旧 → Jiù → Old (past)

China is a unique country, and one of its surprising factors is the intertwined ‘age’ that you feel while you’re there. In Beijing, at least, modern buildings and residences pile against old temples, palaces and Hutongs, and you still have that large Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square right in the middle of it all. However, it is not only on the physical details that old meets new. Customs and behaviour are always at conflict (both harmoniously and not) among traditional family values, and growing minority who do not think alike.

With that said, I would agree on one thing: The old is simpler to phrase than the new (新, xīn).