The word 历史 (lìshǐ, history) is formed by combining two characters, each contributing a core idea to the concept. The first character, 历 (lì), originally depicted a foot moving through a field, conveying the idea of "passing through", "experiencing", or a "calendar" of time. The second character, 史 (shǐ), originally represented a hand holding a writing tablet, meaning "record-keeper", "scribe", or "chronicle". When fused, 历史 conceptually paints the picture of "the recorded chronicle of what has been passed through", that is, the documented narrative of past events and human experience over time.