Amazing Chinese Characters (472) Deploy - 陈（陳）

 The bronze script of character Deploy is

Left is small hills, right part is character East (Post 77). The Dictionary of Pictography thinks that the right one should be character Vehicle (Post 5). The character means that deploying army to position before combat, which should have many vehicles. I think that the bronze script Deploy is 3000+ ago when the combat vehicle should not be popular because not afford to have so many vehicles.

What I think is that the right part character East means Morning here. Deploying army in the morning back against a cliff is the meaning of the character.

The big seal script of the character is

There are three parts. The left and middle combination is similar to the bronze script. The right part is a hand (bottom) holding a stick (top), which means To Hit, To Beat. The army is in position and ready to attack.

The small seal script of the character is

The left is small hills, and the right is character East.

The clerical script of the character is

The left is called Radical Er because it looks like an er, but it means the small hills, which is like hills too, but just two hills, not three as older scripts do have. The right part is character East.

The song typeface of the character is

陳

Same as the clerical script.

The song typeface of the character is

陈

The right one is simplified character East.

The Pinyin of the character is Chen2.

陈（陳）has been a popular family name for 3000+ years. Unless in proverb, or combination words, if you mention 陈（陳）, people will think that you are talking the family name, not Deploy. Actor Jackie Chan's Chinese name is 陈龙 (simplified Chinese), or 陳龍 (traditional Chinese). 

Amazing Chinese Characters (471) Skin - 皮

 The bronze script of character Skin is

The top is a person with a big mouth, the bottom is a hand to skin the person alive, which is a punishment in the ancient time. The person is suffering and screaming.

The big seal script of the character is

Similar to bronze script, the lines are touched each other.

The small seal script of the character is

which changed very big. the left is the person's body, the right top is the mouth, the right bottom is the hand.

The clerical script of the character is

which is changed to no similarity to the older script. The only clear part is the bottom 又, which is hand. The rest we can guess are the body + mouth, but hard to tell which is which.

The song typeface of the character is

皮 

Same as clerical script.

The Pinyin of the character is Pi2.

皮 is used as a noun exclusively.  

Amazing Chinese Characters (470) Omen - 兆

 The shell bone script of character Omen is

which is the cracks on shell or bones after being burnt.

Ancient Chinese wrote some scripts on the turtle shell, ox bone, put them on fire to burn. Based on the cracks, foresee or foretell the good or bad of an event in the near future. 

The big seal script of character Omen 

more like cracks.

The small seal script of the character is

Similar to big seal script.

The clerical script of the character is

The middle crack disappeared, the character is symmetrical.

The song typeface of the character is

兆

Very similar to clerical script.

Its Pinyin is Zhao4.

兆 is also a number: Trillion, the biggest number unit in Chinese. Why is 兆 a huge number? I guess that it is from the super nature (cracks made by super nature power), so it must be a great number.

Amazing Chinese Characters (469) Enon and Mortise - 卯

 The shell bone script of character Enon and Mortise is

Chinese used complicated Enon and Mortise in 3500+ years ago to build structures without nails.

In the script, the circles are holes, and the long strokes are wooden strips.

The bronze script of the character is

Similar to shell bone script.

The big seal script of the character is

Similar to older scripts. 

The small seal script of the character is 

Similar to the older scripts except the top bent lines.

The clerical script of the character is

Changed a lot, not symmetrical anymore. The left changed big, but we still can see some similarity.

The song typeface of the character is

卯

Same as the clerical script.

The pinyin of the character is Mao3.

Note: The character also means "fourth earthly branch" in Chinese Terrestrial Branch, which is very complex. Just remember it is used as a sequence word sometimes.

Amazing Chinese Characters (468) Fear - 畏

 The shell bone script of character Fear is

The right top 田 is a ghost face mask. Let see the shell bone script character Ghost (Post 71). 

The top is a big 田, a skull mask. The bottom is a kneeling down person.

The bottom of character Fear is a standing person. The left is a scepter. A person wears a skull mask or ghost mask, holding a scepter to show a power of super nature, maybe ghost in sacrifice. The appearance is fearful. 

The bronze script of the character is

Similar to shell bone script.

The big seal script of the character is

Similar to big seal script.

The small seal script of the character is

The top is similar to older script. The bottom changes big: the left is scepter, the right is a person.

The clerical script of the character is

The top is similar to older scripts. The bottom has some similarity to small script, but changed big to fit the clerical script writing, especially the falling right stroke which is typical clerical stroke. 

The song typeface of the character is

畏

Same as clerical script.

The Pinyin of the character is Wei4.

Amazing Chinese Characters (467) Body - 体（體）

 The bronze script of character Body is

The left is a form of body, the right is character Harvest and Abundance (Post 317), which means, the body is formed or produced by foods.

There is another character Body (Post 97)

The dot is an indicator, which is the most important point the character wants to say. Here is the belly. The above character originally means the belly of the body. But right now it means body. The difference of the two is very subtle. One is more emphasizing the trunk: the belly and the chest, another is more on the whole body including the legs, arms, head. 

The big seal script of the character is 

The left is character Bone (Post 458), the right is character Harvest and Abundance (Post 317). A body with bones is supported by abundance foods.

The small seal script of the character is

Similar to the big seal script.

The clerical script of the character is

Similar to older scripts.

The traditional song typeface of the character is

體

Same as clerical script.

The simplified song typeface of the character is

体

Which is from nowhere. The left is radical Person, the right is character Root (Post 78).  It has nothing to do with the older scripts, or the traditional song typeface. I can only guess that the character means "A person's root" = "A person's body", which changes to ideogram character, not pictographic character.

The Pinyin of the character is Ti3.

Because character 身，and character 体, both means Body with very subtle difference, so people use 身体 （combination of the two characters) as a word-form to mean Body. There are many this kind words formed by two characters with very similar meaning, to avoid any confusion. 

Amazing Chinese Characters (466) Play with - 弄

 The shell bone script of character Play with is

The middle is 工 - Work (Post 465), the left and right are two hands. Here 工 is a simplified 王 - King (Post 244), but it means Jade (Post 244). Before clerical script, both King and Jade are three horizontal lines and one vertical line. The character above means that two hands playing with a jade which may be a very beautiful, valuable, and lovely. Play with a jade in one's hand, touching, watching, and feeling.

Chinese have loved jade since more than 3500+ years ago. Jade is not only artistic items, but very expensive treasure.  

The bronze script of the character is

The top is character Jade (玉 - Post 244）, under it are two hands. 

The big seal script of the character is

Similar to bronze script.

The small seal script of the character is

Two hands bent more.

The clerical script of the character is

The bottom two hands become one long horizontal line, one vertical line, and one left falling line, which is a simplified form but making confusion. 

The song typeface of the character is

弄

Same as the clerical script.

The pinyin of the character is Nong4.

弄 is a something people do in the spare time, or casual time as a hobby, not very serious, but enjoyable.

Amazing Chinese Characters (465) Work - 工

 The shell bone script of character Work is

which is very like ancient mortise-tenon structure.

a structure without a single nail.

or simplified one

There is dispute what it is. Some people including Dictionary of Pictography believe that it is a multiple functions iron tool used by carpenters. More people believe that it is impossible that there were iron tools in 3500+ year ago, it should be carpenter's ink marker.

The front box is ink box with black ink inside, the back box has a wire coil, there is a hole between the two boxes, the wire goes through the hole and another hold in front of the box to get out. The wire has ink on, carpenter puts the wire on wood he works on, and makes a straight line he needs.

There is a bamboo or metal nail on the end of the wire, the carpenter hits the nail on point A on the wood, he pulls the wire coil box to point C, and lifts up the wire at point B, then looses it, the wire drops on the wood, makes and a black straight line with the ink on the wire. The carpenter can cut or saw the wood along the line. 

I prefer the meaning of the character is mortise-tenon structure.

The first character above has an ink box at the bottom and a nail on the top, which is like a carpenter ink marker. The second one is simplified, more like a beam support structure.

The bronze script of the character is

The bottom is like an ax, which let many people believe that it is a rammer. However it could be an ink box too. 

The big seal script of the character is

which is more like a beam support structure with mortise-tenon connection.

The small seal script of the character is

Similar to big seal script.

The clerical script of the character is

Similar to older scripts.

The song typeface of the character is

工

Same as small seal script.

The Pinyin of the character is Gong1.

Therefore, Work includes work tools, and work products. The current meaning is to work.

Amazing Chinese Characters (464) Repeat - 复（復）

 The shell bone script of character Repeat is

The top pot alike is a city, the bottom is a foot. A guard (most likely) walks in the city back and forth again and again to keep public safety.

The bronze script of the character is

The circle with a dot inside is a city, the top and mirror part on the bottom are two watchtowers, the lowest bottom is a foot or a person, which has dispute. But anyway, the meaning is the same: Guard patrols in the city.

The big seal script of the character is

The left is character Cloth (Post 140). the right one is similar to bronze script above, the bottom is character Foot. Why is there a cloth? I don't know. Probably it means the uniform of the guard. 

The small seal script of the character is

The left is character Cloth, and the right one is from the right part of older scripts but one circle in older script becomes two circles. The bottom is foot, and the top is simplified, not like a watchtower anymore. 

There is another small seal script (very rare because small seal script is one form for one character),

same as the right part of the character above.

The clerical script of the character is

The left is Radical Double Person, which means Road, or Street, not cloth. But it is fit the meaning of patrol on the street. The right part: middle is 日, which is Sun. Dictionary of Pictography explains that 日 is a mistakenly written city, the top is similar to the top of small seal script, the bottom is a foot.

The traditional song typeface of the character is

復

Same as clerical script.

The simplified song typeface of the character is

复

Which is the right part of the traditional script above.

The pinyin of the character is Fu4.