山

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 山 (shān) for "mountain" is a pictograph that depicts a mountain with three peaks. The character first appeared in oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE). In oracle bone script, the character 山 was written as a simple pictograph of a mountain with three peaks. Over time, the character evolved into its current form, which is still used today.The character 山 is composed of two parts: the radical 石 (shí), which means "stone," and the phonetic component 彡 (sān), which is a simplified form of the character 三 (sān), which means "three." The radical 石 indicates that the character 山 is related to stones or mountains, while the phonetic component 彡 indicates that the character is pronounced shān.The character 山 has a rich history and has been used in Chinese literature and art for centuries. It is often used to represent strength, stability, and resilience. The character 山 is also used in many Chinese idioms and proverbs, such as "一山不容二虎" (yī shān bù róng èr hǔ), which means "there is no room for two tigers on one mountain."