A reader asked me about 青, which is present in many characters. Various explanations are circulating about its origin. One seems to be quite interesting.
Some characters with spelling close to 月, like 舟 and 丹, have disappeared from some character structures to become 月. A desire for aesthetics or fluidity with the brush has brought about these changes.
It is necessary to look at 丹,dān, red, vermilion, cinnabar.
A first shows shows a frame 
in which ore 
was put to heat it and “dye” it in vermilion. The ancients believed that they could achieve immortality with this stone.
青, qīng, blue or green, young.
The top of the ancient writing represents growing herbs:
Underneath, 丹 takes the handwriting from 月. It is the frame in which the herbs are dyed green (colour of the herbs). By extension, the idea of lush and young.
In the next articles, we will explore the compositions, such as 情, 晴,请, 淸, 精, 静, 睛, 婧.
Articles on characters classified by radical :
2 August 2020