Unicode: U+5FE0

Pinyin: zhōng

Definition

* 诚心尽力。 ~心。~诚。~实。~告。~于。~魂。~义。~贞。效~。赤胆~心。~言逆耳

loyalty, devotion, fidelity

Structure

忠 graph

Related substructures

Precursors

Bronze Inscriptions
c. 1200–221 BCE (Shang–Zhou; continues into the Warring States)
Inscriptions cast or engraved on ritual bronzes, especially prominent from the Western Zhou onward; a major source for early political, ritual, and social history.Wikipedia ->
33_EB6133_EB62
Chu Script
c. 770–221 BCE (Chu, Spring & Autumn–Warring States)
A regional script tradition used in the state of Chu, best known from brush-written bamboo and silk manuscripts with distinctive local forms.Wikipedia ->
57_E6A757_E6A557_E6B357_E6B257_E6B457_E6A657_E6A957_E69D57_E69F57_E6AA57_E6A057_E6A157_E6A257_E6AC57_E6AD57_E6AF57_E69E57_E6A357_E6B157_E6AE57_E6AB57_E6A857_E6A457_E6B057_E6B557_E6B657_E6BA57_E6BC57_E6BD57_E6B757_E6B957_E6BB57_E6BE57_E6BF57_E6B857_E6C057_E6C157_E6C2
Qin Script
c. 475–206 BCE (Qin, Warring States → Qin dynasty)
Qin-area character forms attested on bamboo/wood slips (e.g., Shuihudi, deposited 217 BCE), overlapping chronologically with the standardization of seal script and the emergence of clerical tendencies.Wikipedia ->
71_EB5F71_EB60
Small Seal Script
Standardized 221–206 BCE (Qin); developed earlier in Qin
The standardized seal script promulgated after Qin’s unification, based on earlier Qin seal forms and used as an empire-wide norm.Wikipedia ->
27_5FE0
Clerical Script
c. 300 BCE–220 CE (emerged late Warring States/Qin; dominant Han)
A practical script that evolved from late Warring States/Qin writing; it matured and became dominant in the Han dynasty, favoring faster, more rectilinear strokes.Wikipedia ->
71_EB5F71_EB6093_ECAA93_ECAB93_ECAC93_ECAD93_ECAE93_ECAF93_ECB093_ECB193_ECB293_ECB393_ECB493_ECB5
Transmitted Pre-Qin Forms
Pre-Qin forms (≤221 BCE) / late 2nd century BCE onward (Han → later textual transmission)
Pre-Qin character forms preserved through later textual transmission (often discussed as the 'Old Text' / guwen tradition). Shaped by repeated copying, they can diverge from excavated Warring States materials.Wikipedia ->
84_E75584_E75684_E757

Last Modified: 2026-01-29 11:48 UTC