The word 后代 is formed by combining two characters that create a meaningful concept through their pictorial and ideological suggestions. The first character, 后 (hòu), originally depicted a person giving orders from a mouth, but its primary meaning evolved to signify "behind", "after", or "later" in time. The second character, 代 (dài), represents the idea of "generation" or "era", often implying a period or a succession. When placed together, they visually and conceptually construct the notion of "the generations that come after", directly illustrating a linear sequence of descent or future epochs succeeding the present or past ones.