钱 from HSK Level 1 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 钱 (qián) for "money" has a rich history and etymology. It is composed of two parts: the radical 贝 (bèi), which represents wealth or currency, and the phonetic component戔 (jiān). The radical 贝 is a pictograph of a cowrie shell, which was used as a form of currency in ancient China. The phonetic component 戔 is a simplified form of the character 戔 (jiān), which means "to cut" or "to divide". This suggests that money was originally something that could be divided or exchanged.The character 钱 first appeared in the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC) and was originally used to refer to a specific type of currency made from cowrie shells. Over time, it came to be used more generally to refer to money of any kind. The character 钱 is also used in other East Asian languages, such as Japanese (せん, sen) and Korean (전, jeon).The etymology of the character 钱 provides insights into the history of money and the development of the Chinese writing system. It is a reminder that the characters we use today are not static symbols, but rather have evolved over time to reflect the changing needs and values of society.