系 is a compound ideograph representing a hand holding two strands of silk. In bronze scripts, it depicts a hand holding three strands of silk. In seal and regular scripts, two strands of silk is changed to one strand and the form of hand 爪 is changed to丿, which means “tie or knot” Continue reading “系 a hand holding two strands of silk”
Category: Compound ideographs
逐 a foot is pursuing a pig
This character 逐 is very interesting. 逐 is compound ideographic character composed of 辶 and 豕. 辶 is a variant of 辵 and means “foot, walking”. 豕 is a pig. Continue reading “逐 a foot is pursuing a pig”
包 a fetus in the fetal membranes
包, cognate of 胞, originally meant a fetus in the embryonic membranes, a meaning later replaced by 胞. It serves as phonetic component to form characters.
夙 morning——why 夙愿？
When the moon is still hanging in the sky and the sun is not out yet, a man begins to work hard. 夙 on the oracle bone script reflects this scene to express the meaning of “morning”. Continue reading “夙 morning——why 夙愿？”
蚀 insects eat into a man’s things
蚀 
= 
in the seal script, it consists of three parts, 虫 worm or insect, 食 food utensil, and 人. The character in seal script depicts a worm eats into a man’s food. Continue reading “蚀 insects eat into a man’s things”