Unicode: U+672C

Pinyin: běn

Definition

* 草木的根。 ~草(泛指中药)。无~之木。 * 事物的根源,与"末"相对。 ~末(头尾;始终)。根~(根源;彻底;本质上)。 * 草的茎,树的干。 草~植物。 * 中心的,主要的。 ~部。~体。 * 原来。 ~来。~领。 * 自己这方面的。 ~国。~身。~位。~分( fèn )

root, origin, source; basis

Structure

本 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 ->
32_E96C
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 ->
56_EA9856_EAA056_EA9F56_EA9956_EA9A56_EA9B56_EA9C56_EA9D56_EA9E56_EAA1
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_E5DF71_E5E071_E5E1
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_672C27_E4F1
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 ->
92_E75B71_E5E171_E5DF71_E5E092_E75E92_E75F92_E76092_E76192_E76292_E76392_E76492_E76592_E766
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 ->
82_F35982_F35A82_F35B82_F35C82_F35D82_F35E82_F35F82_F36082_F36182_F36282_F36382_F36482_F36582_F36682_F367

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