The evolution of the Character Neat
From Left to Right: Shell Bone, Big Seal, Small Seal, and Clerical Scripts, Simplified Song Typeface
Pinyin of character Neat: Qi1.
Explanation
Shell Bone Script: Depicts three rhomboid leaves of the same height, representing the scene of bean sprouts emerging from the ground.
Big Seal Script: Still shows three leaves, but the middle one is noticeably taller. This representation is less uniform.
Small Seal Script: The top part shows three leaves, with the middle one being taller. If you interpret the side leaves' stems as continuing downward while the middle stem is blocked by two horizontal lines, it seems strange. More likely, the top shows three sprouts and the bottom represents a long, oval pot. This makes sense as during the Small Seal Script period, productivity had greatly improved, and flower pots were more commonly used.
Clerical Script: Similar to the Small Seal Script but the left leaf turns into "刀" (dao1, meaning "knife") and the right into "氏" (shi4) with one horizontal stroke removed, essentially opening up the two rhomboid shapes. The left vertical line at the bottom turns into a slant, making it less like a flower pot.
Simplified Song Typeface: The top part is replaced by "文" (wen2), which slightly resembles the middle leaf but eliminates the other two leaves completely. The bottom part becomes a slant and a vertical line, losing its pictographic quality.
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