中

才

Unicode: U+624D

Pinyin: cái

Definition

* 能力。 ～能。口～。这人很有～干。 * 从才能方面指某类人。 干（ gàn ）～。奇～。奴～。蠢～。 * 副词。①方，始：昨天～来。现在～懂得这个道理。②仅仅：～用了两元。来了～十天

talent, ability; just, only

Structure

才 graph

Related substructures

OAnUWAqd

Precursors

Oracle Bone Script
c. 1300–1050 BCE (Late Shang)
Inscriptions carved on turtle plastrons and animal bones for divination and record-keeping in the late Shang royal court; the oldest large attested corpus of written Chinese.Wikipedia ->
42_EB7D42_EB7E42_EB7F42_EB8042_EB8142_EB8242_EB8342_EB8442_EB8542_EB8642_EB8742_EB8842_EB8942_EB8A42_EB8B42_EB8C42_EB8D42_EB8E42_EB8F42_EB9042_EB9142_EB9242_EB9342_EB9442_EB9542_EB9642_EB9742_EB9842_EB9942_EB9A42_EB9B42_EB9C42_EB9D42_EB9E42_EB9F42_EBA042_EBA1
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 ->
32_EAF832_EAF332_EAEE32_EAF032_EAF132_EAEF32_EB0F32_EAFB32_EAF632_EAF732_EAFA32_EAFF32_EAF932_EB1532_EB0032_EB0132_EAFE32_EAFC32_EAF432_EAF232_EB1432_EB0834_E61E32_EB1132_EB1032_EB0332_EB0432_EB0232_EB0632_EB0A32_EB0D32_EAFD32_EAF532_EB0B32_EB0932_EB0532_EB0732_EB0C32_EB1232_EB1332_EB0E32_EB1632_EB1732_EB1832_EB1932_EB1A32_EB1B
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 ->
53_E95653_E95852_E69152_E69056_EBA456_EBA556_EBA656_EBA756_EB9D56_EB9F56_EB9E56_EBAA56_EBA156_EBA856_EBA056_EB9456_EBAB56_EBAC56_EBAD56_EB9756_EBA956_EB9856_EB9956_EB9A56_EB9B56_EB9C56_EBA356_EB9256_EBA256_EB9356_EBB256_EBAF56_EBB456_EBB056_EBB356_EBB156_EBB556_EBB756_EBBF56_EBC056_EBB856_EBB956_EBBA56_EBBC56_EBBB56_EBAE56_EB9556_EB9656_EBBD
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_E63771_E638
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_624D
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 ->
92_E9A271_E63771_E63892_E9A392_E9A492_E9A592_E9A692_E9A792_E9A892_E9A9
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 ->
82_F59482_F59582_F59682_F59782_F59882_F59982_F59A82_F59B82_F59C82_F59D

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