书法
shūfǎ · HSK 5
calligraphy
🖌️ 书 (book/writing) + 法 (method/art) = the art of writing
书 means book or writing; 法 means method, law, or art. Together: the method/art of writing — calligraphy. Same 法 appears in 方法 (method) and 法律 (law).
书 — hand 又 holding brush over 曰 (say/speak)
Originally a pictograph of a hand gripping a writing brush above a mouth or vessel, depicting the act of writing speech down. The traditional form 書 shows 聿 (brush) over 曰 (to say). Simplified 书 preserves the brush-in-hand shape, and the meaning extended from 'to write' to 'writing' and then 'book'.
法 — water 氵 + go 去
Originally written 灋, combining the water radical 氵 (suggesting a level standard, like water finding its level), the mythical beast 廌 (which judged guilt), and 去 (to remove or banish). The 廌 was later dropped, leaving 法. The core meaning evolved from 'law' or 'standard' to also include 'method' and 'way of doing'.