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.
Category: Decode 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？”
聿 writing brush
聿, cognate of 筆(笔), originally a writing brush. In oracle bone script and bronze script, 聿 
was like a hand hold a writing brush. It serves as phonetic as well as semantic component to form characters. Continue reading “聿 writing brush”
辜 death penalty
辜 is a phono-semantic character. In the seal script, 辜 
= 
(古)+ 
(辛). Continue reading “辜 death penalty”
辈 from chariots to generation
辈 is a phono-semantic character. In the seal script, 辈 
= 
(非) + 
(車). 車 acts as semantic component and 非 phonetic. Continue reading “辈 from chariots to generation”