Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 沸 (fèi) originally depicted water bubbling and boiling. Its earliest forms in oracle bone and bronze scripts showed water vessels with rising steam or bubbles, combining the water radical (氵) with elements suggesting agitation and heat. Over centuries, the character evolved through various script styles - from the curved lines of seal script to the squared forms of clerical script, finally stabilizing in its modern form during the standardization of kaishu (regular script). The character consistently maintained its core meaning of 'to boil' or 'bubbling up,' representing both literal boiling water and metaphorical excitement or agitation. Arrived in Japan: The character 沸 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems, possibly through Buddhist texts and Korean scribes. It became established in the Japanese writing system during the Nara period (710-794 CE) when Chinese literary culture heavily influenced Japanese scholarship. In Japanese, it's read as 'futsu' in on'yomi (Chinese reading) and carries meanings of boiling and excitement similar to Chinese usage.