Amazing Chinese Characters (456) White - 白

 The bronze script of character White is

There are disputes on what it is above. Dictionary of Pictography (《象形字典》) explains that it is a cooked rice particle because it looks like the rice. Many people believe that it is the Sun, which looks like the character Sun - 日 (Post 4). Some people think that it is the outline of thumb, and the line inside indicates the lunula on the thumbs which is white. 

I prefer to the last explanation, it means the lunula color, not the sun, not the rice. The evidence could be found in other characters, for example, 伯 - Person radical on the left, and character White on the right, which means the oldest brother, or the best person, or the number one. People give thumb up to praise the best, the number one.

The bronze script of the character is

Similar to shell bone script.

The big seal script of the character is

Similar to older scripts.

The small seal script of the character is

Similar to older scripts except there is a short vertical line on the top middle, which I think is nothing to do with the pictography, but just for distinguishing it from the character Sun - 日. It would be the same as character Sun if it had no this vertical short line.

The clerical script of the character is

The curve line becomes straight lines, and the top middle vertical line becomes left-falling stroke, which is to distinguish it from the character Sun -  日.

The song typeface of the character is 

白

Same as the clerical script.

The Pinyin of the character is Bai2.