貝（bèi）Shell - The Evolution of Chinese Character

 

I want to share with you one Chinese character ”貝”. 

貝 means shell. In the Oracle Bone Script（象形字） form, 貝 resembles the shape of a shell. So we know this character is a pictogram（象形字）. But there are many kinds of shells, how do we know which kind the character originated from? If you try to google “貝+象形”, You will find three popular kinds of shells. The first kind is scallop. The second kind is clam shells. The last kind is cowrie. Which kind of shell is the origin of 貝？We can discuss it from two different perspectives.

First, from the archeological perspective. 

In the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasty, 貝 was regarded as a treasure among the ruling class and nobles. 貝 had its own unit of measurement, call 朋, which resembled two strings of 貝. Therefore, the shells had to be perforated in order to string them together. From unearthed archaeological findings, we indeed find these three types of shells, but only the cowries generally have holes.  Few perforated scallop shells served as ornamental accessories. While only some perforated clam shells served as tools.

The second perspective is from 貝 character’s variations.

貝 is often written on oracle bones inscriptions or bronzeware from ancient times. Here are some of those written 貝’s. We can see these characters are very similar to the cowrie. All variations show one shell having an aperture and some teeth. Obviously only cowries have these features. By the way, the character for clam is different than 貝 in Oracle Bone Script. I will share that with you in another video.

Cowrie similar to jade was regarded as a treasure, and due to its rarity, it only circulated among the nobility and the ruling class. On a ritual bronze vessel of late Shang Dynasty, it is recorded that the King bestowed a loyal officer with ten Pengs（十朋） for making a bronze wine vessel. 

「王易（賜）小臣易貝十朋用乍（作）母癸尊彝」

The precious shells could be used to barter, but shells had not yet become currency because the availability of cowries was scarce and because the commerce was undeveloped. 

During the Spring and Autumn Period（春秋時期，770-476 BC）, commerce started to evolve and merchants began to go to other states to do business more frequently. By the time of the Warring States Period（戰國時期，475-221 BC）, commercial activities were more developed. The demand for a stable currency gradually increased. Bronze shells were selected as the currency unit and produced in large quantities as well. At this time, 貝 goes from treasure to currency. Other currencies also emerged in different states. A new measurement, called 寽 appeared, which is a unit of weighing. 

Let’s see the evolution of 貝. 

This is the Oracle Bone Script（甲骨文） and Bronze scripts’（金文） models from the Shang Dynasty to the late Western Zhou. We can clearly see the transition from image to character. Looking at the character’s structure, you can see the outer shape of a cowrie,in the inner part are its teeth, and in the bottom is the cowrie’s aperture. 

This is the complete evolution from Oracle Bone Script to Regular Script. You can see that after the small seal script models, the character loses its arc-shaped strokes starting from the clerical script.

Let's write 貝 together.

The general rule of writing Chinese characters is from top to bottom and from left to right. So the first step is the left side, make a stroke from top to bottom. The second stroke is from the same starting position, but now left to right, and then down. The third and fourth strokes go from left to right inside the little box we just created. The fifth stroke, from left to right, connects the end point of the first and second strokes. The sixth stroke starts from here, and slants down to the left. The seventh stroke makes a falling diagonal from left to right.