jì​sī​quán​shù

priestcraft

jì, zhài sacrifice to

Depicts a hand () offering meat (⺼) as a sacrifice. is a meaning component commonly used in spiritual-related characters.

Components

Iconic component
ròu meat, flesh

⺼ is a component form of . Depicts sacrificial meat.

Iconic component
yòu hand

Depicts a hand offering meat as a sacrifice.

Meaning component
shì show

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (2 of 5 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsjejH[ts]et-s sacrifice
tsreajH[ts](ˤ)re[t]-s (name of a state)

說文解字

《說文》:“祭,祭祀也。从示,以手持肉。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

take charge of

Depicts using a scepter and a mouth () to command or take control of something.

Components

Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a scepter.

Iconic component
kǒu, kou mouth

Alludes to speaking to take control of something.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 8 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsis-lə superintend

說文解字

《說文》:“司,臣司事於外者。从反后。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.709
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

quán power Simplified

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
tree
Simplified component
yòu again

Shorthand for the component in the traditional character .

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Regular Modern

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

shù art Simplified

Original meaning: city road

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. The traditional component was removed for simplification. Based on the original meaning "city road". The meaning later shifted to "way", "method", "technique", and "skill".

Components

Deleted component
xíng, háng walk

The traditional component was removed for simplification.

Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "city road", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
shù glutinous millet

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 3 verified)

說文解字

《說文》:“秫,稷之黏者。从禾、术,象形。术,秫或省禾。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

quán power, right Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components

Meaning component
tree
Sound component
guàn, huán heron

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Three Kingdoms (Cao Wei) 222-280 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartgjwen[g]ʷrar weight of a steelyard

說文解字

《說文》:“權,黃華木。从木,雚聲。一曰反常。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

art, skill Traditional

Original meaning: city road

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "city road". The meaning later shifted to "way", "method", "technique", and "skill".

Components

Meaning component
xíng, háng walk
Change in meaning
hints at the original meaning of , "city road", which is no longer the most common meaning of in modern Mandarin.
Sound component
shù glutinous millet

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartzywitCə-lut technique

說文解字

《說文》:“術,邑中道也。从行,术聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica