Learn one Chinese Character a day - "北"

At the end of our lesson for "比", we got to know the Oracle writing of "北". Below is the full evolution history of it:  image get from: http://www.vividict.com

Learn one Chinese Character a day - "北"

As you can see that "北" is two persons standing back to back. When two persons do not agree with each other, they will move to different directions. That is exactly what Chinese ancestors want to show here. Original meaning of "北" is Contrary or Against.

When it evolved to Official scriptis simplified from  to   , which is what we are using now.

However original meaning of "北" is no longer used in our recent documentation and articles. You can only see that in articles from ancient Oracle period.  Contrary or Against is now represented by "背", which pronounces almost the same as "北" and upper part of "背" is still "北" while lower part "月" means flesh or body. We can get into details when we study "背".

And since "北" contains the meaning of "back to", it was used to mean Flee as well, for when soldiers fled, they have their back to the enemies who are pursuing them. You can see this meaning in a very frequently used Chinese phrase - "败北". "败" means to be defeated. Here just for your information.

Flee - 败北

And in ancient China, Emperors always sit facing south with back to north. "北" is then used to mean North as well. North is now the most frequently used meaning of "北".

Let us enjoy a Chinese calligraphy with "北" inside to end our learning today:

Learn one Chinese Character a day - "北"