Chinese Language Pictographs

The development of the character wan (falling tone) (scorpion): from left to right, archaic Shang, oracle Shang, and modern.

The development of the character yang (rising tone) (sheep): from left to right, archaic, small seal, and modern script, modern written form.

The development of the character bai (rising tone) (white): on the left the original egg-like form, on the right the form used after the alteration of script near the end of the third century BC.