480531170

516
L3
察
SATSU
judge, surmise, realise
14 strokes
KEISATSUpolice
SATCHIinference
KANSATSUobservation
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). There are diverse
interpretations for this graph, and the etymology
is uncertain. There is general agreement
regarding 30 ‘roof’ as ‘cover’, though Katō
appears to believe that a cover is specifically
being put on a roof. As for 299 ‘worship; festival’
(originally meat [and in some cases wine]
being placed on an offering table/altar), Katō
and Yamada treat this as a phonetic component
with an associated sense ‘place on top’, to give
the overall meaning ‘cover’. Yamada regards the
meanings ‘look carefully, examine’ as loan usage.
Katō too is of the same opinion. Shirakawa,
for his part, takes as having a semantic
role, with its original meaning, to give the
proposed overall meaning of ‘make offerings
in a shrine’ – presumably under a roof. Tōdō,
by contrast, proposes the associated sense
‘cleanse and examine’, on the basis of classical
usage. KJ1970:426; YK1976:205; SS1984:349;
KJ1985:172. As a mnemonic, we suggest taking
as a roof, and as ‘worship’.
Mnemonic: SURMISE WHY ONE WORSHIPS
UNDER ROOF
517
L4
参
8
SAN, mairu
go, attend, three, be
upset/ in love
strokes
SANKAparticipation
SANKŌreference
SANGICouncillor
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . The bronze
form depicts three hairpins with pearls attached,
adorning the hair of a kneeling person
(woman). The element of what what looks like
three brush hairs or strokes (see 115) is taken
as phonetic here, with an associated sense
‘beautiful’. The overall meaning is thus ‘beautiful
woman adorned with hairpins’. The meaning
‘three’ is a loan usage; Katō draws attention
to the usage of threes in the graph. Another
meaning, namely ‘go’, is probably also a loan
usage according to Katō. Note, however, that
Tōdō, on the basis of classical usage, includes
in a word-family ‘many come together’, and
this interpretation – if followed – provides a
movement-related meaning which could be
extended (generalised) to ‘go’. KJ1970:40-41;
YK1976:207; MS1995:v1:626-7; TA1965:811-14;
KJ1985:93. As a somewhat crude and unromantic
mnemonic, we suggest taking – in descending
order – as a nose, the central element as
a variant of 56 ‘big’, with the three hairs.
Mnemonic: THREE BIG HAIRS UP YOUR
NOSE – GO AND ATTEND TO THEM !
518
L4
産
SAN, umu/mareru
birth, produce
11 strokes
SEISANproduction
SANBUTSUproduct
SHUSSANbirth
Bronze ; seal ; traditional 產 . General agreement
that lower element is 44 ‘vegetation
growing; life’, but views vary regarding other
part(s) of the graph. One analysis takes 产 as
phonetic with associated sense ‘grow’ (Katō,
Yamada). Mizukami notes a view that 产 is an
abbreviation of 103 (‘fine young man’), but
Katō disagrees. Ogawa, alternatively, takes
as having the associated sense ‘open’, meaning
‘womb opens and new life is produced’.
KJ1970:221-2; YK1976:208; MS1995:v2:868-9;
OT1968:666. As a mnemonic for the modern
form we suggest taking 产 as 77 ‘standing’
on a cliff .
Mnemonic: LIVE BIRTH STANDING ON CLIFF!
The 200 Fourth Grade Characters 175