The simplified 书 comes from a flowing handwritten form of Traditional 書. In the traditional analysis, 書 combines 聿, an old picture of a writing brush, with 者 as a sound component. Specialists differ on some details of the earliest forms, so it is safer to see a scene of writing than one exact little picture. This sketch follows that idea with a long brush, split bristles and rows of marks.
A piece of culture
Books built from bamboo Long before bound paper books, many Chinese texts were written vertically on narrow bamboo or wooden slips and tied together with cords. That material helped shape the direction and rhythm of early reading and writing. Today 书 / 書 is an everyday word: it can mean a book, and it also appears in words connected with writing, calligraphy and bookstores.