Abstract:

Written language is the main carrier and driving force for human beings to progress from ignorance to enlightenment. Its power lies in representing both external things and internal subjective intentions, as well as relationships between things and between people and things, through a series of “key terms” or concepts. Such terms can express things, allow people to reflect the law of things through thinking, express their intentions and so they can communicate with each other. Written language has enabled people to acquire an intermediary capability beyond time and space, resulting in the historical continuity and innovative development of their exchange and communication. Therefore, the transition and creation of the connotations of key terms reflect the changes in human civilization, and the process of our inheriting and developing key terms in thought and culture is also the process of inheriting and developing human civilization.

Key words: written language, key terms in thought and culture, language, inheritance, innovation