信箱

The Chinese word 信箱 (xìnxiāng) for "mailbox" is a compound of two characters: 信 (xìn), meaning "letter" or "message", and 箱 (xiāng), meaning "box" or "container". The word 信箱 is therefore literally a "letter box" or "message box".The character 信 (xìn) has a long history in Chinese, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It was originally a pictograph of a person holding a bamboo slip, which was used as a writing material in ancient China. Over time, the character 信 came to be used more broadly to refer to any kind of message or communication.The character 箱 (xiāng) also has a long history in Chinese, dating back to the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046-256 BC). It was originally a pictograph of a wooden box with a lid. Over time, the character 箱 came to be used more broadly to refer to any kind of container.The compound word 信箱 (xìnxiāng) first appeared in Chinese during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). It was originally used to refer to a box in which letters were stored. However, over time, the word 信箱 came to be used more broadly to refer to any kind of mailbox.Today, the word 信箱 (xìnxiāng) is commonly used in Chinese to refer to a mailbox. It can also be used to refer to a post office box or a virtual mailbox.