Little shoots struggle through the soil.
Roots struggle to find water. Families, clans, and society. The drawing shows the stem and leaves of a young plant struggling upward through the surface of the soil, represented by the horizontal line, while its roots struggle downward for nourishment. Alternately, it may depict a young plant reaching upward toward the sky, since a horizontal line at the top of a drawing more commonly represents the heavens. Chinese writing is historically based on drawings, not spoken words.