Are questions about historical/cultural origin on topic?

Question

I have some questions about the origin of some characters and phrases but I'm not sure it's on topic.

Sometimes I see a character and wonder how it got its meaning. For example, how 'I' (我) is made from 'spear' (戈) and 'hand' (手).

Other times I have questions about the cultural reason for a phrase, for example why 没关系 means "no problem". This example could be answered by discussing today's culture in China but what about questions which refer to ancient culture that is no longer present in China- are they still on topic?

Answer 1

Sure, I think they're on topic, but please show that you've done some basic research before asking. Sites like zhongwen.com and mdbg.net are a good place to start.

Answer 2

戈is a kind of powerful weapon in ancient china,when your hand with spear,that will means you are powerful.use the powerful thing to stand for "me"!that is how 我come from.