1. Mimicry and sign language. Before the use of language, mimicry and sign language are the most practical and effective ways to convey specific information to the audience. For example, in the process of hunting, when a person meets a herd of bison, he immediately runs to the highland where people of the same tribe can see him, raises his body covering with both hands, reaches his head, and then slowly puts it down, repeatedly. This is a signal to mobilize all fallen members to hunt. Primitive hunters like to cooperate with each other in hunting. When hunters find animal tracks and need to hide, they exchange information with each other in sign language. Those gestures can often show the most striking features of animals. Hands in the air, with his forefinger straight, said that the beast he saw was a big twisted wildebeest with a pair of big horns; The middle finger is bent and the other four fingers are extended. Everyone knows that this is the discovery of giraffes. When an ostrich is found, it raises its arm obliquely to symbolize its long neck. Ethnological research has proved that this kind of mimicry and sign language existed everywhere in ancient society and was an important carrier for primitive people to transmit information.
2. Body painting and tattooing. The decoration of painting colors or figures on the body is called painting the body, which originated very early. Hercynite, which can be used as pigment, is often found in the sites of the late Paleolithic tens of thousands of years ago. Until modern times, many ethnic groups with ancient customs still liked to paint on themselves. On the Dragon Boat Festival in China, ethnic minorities in many areas are used to painting realgar or painting symbols on their heads and wrists, and dyeing their teeth black can be said to be a kind of painting decoration. It is recorded in ancient books that there is a "Hei Chi State" in the southeast of China: "There are four thousand naked countries in the east of Japan. There is Hei Chi in the southeast of the naked country, and it can be reached by boat in one year. " Dai, Jinuo, Brown and other ethnic groups in Yunnan, China, usually like to chew betel nut and lime, which can also make their teeth black for a long time.
The decoration of tattooing on human skin is called tattoo, and this custom originated very early. According to ancient books, the Wu people, Yue people and Chu people in the south of the Yangtze River in ancient China worshipped the dragon totem: "Tattoos depict their bodies, and they are in the shape of dragons. When they enter the water, dragons can't harm them." Most ethnic groups in China, including the Han nationality, have the custom of tattooing in ancient or modern times. Li women started tattooing at the age of 12 to 16. When you have a lover, you have to tattoo a special mark on your hand, which is often given by the lover himself. In China, the Jinuo, Brown and Dulong nationalities in Yunnan, and the Gaoshan compatriots in Taiwan Province also have the custom of tattooing. ..... (abridged) Because tattoos have a strong recognition function in the communication between clans and tribes in primitive society and in the group activities of primitive people, they also convey specific information in the process of communication, struggle and intermarriage among different groups. With the migration and activities of primitive groups, they also play a role in a wider range of land, so they can also be regarded as an original advertising medium that can convey life and social information.
3. Human ornaments. Adding decorations to the human body can be traced back to the late Paleolithic period. Rich decorations have been found in the cave man site in Zhoukoudian, Beijing, China. Among them, there are hollow animal teeth, hollow sea clam shells, drilled stone beads, drilled pebbles, drilled fish bones and grooved bone tubes. They are strung together with belts and put on their bodies. There are many kinds of human body ornaments, which can be divided into hair ornaments, headdresses, ear ornaments, nose ornaments, lip ornaments, neck ornaments, foot ornaments and so on. The matching of human body ornaments is closely related to people's hairstyles and hairstyles in different times. Ethnic minorities in southwest China usually tie their hair into a vertebral shape, or tie it in front of their forehead or behind their backs, and they are often full of flowers on holidays. The hair styles of Yao women in Guangxi vary from place to place. There are two pieces of bamboo arrows inserted into their heads, about two feet long. The hair is divided into two strands, which are tied around the arrow and covered with a scarf, and the shape is like a butterfly wing. Others wear bamboo hoops, both ends of which are tilted up, shaped like horns, and then tied tightly with beads and silk floss. In some places in eastern Zhejiang, she women's headdresses are made of bamboo tubes, about three feet long, covered with red tweed and inlaid with silver edges. A silver medal is nailed on the front and back of the bamboo tube, and white beads are hung. According to different ornaments, we can judge the living habits and characteristics of different ethnic groups, and we can convey specific ideas or cultural information through the collocation and combination of different ornaments. Here, human ornaments not only reflect the joys and sorrows of primitive people, but also spread this kind of life and cultural information to every member of the ethnic group, even to neighboring or hostile clan groups. The original advertising communication function is also relatively powerful, with obvious advertising "informing" function.
According to the above materials, it is not difficult to see that in the long years of primitive society and early civilization, different people in the vast areas, including China, used body language to transmit information for a long time, especially the transmission of specific information with the functions of "informing" and "identifying" between a group of people and a group of people. Body language has become the most primitive and important advertising media here.
the second metonymy-the specific symbol of advertising information transmission
Primitive people used body language to transmit information, and more 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. metonymy of life
(1) 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 about Yang Zhi's 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.
three hand-made advertising media-the industry logo of advertising information transmission
In the long development process of ancient society, human beings' self-awareness and self-awareness have been continuously enhanced in the process of adapting to and transforming nature. It has become a conscious action to creatively spread spiritual and cultural information and create social material and cultural wealth, and the development and application of advertising media reflects this fact. The ancient working people created a wide variety of advertising media with different styles, and the influence of advertising communication was even greater, thus becoming an important part of social development and people's life.
1. Shop advertising media
Shop advertising media is the main form of advertising media in ancient China. Including restaurants, restaurants, teahouses, pawn shops, hotel facades and the surrounding environment, specifically divided into several most common situations.
(1) a cover. The cover is one of the most mature forms of advertising media in ancient China. Covers often give people a strong visual impact with vivid and intuitive shapes, bright colors and unique folk customs. From the composition, the cover is composed of a pole, a frame, a pick, a cover, a body, a seat and a pendant. From the physical point of view, there are round, square, triangle, diamond and irregular shapes; Judging from the content of communication, all information related to business operations or commodity services may appear in the form of a cover; From the production materials, there are cloth, silk, satin, cotton, copper, iron, wood and other materials, and many covers are made of a variety of materials; From the form of expression, it can be divided into object, model, symbol and specific mark.
(2) signboards. The appearance of signboard media is also closely related to shops. The location of signboards mostly appears in front of the facade or door, and is set by hanging, inlaying and masonry. As an advertising medium, signboards convey rich information. Specifically, first, they write the names and shop names of shops, such as "Old Baotai" and "Jinyang Yu" in dim sum shops; The second is to convey the business ideas and business characteristics of the merchants, such as "fair trade" and "childlike innocence" written on the signboard