480531170

2066
L1
雷
RAIUthunderstorm
RAIMEIrenown
GYORAItorpedo
RAI, kaminari
thunder, lightning
13 strokes
Bronze form A ; bronze form B ; seal ;
traditional 靁 . Bronze form A consists of four
identical shapes linked up, each similar in
shape to 63 ‘field’ but rounded, as is typically
the case with graphs in bronze. These
are interpreted not as ‘field’ but as representing
‘sound of thunder’ (Mizukami, Ogawa) or
‘small drum’ (Katō). Supporting evidence is
to be found in the depiction in Han dynasty
tiles of the god of thunder beating a drum
(Shirakawa). In bronze form B, the forked
line is taken to represent lightning linking
up to the elements similar to described
above; in some occurrences, 3 ‘rain’ is included
also. Regularization at the seal stage
led to the rather unwieldy bronze shapes
beneath being modified to 畾 . Clerical
script forms tend to fluctuate between 靁
and . MS1995:v2:1426-8; OT1968:1085;
KJ1970:890; SS1984:861; DJ2009:v3:937;
SK1984:772.
Mnemonic: RAIN FALLS ON FIELD AMID
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
2067
L2
頼
RAI, tanomu, tayoru
request, rely
16 strokes
SHINRAItrust
tayorinaiunreliable
tanomia request
Seal: ; late graph (Shuowen); traditional
. Usually taken as 10 ‘shell (/currency)’,
with (NJK ‘oppose; painful’; see Note 1
below) as phonetic with associated sense
‘profit’, giving ‘profit’. Note 1: has 198
‘knife’, with 561 (‘bundle’) taken as i]
phonetic with associated sense ‘bent’, thus
‘knife is bent’ and by extension ‘go against’,
or ii] semantically as ‘bundle’ (of firewood
etc), giving ‘branch being cut for firewood
springs up/back’; both analyses are listed in
Mizukami. Note 2: An alternative view of
(noted by Mizukami) takes seal form right
side not as ‘knife’ but as 41 ‘person’
(both similar in shape at the seal stage) over
, and left side as (CO, ‘thorn’ as abbrev
of 1403 ‘stab’) with associated sense as
‘indiscriminate’, thus ‘put responsibility onto
others when borrowing and lending money’.
‘Request, rely’ are extended meanings.
MS1995:v2:1248-9,v1:132-3; OT1968:962;
KJ1970:890; GY2008:1563. Take modern
as ‘head’ 103.
Mnemonic: RELY ON HEAD TO REQUEST A
BUNDLE
2068
L2
絡
RAKU, karamu/maru
entwine, connect
12 strokes
RENRAKUcontact
karamiauintertwine
TANRAKUshort circuit
Seal . Has 29 ‘thread’, with 462
(‘each, every’) as phonetic with associated
sense taken as i] ‘entangled’, thus ‘silk
thread becomes tangled’ (Katō), or ii] ‘be
intertwined’, giving ‘wind/twist (something)
round’ (Ogawa), or iii] ‘link across’, giving ‘link
two sides with thread’ (Tōdō). KJ1970:193;
OT1968:779; TA1965:362-4.
Mnemonic: EACH THREAD IS ENTWINED AND
THUS CONNECTED
620 The Remaining 1130 Characters