroke (whereas it usually takes three in modern scripts).

Angles may be problematic. Usually, when both lines go downward, or upward, they are counted as separate; the line is counted as one (with angle) in other cases. But please keep in mind that seal scripts rarely use angles, what you may see as an angle is probably a very small radius curve.

• 
  肉-seal : three strokes.
• 
  耳-seal : three strokes.
• 
  不-seal : four strokes.
• 
  囧-seal : four strokes.
• 
  尢-seal : four strokes (downward angle).
• 
  丘-seal : five strokes.
• 
  兔-seal : six strokes.
• 
  章-bigseal : six strokes.
• 
  貝-bigseal : six strokes (two downward angles).
• 
  鳥-seal : seven strokes.
• 
  豸-bigseal : seven strokes (a dot takes a stroke).
• 
  能-seal : eight strokes.
• 
  鹿-seal : nine strokes.

Bronze and Oracle scripts

Bronze and oracle glyphs do not limit themselves to curved or straight lines. Most of the time, though, lines can be counted. Well, more or less.

Oracle glyphs are often reluctant to use curved lines, and replace them with a series of straight lines. In that case, that series of lines is counted as a single stroke, insofar as it would (probably) be traced with a single line if it were transposed in a seal script. The convention here is the same as for the seal scripts: when both lines go downward, or upward, they are counted as separate; the line is counted as one (with angle) in other cases.

• 
  兒-oracle : five strokes (or six?).
• 
  來-oracle : five strokes (or seven?).
• 
  亢-oracle : five strokes (best guess of a seal equivalent version).
• 
  且-oracle : five strokes (downward angle, do not count the other angles).
• 
  天-bronze : six strokes (best guess of a seal equivalent version).
• 
  光-oracle : seven strokes.
• 
  象-oracle : can be done with seven strokes.
• 
  章-bronze : eight strokes.
• 
  首-bronze : eight strokes.
• 
  羽-bronze : nine strokes.
• 
  翟-oracle.svg : can be traced with nine strokes.
• 
  尊-oracle.svg : eleven (or ten?)

The result may often be arbitrary. In that case, the stroke count is one's best guess - some indication is better than none at all. If it can be useful so be it, if it is not, well, that's that. The point is: be aware that the glyph you are looking for may have been counted differently, and be ready to check for different stroke counts if you don't find it right away.

Silk scripts

Silk and bamboo scripts are rarely useful, since either they are illegible, or they have the same drawing as seal scripts.

Stroke count may nevertheless be interesting, when (1) the line drawing is clear enough, and (2) the glyph differs from other scripts' version.

• 
  今-silk.svg : five strokes
• 
  國-silk : seven strokes.

Another point_of_view

The stroke-counting how it is explained there is completely different to the "modern" count how it is done in the schema of e.g. the 214 radicals. Each radical is drawn with a certain number of strokes, between one and seventeen such strokes are possible. All non-radical characters consist of their "ruling" radical, and a number of additional strokes (of course, this number is zero for the radical itself). This numbering system is fixed, even if in a composition the radical character is substituted by something with fewer strokes.

In the example there, is drawn with a round shape and two additional strokes, which gives three strokes.
The modern count sees radical 31 which is drawn with three strokes , and two more strokes added to make which gives therefore five strokes; at 四 is explained "四 (radical 31, 囗+2, 5 strokes".

I am sorry that all my updates are using the modern count, and won't fit in the system of that view!

I had been working there because ~5000 characters were uncategorised and unvalidated; either I defined the missing category using CJK category, and/or avoided their need by using the template Rcat - both are using the modern count where 四 has five strokes.
The modern count is used by Unicode, and as the sequencing system of (modern) dictionaries.

While modern count schema classifies each character with a certain number of strokes, independent of the script which draws it, this number can differ when the real used number in a script is counted (example 耳 (radical 128, 耳+0, 6 strokes):

• 耳-order.gif is radical 128 consisting of six strokes.
• 耳-seal.svg has three strokes
• 耳-bigseal.svg may have 4 strokes
• 耳-bronze-2.svg has four or five strokes
• 耳-bronze-shang-2.svg has three strokes
• 耳-bronze-shang-3.svg has four strokes
• 耳-bronze-shang.svg has three strokes
• 耳-bronze.svg has four strokes
• 耳-oracle-2.svg has five strokes
• 耳-oracle-3.svg has four strokes
• 耳-oracle.svg has three strokes - but can even be drawn with two strokes (or probably only one stroke)
• 耳-silk-2.svg has six strokes
• 耳-silk.svg has five strokes
• 耳-slip.svg has six strokes

All these character drawings are categorised at category: which is also Category:Radical 128-0, with six strokes. -- sarang♥사랑 14:26, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

Problematic count system

The (modern) count of strokes is an esssential attribute of each Chinese character, used since centuries as a system for sorting and retrieval of the many characters; it is also used by Unicode and Unihan Data for classification of the "Radical-stroke Indices".

I believe that it is not helpful to assign the characters another concurrent stroke count than the 'official' one. If there is a desire to specify an information with how many strokes a special ancient representation can be drawn, it should be done with the parameter draw=, distinct from the (modern) count of strokes, and so avoiding the danger of misinterpretation and confusion. -- sarang♥사랑 06:45, 21 March 2019 (UTC)