Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 年 (nián) originally depicted a person carrying harvested grain on their back, symbolizing the harvest season. In oracle bone script, it showed a bent person with a heavy load. Over time, it evolved to represent the concept of a 'year' - the cycle from planting to harvest. The character transformed through bronze script, seal script, and clerical script before reaching its modern form. The meaning expanded from the agricultural harvest to the temporal unit of a year, reflecting how ancient Chinese society measured time by agricultural cycles. Arrived in Japan: The character 年 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing system through cultural exchange with Korea and China. It was formally adopted into the Japanese writing system during the Asuka period (538-710 CE) as part of the kanji imported for official documents, Buddhist texts, and scholarly works.