480531170

1624
L1
塑
SO
model, figurine
13 strokes
SOZŌfigure, figurine
CHŌSOplastic arts
KASOSEIplasticity
A very late graph (Song and Yuan dynasties onwards).
Has 64 ‘earth’, here in its occasional
meaning ‘clay’, and (‘new moon, first day
of lunar month’; see Note below) as phonetic
with associated sense taken as i] ‘model after’,
giving ‘imitate shape with clay’ (Katō), or ii]
‘scrape’, giving ‘figure made by scraping away
clay’ (Ogawa). Both analyses give ‘model’ (in the
sense ‘likeness’). Note: has 18 ‘moon’, and
屰 675 (interpreted as meaning either ‘person
upside down’ or ‘branch without leaves’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘return to point
of origin’ or ‘go in opposite direction’, giving
‘moonlight shines again from original position’
(Mizukami). KJ1970:640; OT1968:222;
MS1995:v1:638-9; SS1984:536;. We suggest
taking 屰 as ‘upside-down’ and 18 ‘moon’.
Mnemonic: EARTHEN MODEL OF
UPSIDE-DOWN MOON
1625
遡
SO, sakanoboru
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). The entry
go upstream, back
L1
heading in Shuowen has 42 ‘water’ as
14 strokes ( 遡 )
determinative, and notes 遡 as an alternative,
which has / 85 ‘go, walk’ instead.
遡 SOKYŪTEKIretroactive
(see 1624 Note) is phonetic with associated
遡 SOKŌgoing upstream
sense ‘return to point of origin, go back’, thus
遡 sakanoborugo back/upstream
‘go upstream’, then generalized to ‘ go back’.
Today, is a variant in Japanese. OT1968:600;
GY1658-9. As with 1624, we suggest taking 屰
as ‘upside-down’ and 18 ‘moon’.
Mnemonic: GO BACK UPSTREAM TO SEE
UPSIDE-DOWN MOON
1626
礎
SO, ishizue
ancient state in China’ has 79 ‘forest, trees’,
foundation stone and 1574 (‘leg, foot’) as phonetic with
L1
18 strokes
associated sense taken as i] ‘thicket’, giving
‘small shrubs, many small shrubs’ (Katō), or
SOSEKIfoundation stone
ii] ‘separated, scattered’, giving ‘brushwood,
KISObasis
scattered branches’ (Tōdō; noted in Mizukami
also). Schuessler gives meaning of as
KISOTEKIelementary
‘thorny bush/tree’ (also given in Mizukami, as
extended sense). ‘Chu’ as the name of an ancient
Chinese state appears to be a loan usage.
KJ1970:585-6; SS1984:537; OT1968:716;
MS1995:v1:680-81; AS2007:193. We suggest
taking as ‘two trees’ 73.
Seal ; late graph (later version of Shuowen).
Has 47 ‘stone’, and (see Note) as
phonetic with associated sense taken as i]
‘place beneath pillar’, giving ‘stone to place
beneath pillar’ (Katō, Shirakawa), or ii] ‘beginning’,
giving ‘stone which is placed first’
(Ogawa); in either case, overall meaning is
‘foundation stone’, then narrowed to ‘foundation’.
Note: ‘thicket, thorny bush; name of
Mnemonic: FOUNDATION STONE LAID AT
FOOT OF TWO TREES
482 The Remaining 1130 Characters