昔 xī the old days
past; former
How it came to be
Waves drawn above the sun: a flood, and the sun that came up after it. The old dictionary reads it as the days of the great flood, as far back as memory went.
How it is used
- Former times, the past - 昔日 (xīrì) former days, 往昔 (wǎngxī) bygone times.
- Literary. Often paired against the present: 今非昔比 (jīnfēi-xībǐ), today can't be compared to the past, i.e. how things have changed.