[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Abstract-Concepts \ #Properties # 新 xīn new; recent; fresh ## Components [[亲 qīn，qìng]] [[斤 jīn]] [[斤 (jīn)]] ## Meaning Today, the character 新 (xīn) primarily signifies newness or novelty in modern Chinese. It denotes anything that is fresh, recent, or newly emerged. This could refer to a new day, a new beginning, or any newly introduced or discovered concept, product, or phenomenon. ## History Originally, the character 新 (xīn) depicted the act of cutting down trees to obtain firewood, but now it represents new beginnings and fresh starts. In ancient times, 新 was a pictographic character closely related to the character 薪 (xīn), which means firewood. Its left component represented a tree, while the right component depicted an axe. Together, they symbolized the action of just starting to chop down trees to gather wood. Over time, the character evolved into a phonetic-semantic character. The left component 辛 (xīn) provides the sound, while the right component 厅 retained the visual motif of an axe. The original meaning of chopping wood has been replaced by 薪, while 新 now signifies newness or something appearing for the first time. In its modern usage, 新 refers to something new or fresh, such as a new day or a new beginning. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ![[新oracular.svg]] ### Bronze Script ![[新bronze.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[新 sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[新 cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[新reg.svg]]