, others do not; bowstring is omitted in seal script (Shuowen) onwards. Other meanings such as ‘arc’ by extension. MR2007:483; MS1995:v1:466-7.
Mnemonic: STRINGLESS BOW
108
L4
牛
GYŪ, ushi
cow, bull
4 strokes
牛肉 GYŪNIKU beef
牛耳る GYŪJIru* control someone
牛飼い ushigai cowherd
Based on pictograph of the head of a cow or bull. At the OBI stage , the horns are prominent. Opinion is divided as to whether the cross line indicates ears or crown of the head. Katō favors a perspective from behind the head. MR2007:229-30; QX2000:181; KJ1985:396.
Mnemonic: COW WITH EARS AND BROKEN HORN
109
L5
魚
GYO, uo, sakana
fish
11 strokes
金魚 KINGYO goldfish
魚釣り uotsuri angling
魚屋 sakanaya fishmonger
Based on the pictograph of a whole fish, e.g. bronze form . MR2007:454; QX2000:45. As a mnemonic we suggest taking the four strokes of the tail as the ‘fire’ determinative 灬 8.
Mnemonic: FISH WITH SQUARE BODY AND FIERY TAIL
110
L4
京
KYŌ, KEI
capital
8 strokes
東京 TŌKYŌ Tokyo
上京 JŌKYŌ going to capital
京浜 KEIHIN Tokyo-Yokohama
Typical OBI ; bronze . OBI forms seem to show some sort of building seemingly on top of a hill or artificially raised mound of earth. Katō and Ogawa favour this interpretation. In ancient China nobles often lived in houses elevated above the general populace. Shirakawa, by contrast, interprets both OBI and bronze forms as showing a watchtower over an arched gate. Either way, the graph can be taken as a structure controlled by those in positions of power, leading to extended meanings such as ‘great’ and ‘capital (city)’ KJ1970:345; OT1968:38; SS1984:190-91. Suggest take graph as tōrō (stone garden lantern).
Mnemonic: FANCY LANTERN SYMBOLISES THE CAPITAL
111
L4
強
KYŌ, GŌ, shiiru, tsuyoi/meru/maru
strength, compel
11 strokes
勉強 BENKYŌ study
強盗 GŌTŌ burglar/burglary
強み tsuyomi strong point
Seal . According to Qiu, 强 (a variant of 強; standard in PRC usage) originally refers to type of ‘insect’ 虫 60, but came to be used as substitute for another graph of more complex shape, i.e. 彊. In part, this was because pronunciation for the two words concerned in early Chinese represented by 強/强 and 彊 was identical, if we accept Schuessler’s reconstruction of sound values. Latter graph is made up of 弓 ’bow’ 107 and two ‘field’ graphs 田 63 with three straight dividing lines (note that as independent graph this component here had the sense of ‘boundary’). The meaning of 彊, first found in OBI texts, is tentatively taken as ‘strong bow’ by Tōdō, who sees ‘unmoving’ – and thereby ‘strong’ – as extended senses of ‘boundary’. As for 弓, it is thought that the bow, being of standard length, may have had the additional role of being a convenient tool for making land measurements. QX2000:358; AS2007:427; MR2007:484; TA1965:394-5. Suggest taking ム as a nose.
Mnemonic: STRONG BOW AIMED AT INSECT’S NOSE
112
L4
教
KYŌ, oshieru
teach
11 strokes
教会 KYŌKAI church
教室 KYŌSHITSU classroom
教え子 oshiego pupil
On the basis of the OBI and bronze forms, the components of this graph are considered to be 爻 roof crossbeams (representing a building), 子 27 ‘child’, and 攴/攵 a hand holding a stick, meaning ‘strike, beat, compel’ (distinguish 攵 from 夂 ‘descending foot’; see Appendix). That is, this was a school where children were taught by coercive methods; Shirakawa says it was children of nobility who were taught by elders. By extension, the graph came to be used for ‘teach’. Modern form has equivalent to 耂, known as the ‘old man’ determinative. SS1984:195; KJ1970:173; OT1968:439.
Mnemonic: OLD MAN, STICK IN HAND, TEACHES CHILD TO COUNT BEAMS
113
L4
近
KIN, chikai
near
7 strokes
近所 KINJO neighborhood
最近 SAIKIN recently
近道 chikamichi shortcut
Seal . Has 辶 85 ‘walk along road, go’, and 斤 1233 (‘ax’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘a little’.
