Traditional 樂, the ancestor of simplified 乐, appears in very old writing. Many paleographers connect its central shape with strings fixed to a wooden support or another early musical object, although the exact instrument is debated. The graph came to write both music and the pleasure music brings. This oracle-inspired sketch keeps the taut crossing strings above a wooden base without claiming one certain instrument.
A piece of culture
One character, music and joy 乐 / 樂 changes sound with its job. Read lè in Mandarin and lok6 in Cantonese, it speaks of joy, as in 快乐 / 快樂, “happy”. Read yuè in Mandarin and ngok6 in Cantonese, it means music, as in 音乐 / 音樂. The two readings preserve an old connection: music is not only something you hear, but something that can bring delight.