480531170

526
児
JI, NI, ko
child
L3
7 strokes
KOJIorphan
SHŌNIinfant
JIDŌKIchildhood
OBI ; bronze ; seal ; traditional . Interpretations
differ quite markedly. One analysis
(Katō, Yamada), which is based on some bronze
occurrences, takes lower element (see 41
‘person’) more specifically as ‘small and weak
hunchback’, with 677 (‘mortar, bowl’) as
phonetic with similar associated sense ‘small and
weak hunchback’. In that capacity, it could be
applied to an individual of any age with those
characteristics, and would not necessarily be
restricted to young children, and indeed Katō
treats the meaning ‘child’ as an extended one.
527
L3
治
JI, CHI, osameru,
naosu
govern, rule, cure
8 strokes
SEIJIpolitics
CHIANpublic order
CHIRYŌremedy
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 42 ‘water,
river’, and (CO ‘I, my’; also corresponds to abbreviated
form of ‘stand, platform’ 183) as
phonetic with associated sense unknown (Katō,
528
辞
JI, yameru
word, resign
L3
13 strokes
JISHOdictionary
JISHOKUresignation
SHŪJIGAKUrhetoric
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Has 1535
‘needle’, and (two hands unravelling tangled
thread), the latter taken by Katō and Yamada as
phonetic with associated sense ‘regulate, make
judgment’, but can alternatively be regarded
as both phonetic and semantic, with sense
‘unravel’ extended to ‘regulate’. It should be
noted that the needle referred to above was
for the purposes of tattooing a criminal, and by
extension it could be used to represent ‘crime’
in itself. Thus the overall meaning is ‘regulate
However, the earlier OBI forms do not feature a
hunchback shape, and this, no doubt, has led
other commentators to interpret the graph as a
pictogram of an infant with the fontanelle not
yet closed (Ogawa, Ma). Both interpretations are
listed in Mizukami, who lists a further view that
takes as originally a pictograph of an infant
moving its arms to crawl forward. Shirakawa
interprets as showing infant with hair around
fontanelle. Other hypotheses include taking
the short inner strokes / as undulations
in the mortar (Gu). KJ1970:368-9; YK1976:230;
OT1968:89; MR2007:396; MS1995:v1:94-5;
KJ1985:54; GY2008:277; SS1984:381. Suggest
taking the modern graph as 677 ‘old’ with a
person with bent legs .
Mnemonic: OLD PERSON WITH BENT LEGS IS
REALLY A CHILD
Yamada, Ogawa). It originally stood for the name
of a river, as noted in Shuowen. Tōdō, however,
includes in a word-family ‘modify by human
activity’, and gives a classical reference to show
it was used at an early period meaning ‘modify
(topography/landscape)’, and so by extension
‘regulate, govern’. Schuessler also notes early
(but post-OBI) meanings which include ‘govern;
punish; in good order’. KJ1970:15; YK1976:356;
OT1968:566; TA1965:74-7; AS2007:619.
Mnemonic: GOVERN FROM A WATERY
PLATFORM – AND GET CURED TOO
crime’ or ‘judge crime’ (both these analyses are
listed by Mizukami). As for the abbreviated form
(now standard in both Japanese and PRC
Chinese), examples of this can be found from
around 600AD in calligraphic text attributed to
the noted Confucian scholar and calligrapher
Ouyang Xun (557-641) if not earlier, with 755
(‘tongue’) perhaps functioning as a semantic
element (‘speech’) to give an overall meaning
‘speak in relation to a crime’. The other meanings
of ‘word’ and ‘resignation’ are regarded as loan
usages, and would appear to have prevailed over
the original meaning. KJ1970:485-6; YK1976:232;
MS1995:v2:1278-9,820-21; FC1977:1001. We
suggest taking the elements of the modern form
literally, as ‘needle’ and ‘tongue’.
Mnemonic: NEEDLE-SHARP TONGUE UTTERS
WORDS OF RESIGNATION
178 The 200 Fourth Grade Characters