firewood, salary

薪 is composed of the radical 艸 (grass) and 新 (new, firewood). 新 is a pictograph of chopping wood to gather firewood, originally meaning firewood or grass. As 新 developed other meanings, 艸 was added to form 薪 to specifically denote firewood. Firewood comes from trees, and trees, like grass, are both plants.Chopping wood for firewood is laborious work, so 薪 also came to represent remuneration for work.