Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 木 depicts a tree with roots and branches, representing the concept of 'tree' or 'wood.' In its earliest oracle bone script form from the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE), it was a simple pictograph showing a trunk with roots below and branches above. During the bronze script period, the character became more stylized but maintained the same basic structure. By the small seal script period standardized during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), the character evolved into the more regularized form that would eventually become modern 木. As a radical, 木 appears in hundreds of characters related to trees, wood, plants, and wooden objects. Arrived in Japan: The character 木 was introduced to Japan along with other Chinese characters around the 5th century CE, during the period when Chinese writing and Buddhism were being systematically imported to Japan. It became established in Japanese as 'ki' (tree) and 'moku' (wood) through the Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE), Japan's earliest historical records written using Chinese characters.