Originally a loom's shuttle — now powers everythi

This character began as ‘capital city’ (dū) —

This 'king-sees' character began as ritual jade ap

Born as three ancient dots symbolizing grains of s

This 'rise' character began as a person stepping o

Born as two plain tally marks 3,200 years ago, 二

This self-radical character began as a Bronze Age

This four-stroke character began as a flowing orac

This 'inside' character began as a pictograph of g

This 5-stroke character began as a lightning bolt

This 'home' character hides a pig under its roof—

Born as three identical oracle bone tally marks,

This two-stroke cross is the oldest surviving Chin

This 'learn' character hides a roofed classroom —

Born as two identical moon glyphs side-by-side in

Originally a kneeling queen symbolizing sovereignt

This single character means 'face', 'noodles', 'su

This 'speak' character hides a 3,000-year-old barg

Originally a kneeling child pictograph, 子 now wea

This three-stroke character began as a dot beneath

This 'can' character began as a roaring bear in or

This minimalist 3-stroke character began as a carp

Born 3,000 years ago as a mouth sealed inside a wa

This 'year' character began as a pictograph of a f

Originally a bronze-age scene of people debating u

Originally a bronze-age diagram of two ritual obje

This 4-stroke character began as twin arrows flyin

This 5-stroke character began as two footprints st

Born as a pictograph of a person chiseling — now

Born as a sprout breaking earth in oracle bones, t

This humble 5-stroke character didn’t exist in cl

This 'come' character began as a picture of wheat

This ‘time’ character began as a sun observed by

This 'he' character wasn't ancient — it was inven

This 'I' began as a Bronze Age warrior’s halberd

This 'country' character began as a walled village

Originally a pictograph of a person standing betwe

This deceptively simple 3-stroke character began a

Originally a pictograph of a person standing tall

Originally a ritual banner pole — now the philoso