P.A. Boodberg’s scientific contributions

... 1 Theoretically, there are four structural categories to which Chinese characters can belong: in addition to 'phono-semantic compound', there are the so-called 'pictographs' (actually very few), whose graphic form is directly inspired by the thing represented; the 'indicative characters' (also called 'ideographs'), i.e. characters written in such a way as to symbolically suggest their meaning. The last category, whose status is still quite debated (Boodberg 1937;Boltz 1994;Handel 2016;Galambos 2011;2014), is that of 'semantic compounds', so called because all the graphic components of the character convey semantic content. in Sanskrit writing and grammar (Siddham being an early derivative of the Brahmi script). For example, in the following passage 3 we can read a description of Sanskrit consonants made by the Chinese Buddhist poet Xiè Língyùn 謝靈運 (385-433 A.D.), where the different sounds are grouped according to their place of articulation, consistently with the Indian phonological tradition (see also Chaudhuri 1998). ...

Reference:

Phonographic Characters in the Biography of Xuanzang by Hui Li The Declension of puruṣa ( bùlùshā 布路沙): The Declension of puruṣa ( bùlùshā 布路沙)