| 长 cháng zhǎng |
| long ; be good at |
| 长度 cháng dù |
| 长辈 zhǎng bèi | |
In oracle bone inscriptions, it indicated the long hair on a person’s head. For the sake of carving convenience, people preferred the short horizontal planes to the long. It is the same case with 天, heaven, 元, first, and other characters. |