Han character 𫎿

The familiar form 爽 is attested in Shang oracle-bone and bronze writing. Oracle-bone writing is ancient Chinese text carved on turtle shells and animal bones; bronze inscriptions appear on ritual vessels.

The form changes through writing from China’s Warring States era, when rival states competed, and into small-seal script, a formal writing style.

Its original design and first use are debated. One scholarly reconstruction sees a person with objects beneath the arms and says the graph first wrote 相 (“assist”); the form was later borrowed for its sound to write 爽 (“bright, refreshing”).