中

貞

Unicode: U+8C9E

Pinyin: zhēn

Definition

* 堅定，有節操。 忠～不渝。堅～不屈。～節。～士（忠貞之士）。 * 舊禮教中束縛女子的一種道德觀念，指婦女不改嫁等。 ～女。～烈。～操（同"貞節"）。～淑。 * 佔，卜，問卦。 ～卜。 * 古同"楨"，楨幹（ gàn ）

virtuous, chaste, pure; loyal

Structure

Related substructures

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Precursors

Oracle Bone Script
c. 1300–1050 BCE (Late Shang)
Inscriptions carved on turtle plastrons and animal bones for divination and record-keeping in the late Shang royal court; the oldest large attested corpus of written Chinese.Wikipedia ->
41_F30341_F30441_F30541_F30641_F30741_F30841_F30941_F30A41_F30B41_F30C41_F30D41_F30E41_F30F41_F31041_F31141_F31241_F31341_F31441_F31541_F31641_F31741_F31841_F31941_F31A41_F31B41_F31C41_F31D41_F31E41_F31F41_F32041_F32141_F32241_F32341_F32441_F32541_F32641_F32741_F32841_F32941_F32A41_F32B41_F32C41_F32D41_F32E41_F32F41_F33041_F33141_F33241_F33341_F33441_F33541_F33641_F33741_F33841_F33941_F33A41_F33B41_F33C41_F33D41_F33E41_F33F41_F34041_F34141_F34241_F34341_F34441_F345
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 ->
31_F2B731_F2B932_F21132_F21231_F2B8
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 ->
51_F31E51_F31F51_F31D51_F32051_F31951_F31A51_F31B51_F31C55_F47155_F47455_F47255_F47555_F47355_F47655_F47755_F47855_F47A55_F47B55_F47C55_F47E55_F47D55_F47955_F47F55_F48055_F48155_F48255_F48355_F48455_F48555_F48655_F48755_F48855_F48A55_F48B51_F2EF51_F2F051_F2FC51_F2F151_F2FD51_F2FB51_F2F251_F2FE51_F2FF51_F2F351_F2F451_F30051_F30151_F2F551_F30251_F30351_F2F651_F30451_F30551_F2F751_F2F851_F2F951_F2FA51_F30951_F30A51_F30851_F30B51_F30C51_F30D51_F30F51_F31051_F31151_F31251_F31351_F31451_F31551_F30E51_F31651_F31751_F31851_F30651_F30755_F48C55_F48D55_F48955_F48E55_F49155_F49055_F48F55_F49255_F49355_F49455_F49555_F49655_F49855_F49955_F4A855_F49A55_F49B55_F49755_F49C55_F49D55_F49E55_F49F55_F4A055_F4A455_F4A255_F4A155_F4A755_F4A655_F4A555_F4A3
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_E371
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_8C9E
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_E37191_F32C91_F32D91_F32E91_F32F91_F33091_F33191_F332
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_E03E82_E03F82_E04082_E04182_E04282_E04382_E044