When the sun is in the west, the bird returns to nest.
Xi(1) – Pronounced “sheeee“. This is a very simple Chinese character. However I thought the story was kind of cool:
The character is derived from a bird standing in its nest. It is said that when the sun sets in the west, the birds need to return to their nest to come home for the night. Couldn’t you just imagine some ancient (Gu shi hou de ren) Chinese guy sitting there drawing pictures in the sand? Then you ask him, “Which direction is that?” “Oh that? When the sun is over there the birds go here (drawing the character). It is that direction.”
