Pictographic Meaning of Chinese characters (16）Right Now - 即， Already - 既，Village - 乡（鄉）

Shell Bone Script of character Right Now - 即

On the left is a utensil filled with food, and on the right is a kneeling person, ready to eat. "即" means "immediately," or "Right Now", preparing for a meal.

Bronze Script of character Right Now - 即

Very similar to the Shell Bone Script.

Small Seal Script of character Right Now - 即

The person on the right is slightly simplified.

Clerical Script of character Right Now - 即

The left side no longer resembles food or utensils, and there's even no foot below, making it unstable. The right side is a heavily simplified person, almost unrecognizable without understanding the evolution of this character. In other words, the pictorial aspect of this character has been almost entirely lost. "即" means "immediately," "right away."

Now let's look at the character Already - 既.

Shell Bone Script of character Already - 既

On the left is a utensil filled with food, and on the right is a person with their back to the food, with a wide-open mouth. It indicates that this person has already finished eating, burped, and is turning away, ready to leave. This is "既": finishing a meal and preparing to leave. "既" implies "since," "already."

Bronze Script of character Already - 既

This doesn't show the turning away but the head is turned, and there's a burp. It indicates being full but not necessarily intending to leave.

Big Seal Script of character Already - 既

Similar to the Bronze Script.

Small Seal Script of character Already - 既

The left changed but still has similarity to old script. The right is character Air or Gas, which means that the person is already full, and has hiccups.

Clerical Script of character Already - 既

On the left are food and utensils, similar to the left side of the Seal Script of "即." On the right, there's "氣" (qi, air) above and a person below. Burping is air coming out of the mouth, so this represents the person burping.

Now let's look at the character Village - 鄉.

Shell Bone Script of character Village - 鄉

In the middle is food, with a person on each side. These two people are facing each other but both are turning their heads to burp. In ancient times, under primitive communism, in a tribe or village, food was shared. The two people in the character are enjoying their food together, not yet finished. This is "鄉": eating together at the same table, sharing food.

Small Seal Script of character Village - 鄉

In the middle is food, with a person on each side.

Clerical Script of character Village - 鄉

In the middle are food and utensils. Slightly different from "即/既," there's a dot above, which can be understood as the handle of a lid (not the meaning of "郎"). On the left is the simplified form of the person on the left side of the Seal Script, representing "鄉," which is relatively harder to recognize. On the right, it has become Radical Right Ear, indicating a person or a village. The pictorial features have almost disappeared.

Simplified characters only take the left side of "鄉."

Completely devoid of pictorial features and compound ideographic characteristics, it's impossible to discern its original meaning, let alone realize its similarity to "即" and "既."