Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 揚 (yáng) evolved from ancient pictographs showing a hand (扌/手 radical) raising something up, combined with 昜 which represents sunlight spreading upward. Originally depicting the action of lifting or hoisting, it came to mean 'to raise,' 'to praise,' or 'to spread.' In Liushutong, the form shows clearer hand elements with the 昜 component, emphasizing the upward motion that remains central to its meaning in modern usage. Arrived in Japan: The character 揚 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, when the Japanese writing system was developing and adopting Chinese characters (kanji) through cultural exchange, primarily via Korean peninsula intermediaries and direct contact with Chinese scholars.