Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 患 (huàn) depicts 'anxiety' or 'suffering.' Its ancient form in Liushutong shows a heart (心) enclosed or bound by multiple lines, symbolizing a heart in distress or troubled by repeated worries. Over time, it evolved into the modern form 患, which can be interpreted as a 'string' of troubles piled over the heart. The core meaning has remained consistent, representing mental distress, calamity, or illness. Arrived in Japan: The character 患 likely arrived in Japan during the early waves of Chinese script importation, around the 5th to 6th centuries CE, as part of the broader cultural transmission that included Buddhism and Confucian texts. It was incorporated into the Japanese writing system as a kanji, retaining its meaning of worry, affliction, or suffering.