书

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 书 (shū) for "book" is composed of two parts: 聿 (yù) and 竹 (zhú). 聿 originally meant "writing brush" and is a pictograph of a hand holding a brush. 竹 is a pictograph of bamboo, which was commonly used as writing material in ancient China. Together, 书 represents the idea of writing or recording information on bamboo slips.The earliest known use of 书 dates back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC), where it was used in oracle bone inscriptions. Over time, the character evolved in both form and meaning. In the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), 书 began to be used as a verb meaning "to write" or "to record". It was also used as a noun meaning "book" or "document".In modern Chinese, 书 is still used in both its original and extended meanings. It is one of the most common characters in the Chinese language and is used in a wide variety of contexts.