How lazy were the ancients? Just look at their handwriting.

How lazy were the ancients? Just look at their handwriting...

During the Chinese New Year, we would post the compound Chinese character “招财进宝” (meaning “attract wealth and fortune”) to express our hope for a better life. But did you know that the practice of writing several characters together has existed since the oracle bone script era?

Every year, Grain Rain is the "United Nations Chinese Language Day", a day to commemorate the "Cangjie's creation of Chinese characters". Let us learn about compound characters from ancient times to the present, and appreciate the ingenuity of the creators of Chinese characters.

Copywriter: Cleaner, PhD student at Nankai University

Reviewer: Wang Hongzhi, Associate Professor, School of Humanities, Shanghai Normal University

Planning丨He Tong

Editor: He Tong

Visual丨Zhu Hangyue

Design丨Wu Zheqi

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin