黒 Stroke Order

黑 (hēi) 1. Anciently the same as "黑" (also pronounced "hēi"). 2. (Ideogram. In oracle bone script, the character is drawn as a "大" (big) circling the face, resembling the act of branding with ink or a tattooing punishment. In Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, two dots are added to emphasize the ink. In Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions, "大" is marked with dots, and Qin scripts arranged it with "火" (fire) below. The clerical script transforms "大" into "土" (earth), and "火" below into "灬." The small seal script mistakenly turns the bottom part of "黑" into "炎" (flame). The original meaning: the color black) Black is the color that comes from smoke. — From "Shuowen Jiezi." 3. Dim and lack of light. The sky is cloudy and black. — From "Zizhi Tongjian, Tang Chronicles."