Chinese Language --- Xiang xing

Pictographic characters are simplified line drawings of concrete objects. Examples are mu "tree" or "wood," shan "mountain," shou "hand," kuei "tortoise." The character mu originally designated a plant with a trunk, and was first written  . The  portion represents branches, the roots, and ¢ô the trunk. The modern written form emphasizes the root portion. The character shan is a stylized representation of the peaks of a mountain range. Three of a thing are often drawn to represent the concept of "many." The early form  later developed into the modern. Shou is a stick drawing of a hand. The five fingers are clearly seen in its earlier form  in which the center linerepresents the palm and wrist. This character was later written for conveniencce and ease of writiing. The character kuei looks like a very intricate and difficult character to write, but in its earlier form  an external side view of a tortoise, with a head, four feet, and a shell, can be clearly distinguished. It later evolved into the modern. With the knowledge of its origin, this character becomes both simple and fun to write!