cí​zhāng

rhetoric

words Simplified

Simplified form of . Alludes to a governance (𤔔) dispute related to criminal law (). Based on the original meaning "litigation". The meaning later shifted to "words".

Components

Simplified component
shé tongue

Shorthand for the 𤔔 component in the traditional character .

Meaning component
xīn laborious

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.1277
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical images
Academia Sinica

zhāng chapter, seal

Original meaning: jade ornament

Possibly depicts using a blade () to engrave a block of jade. Based on the original meaning "jade ornament", now written as . Later the meaning shifted to "seal" and "chapter".

Components

Iconic component
qiān sickle, curved blade
Iconic component
characterless component

Depicts a block of jade.


Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 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 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

Component uses

Sound (2 of 13 verified)

Iconic (2)

Meaning (0 of 1 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagarttsyangtaŋ brilliant; distinctive mark; to display

說文解字

《說文》:“章,樂竟為一章。从音,从十。十,數之終也。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.198
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

words Traditional

Original meaning: litigation

Alludes to a governance (𤔔) dispute related to criminal law (). Based on the original meaning "litigation". The meaning later shifted to "words".

Components

𤔔
𤔔 Meaning component
luàn (untangle threads), to govern
Meaning component
xīn laborious

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Western Zhou ~900 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn ~700 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Qin 221-206 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 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-Sagartzisə.lə words

說文解字

《說文》:“辭,訟也。从,猶理辜也。,理也。,籀文辭从司。”

Sources

Character origin
李学勤《字源》p.1277
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica