The story of 昔

past

昔 is the picture of flood. Long long time ago, there was a horrible flood in the world which caused great pain on all mankinds, so when the people talked about the past, they only thought of flood and used 昔 to mean the past. From this, the legend of Fuxi and Nuhuo (both of them are the ancestors of China) was more than a myth, it also contained some components of history.