Cangjie

Legendary Inventor of Writing

Mythical historian of the Yellow Emperor credited with creating Chinese characters from the tracks of birds and beasts.

Cangjie, the legendary historian of the Yellow Emperor, was said to have four eyes — two for the world above, two for the world of signs. Studying the tracks of beasts and the markings of turtles, he created the first Chinese characters, each one a picture of a thing or an idea. Writing so changed the cosmos that grain fell from heaven and ghosts wept in the night.