Born as a pictograph of a bound servant running wi

Its ancient form showed 'guarding' — but today it

Though it looks like 'big' (大) walking (辶), 达 d

Originally a pictograph of a craftsman walking tow

Originally a ritual bean-offering to lure spirits,

Though it looks like a simple 'way,' 途 is a philo

Born as a pictograph of a person chasing a deer,

Its seal-script origin shows a stream forcing thro

Its left side 兆 originally depicted trembling lim

Born from an oracle-bone image of a foot backing a

This 'walking + method' character embodies Confuci

Born as 'a hand turning while walking backward,'

Born from a flying bird glyph, 迅 doesn’t just me

This 'agriculture' character began as a hand wield

This character’s 16 strokes encode a 2,300-year-o

This 'resign' character began as a kneeling person

Though it looks like a 'cart' (车) character, 辑 h

Born as a chariot wheel on bronze inscriptions, 轮

Though it means ‘generation,’ 辈 originated as a

Born as chariot braces in bronze-age war carts, 辅

A 'chariot' (車) plus 'ten' (十) and 'dagger-axe'

Though its radical is 车 ('cart'), 软 has nothing

This 'army' character began as a chariot surrounde

Its 'body' radical isn't decorative — it forces y

Its ancient bronze-script form shows a foot vaulti

This character looks like ‘foot + ritual vessel’

This character looks like a foot + 'to gather' —

Originally a bronze-age image of a foot stepping o