[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Natural-World \ #Plants # 茶 chá tea ## Components [[艹 (cǎo)]] [[人 (rén)]] [[小 (xiǎo)]] [[一 (yī)]] ## Meaning The Chinese character 茶 (chá) means "tea." It evolved from a pictograph of a plant with leaves and roots. Through various script forms, it became simplified and standardized. In modern Chinese, 茶 represents the beverage "tea." ## History The Chinese character 茶 (chá) means "tea." Its evolution began with a pictograph of a plant with leaves and roots in the Oracle Bone Script. During the Zhou Dynasty, it became more stylized in the Bronze Inscription Script, with added decorative elements. In the Seal Script of the Qin Dynasty, 茶 became more angular and simplified. Further simplification occurred during the Han Dynasty in the Clerical Script, making 茶 more recognizable as the character used today. In modern Regular Script, 茶 is further standardized, maintaining its basic structure from the Clerical Script. Throughout its evolution, 茶 has retained its meaning of "tea" while becoming progressively simpler and more stylized. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ? ### Bronze Script ? ### Seal Script ![[茶 sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[茶 cle 1.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[茶 reg 1.svg]]