Lo! The vertically symmetrical and simplistic harmony of ancient characters!

土 tǔ: primitive for “soil, earth” (the top line is the ground, the bottom is sub-soil rock, the vertical line connecting them represents “all things”)

田 tīan: primitive for “furrowed field”

由 yóu: 1) cause, reason 2) because of, owing to (imagine a sprout coming from a field)

苗 míao: 1) seedling (see shoots sprouting at the edge of the field)

里 lí: 1) ancient unit of land measurement 2) inside (see a field resting on the character for “earth”)

黄 hǔang: yellow, like a sunflower (an ancient form of “bright” is anchored by a field)

雷 leí: thunder (rainy clouds above a field)

雨 yǔ: primitive for “rain” (according to most scholars’ accounts, the dots are drops, the line is heaven, the enclosure symbolizes clouds)

山 shān: primitive for “mountain” (a horizontal earth line is topped with three tall stones)

目 mù: primitive for “eye” 2) mesh, hole 3) look (imagine an eye on its side)

干 gān: primitive “to oppose” 1) offend 2) dry (in the shape of a pestle)

旱 hǎn: drought, dry spell (the torrid effect of the sun, which rests on the pestle)

木 mù: primitive for tree, wood (a trunk and branches)

本 běn: root or stem 2) main, chief, principal 3) original, initial (the line through the trunk denotes earth)

末 mò: tip, end 2) non-essential (the top horizontal line represents the highest tree branches)

未 weì: have not, did not 2) no, not (the highest branches of the tree have been snipped)

果 gǔo: fruit 2) yield, results (the field on the tree symbolizes a harvest from its branches)

丰 fēng: the primitive “rich, plentiful”(see one very leafy bough)

米 mǐ: the primitive “grain” 1) glutinous rice (four grains separated in the thrashing represented by the cross in the middle)

文 wén: the primitive “literary, genteel” 1) character, script, writing 2) culture, rite

大 dà: the primitive “great, tall” (a grown man with legs and arms outstretched)

天 tīan: sky, heaven (a man with a line symbolizing heaven above）

立 lì: stand at attention 2) to erect, set something up (a man standing on the ground)

夫 fū: husband, man, person engaged in manual labor (man with a pin in his hair to show he’s of age)

央 yāng: core, center (a man stands in the center of an enclosed space)

交 jīao: hand over, turn in 2) settle in 3) meet, join (a man with his legs crossed, intertwined)

爽 shǔang: 1)bright, clear, crisp 2) straightforward, open-hearted 3) comfortable (a man with arms in motion, active and alert)

人 rén: primitive for “man” 1) humanity, human 2) personality (the profile of a person with two legs in walking motion)

羊 yǎng: primitive “sheep or lamb” (as seen from behind, its horns and backside)

美 měi: beautiful (a man under a sheep, implying their resemblance… hopefully in character only)

工 gōng: primitive for “work” 1) workers and the working class 2) labor

亚 yà: inferior, shabby (a deformed, hunchback version of “work”)

王 wǎng: primitive for “king, monarch” 2) highest rank of feudal times (one vertical line connects three horizontals: heaven, earth and man)

口 kǒu: primitive for “mouth” 2) taste 3) people, population (imagine our most prominent orifice)

古 gǔ: ancient times (the character for “ten” sits on a mouth, implying tales passed down for ten generations)

噩 è: evil and terrifying (four mouths crying out loud, ensconced in a ancient form for “attack”)

甘 gān: sweet (a mouth happily holding something inside)

非 fēi: primitive “opposition” 1) wrong, error 2) no, not (an abstract character with two opposite sides reflect each other)

日 rì: primitive for “sun” 2) day (a sun pierced by a line representing “time”)

旦 dàn: dawn, daybreak (the sun rests on the horizon)

杲 gǎo: brightly shining (the sun above the tree tops)

中 zhōng: primitive “center” (a square target pierced by an arrow)

串 chǔan: primitive for “string together” 2) indispensable Beijing street food (objects, not mouths, pierced on a vertical rod)

Citation: Modern definitions provided by the illustrious Contemporary Chinese Dictionary 〈现代汉语词典〉汉英版2003, and etymological illuminations courtesy of Dr L. Wieger’s Chinese Characters, their origin, etymology, history, classification and signification, first published in 1915.