According to the legend, when Cangjie created Chinese characters, he noticed not only everything in the universe, but also the human race itself. Chinese characters, therefore, reflect not only the Chinese people’s understanding of the world but also their understanding of the human body. Many Chinese characters are related to the human body.

Study Chinese: 立 (li, “to stand”)

The character “立” depicts a standing person, a little like “大” (da, “big”). However, the character “立” has a horizontal stroke at the bottom, representing the ground or earth. Originally, the meaning of this character was “a person standing on the ground.” Therefore, “立” can also mean “to erect” (shu li) or “to establish” (jian li). In the past, the Chinese people’s ideal could be summarized as “li de; li gong; li yan”.

In other words, a person’s greatest success was defined as, first, setting a moral example for future generations; second, setting up one’s own exploits; and, finally, writing one’s own books so that one’s ideas would be known by others. Also in the ancient times, Chinese men were deemed to have reached adulthood at the age of 20. By the age of 30, it was believed, men should have an established career—hence the expression “三十而立” (san shi: “thirty”).