Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 名 (míng) meaning 'name' or 'fame' is composed of two parts: 夕 (evening) and 口 (mouth). This structure originates from ancient times when people would identify themselves in the dark by speaking their names. The character evolved from oracle bone script, where it depicted a mouth calling out at night, to bronze script forms that more clearly showed the evening and mouth components, and finally to the standardized modern form. It represents the concept that in low visibility, one's identity is established through vocal declaration. Arrived in Japan: The character 名 arrived in Japan around the 5th century CE, during the period when Chinese writing system was introduced to Japan through Korean scholars and Buddhist texts. It was incorporated into the Japanese language as part of the kanji system, reading as 'mei' or 'na', and appears in early Japanese texts like the Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE).