480531170

618
L1
脈
MYAKU
vein, pulse
10 strokes
MYAKKANblood vessel
KŌMYAKUore-vein
SANMYAKUmountain range
Seal forms , ; late graph (Shuowen). The
first seal form has 288 ‘blood’, and meaning
‘tributary’ (see also 965) as semantic and
phonetic; the second has 209 ‘flesh, meat’,
with . Both forms give the meaning ‘vein’, but
the second came to predominate, probably
619
民
MIN, tami
populace, people
L4
5 strokes
KOKUMINa nation/people
MINKANprivately owned
MINSHUTEKIdemocratic
Bronze ; seal . Analyses diverge. The commentators
referred to each give two possible
interpretations: either i] a pictograph of a gimlet
(tool for drilling holes in wood), or ii] depiction
of the eye of a person (criminal or slave)
being pierced with a needle to blind them as a
punishment. Some of the bronze forms suggest
the latter assessment may well be correct. ‘The
ordinary people, populace’ is a loan usage if the
620
無
MU, BU, nai/shi
not, none, cease to be
L3
12 strokes
MURYŌno charge/fee
BUJIsafe, unscathed
nakunarudisappear, go
Bronze ; seal . Originally, in OBI and some
bronze forms, this graph had the same shape as
what later became 1920 (person with long
decorative sleeves, shown with feet pointed
away from each other; ‘dance’). Taken to depict
a person dancing with what appear to be long
decorative sleeves, or what Qiu identifies as
oxtails or similar hanging down. While Qiu’s
suggestion might seem bizarre initially, he does
note a passage in the Spring and Autumn Annals
(compiled ca. 239BC) which describes dancing
while holding oxtails. This graph, which origi-
because it was the one given in Shuowen, and
is the main form given for this graph in the
authoritative Kangxi zidian, which lists a third
form, ( ‘flesh, meat’, with 644 ‘long’),
as a variant of . Extended usage is seen, for
instance in ‘coal vein’, and in the sense ‘pulse’.
KJ1970:751; YK1976:465; OT1968:822. We suggest
taking as a variant of 50 ‘river, flow’,
but with the specific meaning of ‘tributary’, and
as ‘flesh’.
Mnemonic: VEINS ARE TRIBUTARIES FLOWING
THROUGH ONE’S FLESH
gimlet view is adopted, but extended sense if
the view of blinding as punishment is taken, on
the basis that the ordinary people were ignorant,
or ‘blind’ figuratively speaking, i.e. ignorant.
Incidentally, is one of those graphs which for
a certain period were modified by omitting a
stroke when writing (thus here). This was due
to a taboo relating to the emperor of the time, in
this case Tang Taizong (r.763-779), because this
graph was used for his given name Shimin.
YK1976:465; MS1995:v2:726-7; OT1968:551;
QX2000:301. We suggest a mnemonic based on
the similar shaped 522, ‘clan’, but with a more
substantial top element.
Mnemonic: THE POPULACE IS MORE
SUBSTANTIAL THAN A CLAN
nally had the sense ‘dancing’, was borrowed to
conveniently represent another word of similar
pronunciation meaning ‘not have’. In some
bronze forms (and consistently later), we find
(feet pointing different ways 336) added to
further clarify the sense ‘dance’, while a different
element (corresponding to modern 985, now
meaning ‘die’ or disappear’ but originally showing
someone hiding in a corner and meaning:
‘cannot be seen’) was added to the predecessor
of at the seal stage. Shapes close to itself,
which is somewhat simpler than the seal equivalent,
were already well-established in the clerical
script. QX2000:186-7; YK1976:466-7; OT1968:621;
AS2007:518; SK1984:467-8. We suggest taking
the lower part as 8 ‘fire’ and the upper part as
a bound wheat-sheaf.
Mnemonic: BOUND WHEATSHEAF BURNED,
NOW ALL GONE
202 The 200 Fourth Grade Characters