about 2, years ago, people used pictures to express their thoughts. Their works can still be seen in caves in northern France today. They left paintings of reindeer, wild horses and some extinct animals on these cave walls. In different periods of prehistoric times, these murals must have been created by the most creative human beings, and they are one of the most primitive media of prehistoric human beings.
people also carve marks on trees to indicate routes, and pile stones to indicate directions or boundaries. In the pre-written society, human beings put decorative patterns expressing far-reaching significance on pottery, braids, sculptures and other simple daily necessities.
Beacon and flag drum used to be important media for long-distance communication in ancient times. Beacon was used for warning and flag drum was used for commanding advance and retreat. China's "The Art of War" said that "words don't hear each other, so it is a golden drum; Seeing each other, it is a standard ",which refers to this situation. Despite these media, the ability of human beings to transcend face-to-face communication was extremely limited before the appearance of writing. Humans have almost nothing that spans time except those pictures on wood, bark, hides or stones. Their eyesight, hearing and meteorological conditions limit their ability to spread over long distances. For example, people at that time could only see distant fireworks signals under favorable weather conditions during the day.
Primitive people not only used body language to transmit information, but also relied on natural objects in the real world to realize the transmission of advertising information. These natural objects, one is naturally generated or existed in nature, such as trees and rocks, and the other is created by human beings, but it has not been used as an advertising medium consciously, but has been borrowed in the process of transmitting information, such as pictures and ropes. This kind of metonymy is divided into two situations, one is specific metonymy, and the other is life metonymy.
1. Specific metonymy
(1) Knot rope. Knotting knots is a common method of original information transmission. The practice of knotting knots in ancient Chinese society is described in history books. The Book of Changes states: "In ancient times, knotting knots ruled, and later sages used them to write deeds. Hundreds of officials rule, and all people observe. " "Zhuangzi" contains: "The former people were allowed to become the family ... I wish Rong's family, Fu Xishi's family and Shennong's family, and when it is time, the people will use it." "History of the North" also mentioned: "Hunting is a career, simplicity is a custom, simplicity is a change, not words, just carving wood and tying knots." The knotting method is widely used in ancient Chinese history and has a long history. When recording the date of appointment, the Gaoshan people in Taiwan Province tie several knots according to the number of days, and untie one knot every night. The Luoba people in Tibet cut a knot with a knife every other day, until the last knot is cut, it means expiration, and when the knot is untied, it means the date of appointment. When Dulong people in Yunnan travel alone, they often tie a hemp rope around their waist and tie a knot every day to record the number of days they leave. Yao people often get a verdict in front of the leader when they have a dispute. The method is that the disputants each hold a rope, and whoever tells a reason will tie a knot until the end, and the one with more knots will win the case. In class society, the tradition of knotting rope has also been inherited by businessmen and changed in shape and use. In the stalls of shops, hotels, teahouses and merchants, all kinds of covers or signboards are often decorated with various decorative pieces, strung with ropes, and embroidered with sapphires, colorful striped fabrics, various beads or rows of ears. There are also many unique covers, which are woven by knotting thick hemp ropes. Here, the knot has become a new medium to transmit advertising information.
(2) wood carving. Woodcarving is another symbolic language. Historical books have also recorded the historical facts of woodcarving in various parts of China. For example, in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "When an adult calls, woodcarving is believed." Although there is no text, I dare not violate it. "A Answer from Outside the Ridge" also says: "Yao people have no words, and their offers are carved with wood and two boards. People hold one and keep it." "Yunnan Tengyue State Records" also mentioned: "Yi people have customs, all loans and loans are used on credit, and everything is about the financial period. I don't know the words, but I only use woodcut as a symbol, and I hold each other's half, and I am rewarded as promised."
in the process of commodity production and exchange, the custom of carving wood for memory evolved into the inscription of official or the mark of celebrity goods, that is, the name of official or celebrity was stamped on the goods sold. If we go back, woodcarving can even be regarded as the source of commodity trademarks and marking advertisements.
(3) wolf smoke. During the Spring and Autumn Period in China, it was recorded that military warnings were transmitted by fire and smoke. After Qin Shihuang, a beacon tower was built every ten miles on the Great Wall of Wan Li, and dried wolf dung was used as fuel. After it was lit, the fire and smoke soared, which could spread the emergency warning to far places. The ancient poem "Pingsha Sunset Desert West, the stars on Longshang are high and low; The phrase "watching the bonfire in several places in the lonely mountain, the strong men are waiting for the drums" is a true portrayal of the application of this original information transmission method. This kind of media was also used in the business activities of businessmen in ancient society. For example, in different periods, there were records of night caravans and caravans "raising fire for the number".
(4) drums. The original information transmission method has both visual and auditory effects. The information transmission acting on hearing is mainly carried out by means of audio communication tools, among which signal drum is the most common. In China, the cowhide wooden drum of Jinuo nationality is also hollowed out at both ends of a thick tree, and then tied with a hairy cattle hide, which is hung on the tree and struck with a mallet. Every New Year's Day, men, women and children gather together to sing and dance.
(5) Bamboo number. The Nu people in our country used bamboo trumpets to spread information during the funeral, and played different numbers of bamboo trumpets to report the funeral to the whole village. The number of bamboo trumpets increases and decreases according to the identity of the deceased: the unmarried deceased plays one bamboo trumpet, the married plays two, and the old man and the leader play five or six. Tribal members immediately rushed to the home of the deceased and sent eggs to mourn. Entering the class society, with the differentiation of merchants, merchants walked through the streets and created a variety of information dissemination tools, such as blowing, pulling and playing. For example, merchants in the Han Dynasty recorded that they played flute and sold candies.
(6) audio equipment. The pottery bells and caskets unearthed from Miaodigou site in Neolithic age in China, and the three-hole caskets unearthed from Jiangzhai site all have the function of making music. After entering the class society, with the development of commodity production and commodity exchange, the forms of audio advertisements are becoming more and more colorful. All kinds of utensils in daily life may become the media of audio advertisements, such as bowls, lamps and pots closely related to daily life, and flutes, pianos, harps, drums and gongs related to entertainment, which have also become the tools of advertising information transmission. For the needs of advertising, many businessmen have also specially made the sounding instruments that show the characteristics of the industry, such as the rattle of the peddler, the tweezers fork used by the barber, and the copper clappers used by the sharpener.
The widespread use of specific metonymy shows that the methods and ways of advertising communication have changed greatly. With the frequent communication activities and the progress of communication technology, people borrow all available tools or objects to deliver advertising information more effectively and pertinently. The richness of media forms makes human advertising spread in a wider area and conveys richer ideological, cultural and commercial information.
2. The metonymy of life
(1) The draft sign. Also known as dirt. This is a natural growth thing, but when it is inserted into the items for sale or sale, it has the meaning of identification. In different historical periods of ancient China society, from daily necessities to poor families selling their children because of hunger and cold, they all used mustard. Caobiao has been mentioned many times in Water Margin, and the most famous one is the record about Yang Zhi selling knives: "Yang Zhi bought a treasure knife that day, inserted a Caobiao and went public to sell it." The grass sign here has the function of advertising media.
(2) Ears of grain, hedgerows and wickers. It often appears in front of food shops in rural areas, and it can be hung on the door or fence at will, which not only plays a role in marking, but also shows the simplicity and hospitality of the store. Small hedges and wickers can immediately narrow the distance between the store and customers, merchants and passers-by, and it is also an advertising medium with low production cost but excellent communication effect.
(3) bottle gourd ladle and grass broom. Grass broom is also called "grass brush" and "grass pole" and "broom pole". After the Song Dynasty, after breaking the restriction of the market, shops could be opened not only in residential areas, but also in markets and rural areas. Straw brooms, as advertising signs, often appear in restaurants and teahouses. There are many records about these things in the literature of the Song Dynasty. In Rong Zhai's Continuation, Song Hongmai once mentioned: "Today's capital and county wine services, as well as all places where wine is preserved, are exposed to the outside, with the number of blue and white cloth as the standard. Micro-people, with their height and size, village stores may hang bottles, spoons and brooms. "
As an advertising logo, the grass broom has deeper allusions besides its particularity as an auxiliary tool for brewing. The main meaning is "sweeping the broom". Su Shi, a Song Dynasty poet, once said, "If you want to establish a name, you can't ask for a promotion. You should call for a poem hook and sweep the broom. "
The "sorrow broom" here has obviously become another name for wine. It means "drown your sorrows by drinking" and "get drunk and solve a thousand sorrows". Therefore, using the grass broom as the logo of the hotel is both vivid and symbolic, and has a strong folk color.
In ancient China society, there were many signs of life, most of which were attached to the activities of shops and merchants, and the scope of use was basically within the scope of merchants' activities and narrow "markets". Because they were often used and established by consumers, they reflected the joys, sorrows and aesthetic tastes of ordinary people, and also reflected the collective wisdom of media users or merchants. However, the widespread use of this kind of advertising media also reflects the limitations of people's development and utilization of advertising media at a low level of productivity.