shàng
above
Variant of 上. Originally a small line or dot above a longer line, indicating "up". The vertical line was added to distinguish the character from 二 (two). Opposite of 下.
Evolution

Oracle script
(~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze script
Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)
Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)Regular script
ModernComponent uses
Iconic component in 1 character (1 verified)