Hydrogen H · 1

History of the character

Every form found in the sources, from the first missionary chemistry books of the 1850s to the current standards. Hover a dot for the source. Simplified 氢, traditional 氫.

1. 1855 水母氣 shuǐmǔqì 博物新編 Bówù Xīnbiān, Benjamin Hobson (合信) “water-mother gas”, a calque of hydro-gen
2. 1855 輕氣 qīngqì 博物新編 Bówù Xīnbiān, Benjamin Hobson (合信) “light gas”; the lightest element
3. 1868 淡氣 格物入門 Géwù Rùmén, W. A. P. Martin (丁韙良), Tongwen College
4. 1870 輕氣 化學初階 Huàxué Chūjiē, John G. Kerr (嘉約翰) & Hé Liǎorán (何瞭然)
5. 1871 輕氣 金石識別 Jīnshí Shíbié, D. J. MacGowan (瑪高溫) & Huà Héngfāng (華蘅芳)
6. 1871 輕氣 化學鑑原 Huàxué Jiànyuán, Xú Shòu (徐壽) & John Fryer (傅蘭雅), Jiangnan Arsenal
7. 1905 輕 qīng 化學新教科書 Huàxué Xīn Jiàokēshū, Dù Yàquán (杜亞泉), Commercial Press
8. 1933 氫 qīng 化學命名原則 Principles of Chemical Nomenclature, Zhèng Zhènwén (鄭貞文), National Institute for Compilation and Translation 气 + the phonetic 巠 taken from 輕. A form with the whole 輕 under 气 was used briefly.