心血
xīnxiě · HSK 7
painstaking care/effort
❤️🩸 心 heart + 血 blood = the heart's-blood you pour into hard work
心血 stacks 心 (heart) onto 血 (blood): the effort so total you spend your own heart's blood on it. English has the near-twin idiom to sweat blood over a task.
心 — pictograph of a heart with chambers and aorta
心 is a pictograph showing a stylized heart, with strokes representing the organ's chambers and the aorta at the top. Originally meaning the physical heart, it broadened to cover mind, feelings, and intentions, since ancient Chinese thought located thinking and emotion in the heart.
血 — drop 丿 over dish 皿
Originally a pictograph of a sacrificial vessel (皿) with a drop of blood inside, marking the offering of blood in ancient rituals. The small stroke on top represents the blood itself. Over time it broadened from ritual blood to blood in general.