Amazing Chinese Characters (267) Salt - 盐（鹽）

The bronze script of character Salt is

The top left is Water, the top right is crystalline salt, the bottom is basin or field fenced up.

Ancient Chinese made salt by evaporating seawater (see the picture above), people still use the method to make salt nowadays.

The big seal script of character Salt is

The left is changed from Water to a big eye, which means a monitor, or official who is watching the crystallization of the salt. The top right is a person who is working, and the bottom is the crystallized salt.

The small seal script of the character is

Similar to big seal script but more smooth and symmetrical.

The clerical script of the character is

It is changed a lot, but we can still see the similarity.

The traditional song typeface of the character is

鹽

Same as the clerical script.

The simplified song typeface of the character is

盐

The top is totally changed, no any similarity to the old scripts. 

The pinyin of 盐 is Yan2.