Unicode: U+54C0

Pinyin: āi

Definition

* 悲痛。 悲~。~求。~叹。~鸣。~思。~鸿遍野("哀鸿",哀鸣的大雁;喻到处都是呻吟呼号,流离失所的灾民)。~艳(诗文凄测动人而华丽)。 * 悼念。 ~悼。默~。 * 旧时称死去母亲。 ~子(a。母丧而父存;b。古称居父母丧的人)

sad, mournful, pitiful; pity

Structure

哀 graph

Related substructures

Precursors

Bronze Inscriptions
c. 1200–221 BCE (Shang–Zhou; continues into the Warring States)
Inscriptions cast or engraved on ritual bronzes, especially prominent from the Western Zhou onward; a major source for early political, ritual, and social history.Wikipedia ->
31_E67431_E67531_E67831_E67631_E67733_EBC7
Chu Script
c. 770–221 BCE (Chu, Spring & Autumn–Warring States)
A regional script tradition used in the state of Chu, best known from brush-written bamboo and silk manuscripts with distinctive local forms.Wikipedia ->
51_E7B451_E7B551_E7B651_E7B751_E7B355_E73855_E73955_E73A55_E73B55_E73C55_E73D55_E74155_E73E55_E74055_E73F53_E4EA55_E74255_E74855_E74555_E74655_E74755_E74455_E74355_E74955_E74A55_E74B55_E74C
Qin Script
c. 475–206 BCE (Qin, Warring States → Qin dynasty)
Qin-area character forms attested on bamboo/wood slips (e.g., Shuihudi, deposited 217 BCE), overlapping chronologically with the standardization of seal script and the emergence of clerical tendencies.Wikipedia ->
71_E0FD
Small Seal Script
Standardized 221–206 BCE (Qin); developed earlier in Qin
The standardized seal script promulgated after Qin’s unification, based on earlier Qin seal forms and used as an empire-wide norm.Wikipedia ->
27_54C0
Clerical Script
c. 300 BCE–220 CE (emerged late Warring States/Qin; dominant Han)
A practical script that evolved from late Warring States/Qin writing; it matured and became dominant in the Han dynasty, favoring faster, more rectilinear strokes.Wikipedia ->
71_E0FD91_E7AC91_E7AD91_E7AE91_E7AF91_E7B191_E7B291_E7B391_E7B091_E7B4
Transmitted Pre-Qin Forms
Pre-Qin forms (≤221 BCE) / late 2nd century BCE onward (Han → later textual transmission)
Pre-Qin character forms preserved through later textual transmission (often discussed as the 'Old Text' / guwen tradition). Shaped by repeated copying, they can diverge from excavated Warring States materials.Wikipedia ->
81_E8A781_E8A881_E8A981_E8AA81_E8AB81_E8AC81_E8AD81_E8AE81_E8AF81_E8B0

Last Modified: 2026-01-29 11:48 UTC