[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Natural-World \ #Colors # 黑 hēi black ## Components [[黑 (hēi)]] ## Meaning The Chinese character 黑 (hēi) means "black." It originated as a pictograph of a dark object or darkness. In modern Chinese, 黑 represents the color "black." Throughout its evolution, 黑 has retained its meaning while becoming progressively simpler and more stylized. ## History The Chinese character 黑 (hēi) means "black." Its evolution began with a pictograph of a dark object or darkness in the Oracle Bone Script. During the Zhou Dynasty, it became more stylized in the Bronze Inscription Script, with additional decorative elements. In the Seal Script of the Qin Dynasty, 黑 became more angular and simplified. Further simplification occurred during the Han Dynasty in the Clerical Script, making 黑 more recognizable as the character used today. In modern Regular Script, 黑 is further standardized, maintaining its basic structure from the Clerical Script. Throughout its evolution, 黑 has retained its meaning of "black" while becoming progressively simpler and more stylized. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ![[黑oracular.svg]] ### Bronze Script ![[黑bronze.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[黑 seal.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[黑 cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[黑reg.svg]]