Abstract
This special issue presents an in-depth study on Chinese characters, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Sumerian signs: three ancient writing systems that share a pictographic origin. It is the culmination of many years of intensive study. The contributors focused on classifiers (often called bushou 部首 in Chinese), the semantic components of the writing systems, and paved the way for a broader scope of human thought.
Special thanks are due to Professor Orly Goldwasser from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and Professor Zev Handel from University of Washington in the United States. As guest editors of this special issue, they have invested their time, energy, and expertise in editing this cutting-edge compilation of contributions from scholars worldwide.