儿ér，rén

The original complex form of儿is兒．It is written as in oracle script， and respectively in bronze inscriptions《者儿觯》and《小臣儿卣》，and in small seal script．In Radical Section 儿from Shuo Wen ，it says，“儿，仁人也。古文奇字人也。象形。孔子曰：‘在人下，故诘屈’”（儿means kind and gentle people．According to the ancient usage，it can also mean human beings．It is a pictograph．As Confucius said，“submitting under somebody means屈”）．According to Xu Shen，儿means kind and gentle people，who can submit under other people when needed．

According to Xu Shen，兒refers to a little child and is a pictograph with the lower part written as儿and the top part written as臼，indicating that the incomplete state of skull bones of young children．Xu Shen regarded儿and兒as two characters but these two are actually the same．儿is the simplified form while兒is the original complex form．

The original meaning of儿is“a child with a big head”．The stroke extending to the left lower part or right represents an arm while the curved stroke demonstrates the body and leg．In the simplified form，the head part is omitted．

儿is often put in the lower part of a compound character．When used as an independent word，it is pronounced ér；when used as a radical，it reads as rén．儿refers to“the son or child”．For example，in The Song of Mulan ，from Yue Fu Poem Anthology ，it reads“阿爷无大儿，木兰无长兄”．In translation，this poem line means“father has no grown son，nor Mulan an elder brother”．Because there was no grown son in the family，Mulan as the eldest daughter disguised as a man and went to the army recruitment in place of her old father．In a novel of the Tang Dynasty The Story of Yingying ，it says“玉环一枚，是儿婴年所弄”（Here is a jade ring that you used to play with when you were just a baby）．This儿refers to the daughter．Yingying，the heroine of the story，was the daughter of the family and called herself儿（daughter）in front of her parents．It is clear that the character儿can be used to call a son or a daughter in ancient times．Now Chinese parents also call their children我的儿（my child）regardless of the gender as a loving term．

勹bāo

勹is written as in oracle script， in small seal script．In Radical Section 勹from Shuo Wen ，it says，“勹，裹也。象人曲形，有所包裹”（勹means wrapping．It looks like a person twisting himself and wrapping something up）．According to Xu Shen，勹refers to all the parcels．It is a pictograph，like the shape of a human body wrapping something up．It means that there is something in your arms．

包bāo

包is written as in oracle script， in bronze inscription and insmall seal script．In Radical Section 包from Shuo Wen ，it says“包，象人裹妊，巳在中，象子未成形也”［包looks like a woman pregnant with child，with巳（fetus）in the middle］．According to Xu Shen，包looks like a woman pregnant with a child．巳is in her womb，and it is not mature．

勹looks like“someone bending his or her body holding something in arms”．包resembles“the shape of a woman expecting a baby”．When包gained its popularity as a commonly used word，the character勹descended to a radical．It is said that勹is the original form of包and包is the current form with the original meaning of“wrap”．However，it is not justified to consider勹as the original form of包．Both the characters of勹and包were found in oracles． Shuo Wen listed these two characters separately with勹categorized to radical section勹while包in包section．These are two different words，not variations of the same character．But some scholars may have other explanations．Mr．Yu Xingwu（1896 AD－1984 AD），a renowned expert in ancient characters，regarded the oracle form of勹as the image of a profiled lying figure of a man as the original form of the character伏（lying）．

老lǎo

老is written as （《铁》76．3）in oracle script， in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Section 老from Shuo Wen ，it says“老，考也。七十曰老。从人、毛、匕。言须发变白也”（老meanslongevity．When a person reaches the age of seventy，he can be called an old man．It is categorized into the radical sections人，毛and匕．It means hair and beard all become white）．According to Xu Shen，老means longevity，which means a person aged．A person who is seventy years old can be called an old person．Sometimes，fifty-year-old or above can also be called the elder．It is a pictograph by using人，毛and匕to represent meaning．匕means化（A person with white hair and beard can be called the elder）．

Observed from the oracles，老shapes like“an old man with long hair holding a crutch”and is a pictograph but not an indicative．It originally meant an old man．When Chinese ancestors created the character老，they captured the features of long hair，bending back and holding a walking stick．The bronze inscription character also emphasized the long hair of an old man but the fingers holding the walking stick disappeared and the shape of the walking stick was distorted．In seal characters，老maintained its characteristics of long hair and bending back，but hands and the crutch were separated and the crutch was changed into a shape of匕．

The original meaning of老is an old person regardless of the gender，as written in Guanzi （ Works of Guan Zhong ）“六十以上为老男，五十以上为老女”，meaning a man is called an old man when he is sixty and above while a woman is called an old lady when she is fifty and above．In a poem written by He Zhizhang（about 659 AD－744 AD），a poet of the Tang Dynasty，“少小离家老大回”（I left my hometown as a young boy and returned as an old man）．

In ancient times，on occasions of worship and other important ceremonies，seniors of old age，of seniority in the clan or of a high position would be invited to be the host and that is the reason why the character老is used as a respectful term for addressing an old person，such as张老，老张．And it is extended to mean old age，retirement or euphemism of death．As is written in A Dream of Red Mansions “以备京里老了人口，在此停灵”（In case there is any death of elderlies，we can put the coffin here）．

考kǎo

In Radical Section 老from Shuo Wen ，it says“考，老也。从老省，丂声”（考means being old．It is classified into the radical sections老and省and its pronunciation follows the phonetic pattern of丂）．According to Xu Shen，考means living an old age with the age of fifty to seventy．It is a pictophonetic character with老and省as its ideographic element and丂as its phonetic component．

In Shuo Wen ，考is explained by老（lǎo，meaning old），while at the same time老is also defined by考，regarding考and老as the same word．Duan Yucai added a note that“the original meaning of考is longevity”．

The original sense of考is also老人（old people）．

Both考and老are pictographs．In老，the form indicating the walking stick is a straight“T”shape while in考，the walking stick is presented as a“J”shape．This element of walking stick丂（kāo）later was separated from the character老and evolved into an ideograph meaning“a walking stick or crutch”，and it is also a phonetic symbol．In the literature，a“deceased father”is called考．For example，in Qu Li of The Book of Rites ，it reads“生曰父，死曰考”，which means“when alive，a father is called父（fù） and when deceased，he is addressed as考”．

考is also used as a verb，meaning“to knock，to beat”．In Shan You Shu ， Odes of Tang in The Book of Odes and Hymns ，it reads“子有钟鼓，弗鼓弗考”（You have drums and bells，but you will not have them beat or struck）（translated by James Legge）．In Heaven and Earth of The Book of Chuang Tzu ，it reads“金石有声，不考不鸣”（Metals and stones both have sounds，but if not knocked，they remain silent）．And in the prose On the Stone Bell Mountain by Su Shi，a famous poet in the Song Dynasty，it says“而陋者乃以斧斤考击而求之”（Those sallow scholars were pleased to explain the phenomenon by striking the rocks with an ax）．While in A Letter to Ren Shaoqing by the great Chinese historian Si Maqian（145 BC－90 BC）in the West Han Dynasty（202 BC－25 AD），it writes“略考其行事”，meaning briefly and roughly examine and explore the authenticity of the events．Here考is used to mean“to examine and explore，investigate and inspect”．

耋dié

耋is written as in small seal script．In Radical Section 老from Shuo Wen ，itsays“耋，年八十曰耋。从老省，至声”（耋meansa personrea-ching the age of eighty．It is classified into the radical section老and its pronunciation follows the phonetic pattern of至）．According to Xu Shen，耋refers to old-age like eighty years old．It is a pictophonetic character with老and省as its ideographic element and至as its phonetic component．

In bronze inscriptions，耋looks like an old man facing the left，and it is a compound word with老and至，indicating both the meaning and the pronunciation of the character，and the overall image illustrates a man reaching his old age．

The original meaning of the character is“old age”．In Che Lin ， Odes of Qin in The Book of Odes and Hymns ，it reads“今者不乐，逝者其耋”，which means“if now we do not take our joy，the time will pass till we are octogenarians”．It is said耋means old age．When one is eighty years old，he is regarded as in an age of耋．

寿shòu

The original complex form of寿is壽．寿is written asis written as in oracle script， in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Sec tion 老from Shuo Wen ，it says，“寿，久也。从老省， 声”（寿means eternity．It is classified into the radical sections老and省）．According to Xu Shen，寿means longevity and old-age．It is a pictophonetic character，with老and省as ideographic element．

When evolved into official or clerical script，the character was written as壽and now simplified into寿．

In oracles of the Shang Dynasty，there was already the character寿，and it was also written in a variety of styles in the bronze inscriptions and scripts of the Western Zhou Dynasty on bronze wares．All these are records of man's desire and wish for longevity．In bronze inscription，寿was written in top-down structure，with the upper part an image of old man and lower part the original form of畴with the winding shapes of ribbings in the fields and the hoof prints of a bull．畴is the combination of both the image of ribbings and hoof prints，indicating the cultivated fields，and this character is used as the phonetic element in寿．

In the Warring States Period of China，there used to be a bronze food ware called敦（dūn）．And the character寿inscribed in the敦is with an element of手（hand）added in the bottom part of the character and口（mouth）on the lower left corner representing a wine glass and indicating a toast to an elderly to his longevity．However，when this pictophonetic developed to Qin-style seal character，the part of手was removed while the element of口was put down on the bottom of the character．

The process of character evolution from seal scripts to official or clerical style is called隶变（Li-character evolution）．Li-character evolution is a milestone and a revolution in the evolution of Chinese characters．It plays a tremendous role in the transformation from the image into the abstract．And the ancient characters were changed into the stroke-based汉隶（Han-Li，clerical style of the Han Dynasty）and the style of the Post-Han Dynasty（25 AD－220 AD）．The original ancient forms were completely changed or distorted．

The original meaning of寿is seniority，longevity．It is said that in Tian Bao of Minor Odes of the Kingdom ， The Book of Odes and Hymns “如南山之寿，不骞不崩”means“like the age of the southern hills，never waning，never falling”．

The word“old age”is extended to mean“longevity，life span”．For example，in Robber Zhi ， Miscellaneous Chapters of The Book of Chuang Tzu ，it says“上寿百岁，中寿八十，下寿六十”，which means“the greatest longevity man can reach is a hundred years；a medium longevity is eighty years；the lowest longevity is sixty”．

The“old age”sense can also be extended to mean“the elderly or senior”．For example，in Praise-Odes of Lu ， The Book of Odes and Hymns ，it reads“三寿作朋，如冈如陵”（They will make friendship with your three aged ministers，like the hills，like the mountains）．

Derived from the meaning of the elderly or the old people，the character can be used to mean to offer birthday congratulations to an elderly person．In Records of the Grand Historian-Annals of Xiang Yu ，it writes“若入前为寿，寿毕，请以剑舞”（You should go in and toast，then ask to dance with a sword）．Also“请以赵十五城为秦王寿”（Please present the fifteen cities of the State of Zhao as a birthday congratulation gift to the King of the State of Qin）．

孝xiào

It is written as in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Section 老from Shuo Wen ，it says，“孝，善侍父母者。从老省，从子。子承老也”（孝means filial duty of being kind to parents．It is classified into the radical sections老，省and子．It means子representing children should take care of their old parents）．According to Xu Shen，孝means longevity and old-age．孝means filial duty and care for one's parents with all one's heart．It is an associative compound represented by老，省and子．The son will do what their parents want him or her to do．

In bronze scripts，the character孝is a vivid reflection of a child supporting an old man with his hand．The top of the character resembles the long hair，the middle a bending back and the bottom an image of a child子．The form of supporting an elderly is used to express the idea of kind treatment to one's parents．

There is a wide range of meanings to this character．The original meaning of孝is very concrete，referring to kind treatment to one's parents，and the person who treats his or her parents kindly is called a孝子（a dutiful or filial son or daughter）．

The idea of孝（filial piety）emerged very early in Chinese history．In The Spring and Autumn Annals ，it says“孝，礼之始也”（Filial piety is the beginning of rites）．The formation of the morality of filial piety did not complete until the Shang and Zhou dynasties 3，000 years ago．It is said in The Book of Odes and Hymns that“善父母为孝，善兄弟为友”（Treating parents kindly is called filial piety and treating brothers kindly is called fraternal love）．Chinese people regard listening to the suggestions of the seniors and taking care of the elderly as filial piety．When parents pass away，the sons and daughters wear mourning apparels which are called孝服（filial clothing）．In The Biography of Cui Cheng in The Book of Northern Dynasties ，from Twenty-Four Histories （dynastic histories from remote antiquity till the Ming Dynasty），it writes“后丧母，居丧，哀毁骨立。人云：‘崔九作孝，风吹即倒’”（Later his mother passed away and Cui Cheng stayed home for mourning period．He was so sad and painful that he lost much weight．It was said that“Cui is so filial and has become very thin as if a blow of wind would make him fall”）．In China，ravens are called孝鸟，a kind of filial birds for they would fly back to feed their parent birds．The Chinese moral ideology of respecting the seniors and caring for the elderly is a heritage from such a traditional belief of filial piety． BeSSRiRr10mWc5la4TSZp5UuJe/lv9HcxcczASoG+8Y2CXOfqqRzCoTemBW6C77Y