480531170

2046
L1
融
YŪ, tokeru
dissolve, melt
16 strokes
YŪWAsoftening
KIN’YŪ finance
YŪZŪ finance, versatility
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists of
NJK 1431 ‘three-legged cauldron (with
hollow legs)’ with 60 (‘insect’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘rise up’, giving ‘steam
rises/escapes’. It is not clear whether ‘melt,
dissolve’ is an extended sense or loan use of
. Note: here may also have an onomatopoeic
connotation for the sound of steam
escaping (Mizukami, Katō), but the early Chinese
values for are not really supportive
of this. DJ2009:v1:240; MS1995:v2:1148-9;
KJ1970:881; AS2007:189,443; TA1965:185-9.
We suggest taking as ‘one’ 1 round pot
, and stand .
Mnemonic: DISSOLVE INSECTS IN ONE
ROUND POT ON STAND
2047
L2
与
3
YO, ataeru
give, convey, impart,
involve
strokes
ataenushidonor, giver
KAN’YO involvement
JUYOSHIKI award ceremony
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Mizukami
gives OBI forms, typically with four hands
holding – and apparently lifting up – some
sort of frame. Bronze forms also show four
hands, and between them what is interpreted
by several commentators as a graph/element
meaning ‘canine teeth’ and by extension
‘mesh/come together’ (see Note below).
Gu, though, interprets as hands lifting something
up, with 22 ‘mouth, speak’ serving
to emphasize cooperation and friendship.
At the seal stage, the element ‘mouth,
speak’ was omitted, and what remained of
the centre element was modified to a shape
similar to , an abbreviated form which became
popular in the Northern Wei dynasty
(387-534AD). Raising something up with
the hands is a time-honored convention
when presenting a gift, hence the extended
sense ‘give’; ‘take part’ is also an extended
sense. Note: Mizukami takes the graph/element
concerned to be