Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 矯 (jiǎo) originally depicted an archer adjusting his bow to make it straight, combining the 'arrow' radical 矢 with the phonetic component 喬 (meaning 'tall' or 'proud'). Over time, its meaning expanded from physically straightening objects to correcting behavior, rectifying wrongs, and pretending or feigning (as in 矯情 - artificial emotions). The character evolved through various script forms - from bronze inscriptions where the bow adjustment was more literal, to seal scripts that standardized the components, to the modern regular script that maintains the arrow radical as a symbolic reference to precision and correction. Arrived in Japan: The character 矯 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems, possibly through Buddhist texts or official diplomatic exchanges. It became established in Japanese as 矯 (kyō) with meanings of correction, rectification, and straightening, appearing in early Japanese dictionaries and literary works from the Nara period (710-794 CE) onward.