The study of radical “金 gold” and “木wood”

Lu Ding-yi

【Abstract】The characters under the radical “金” and “木” in Shuowenjiezi and Xinhuazidian are taken as the research objects in the study. The research is focused on three aspects， including the importance of “金” and “木” in ancient Chinese culture， classification of the characters under radical “金” and “木” in the two dictionaries， changes and possible reasons occurred from Shuowenjiezi to Xinhuazidian.

【Key words】Shuowenjiezi; Xinhuazidian; 金 radical; 木 radical; ancient Chinese culture

【作者簡介】Lu Ding-yi（1995-）， The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

1. Comparison of the radicals in different aspects

1.1 “金” and “木” in 五行

Gold and wood are both important substances that exist in nature. There was a saying goes， “金能克木，木多金缺;木弱逢金，必為砍折”. This saying basically means that metal element can reduce and balance wood element. For example， cutting tools made of metal can saw trees. Moreover， the land with mines is not grassy.

1.2 “金”and “木” in instruments

In the Zhou Dynasty， China already had a classification method of musical instruments based on their different production materials， which were divided into eight categories， including gold， stone， silk， bamboo， gourd， pottery clay， leather， and wood. These eight materials are also known as “eight sounds”. For more than three thousand years from the end of Zhou Dynasty to the beginning of the Qing Dynasty， China has been using the “eight sounds” classification.

As stated in Shuowenjiezi， “金，鐘镈也”， which means that characters pertain to the musical instruments made of metal will be under the gold radical， such as “鐘” （bells）， which prevailed during the Bronze Era. In ancient times， the bell was not only a musical instrument， but also a ceremonial symbol of status and power. In the various ceremonies or banquets， carillon music was extensively played for the nobles. The front drum and side drum of the bell can produce two frequency sounds. These two sounds are generally three-degree pitch intervals. There are also “錞”， etc.， which are basically deformations of the “鐘”.

As stated in shuowenjiezi， “木，柷敔也”， which means that characters pertain to the musical instruments made of wood will be under the wood radical， such as “柷”. “柷” is an ancient percussion instrument， which was shaped like a square wooden box. Hitting its inner wall with a wood stick to make a sound indicates that the court sacred music is about to start. However， some characters pertain to musical instruments made of wood are not under the wood radical. For example， the ancient percussion instrument “敔”， which was shaped like an tiger and used for end of the court sacred music， is not under the wood radical.

As for the production of various stringed instruments that require wood， like “琴， 瑟，琵琶”，etc.， actually belong to the silk category， because the strings in ancient times were all made of silk.

1.3 “金” and “木” in torture equipment

Torture equipment is used to punish criminals in accordance with the criminal law. Since human society has the special administrative authority “state”， various legal systems and legal norms have been established to safeguard the power of the ruling class and maintain social stability. And the punishment effect of the law on criminals is achieved through some specific torture instruments. In feudal society， the ruling class often uses many methods in order to maintain their ruling status， some of which are extremely cruel.

There are many characters under radicals of gold and wood related to punishment and torture instruments. The corporal punishment was applied to mutilate criminals. Almost all corporal punishments have caused prisoners to become crippled or physically impaired. Physically and mentally， the prisoner had indelible wounds. For the purpose of corporal punishment， it was accepted to kill the criminals. Thus， there are more torture instruments made of metal than wood since metals are sharper and more lethal. As a result， the number of characters under the gold radical such as “鑿（鑿）， 針， 鉤， 鑒， 鉗” is more than characters under the wood radical such as “杖， 棍， 板， 枷”. For the purpose of torture， which was used to intimidate the confession， criminals needed to stay alive. Thus， there are more torture instruments made of wood than metal. As a result， the number of characters under the wood radical such as “棍， 棒， 杖” is more than characters under the gold radical such as “鉗”.

1.4 “金” and “木” in farm tools

Agriculture has always been regarded as the foundation of society in ancient China. In this case， not only were advanced agricultural methods improved， but also agricultural tools were developed. The growth of characters related to farming is mutually promoting with the development of agriculture.

In the period of primitive agriculture， the materials of farm tools were mainly stone， bones and wood. The species of tools were divided into three categories： farming， harvesting and processing. People needed sharp tools to complete the operation of farming and harvesting so that the characters related to them were mostly in 金 radical， including “鏟， 鋤” “鐮” and so on. In addition， people needed blunt tools for processing so that the characters related to processing were mainly in 石 and 木 radical， such as “磨， 棒”.

During the period of Xia， Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties， agricultural tools were improved to certain extent， whereas the materials used mostly were not changed. Such as “榔”（hammer）， “桔槔”（shaduf） and “桶”（bucket）. Bronze was already produced， but was mostly used for weapons， eating utensils and ritual vessels. In the Spring and Autumn Period， the rise of iron smelting industry contributed to a great revolution in the history of Chinese agricultural tools. The iron-based agricultural tools replaced some agricultural tools made of wood and stone， which led to the leap of agricultural productivity. During the Warring States period， most of the agricultural tools were made of both wood and metal， that was， an iron blade covered on the wood， such as 鍤（fork）， which greatly improved the production efficiency.

1.5 “金” and “木” in weapons

Most weapons are made of metal or wood. The reason for this might be that metal and wood are hard and relatively easy to obtain in ancient times. Characters referring to weapons made of metals are mostly under radical “金”.Weapons made of metals were sharp and suitable for causing serious injuries in the battlefield while killing enemies. Characters referring to weapons made of wood are mostly under radical “木”. The lethality of weapons made of wood was not as strong as weapons made of metals. Wood was generally used as handles for metal weapons， or as weapons for training.

2. Analysis of characters under 金 and 木 radicals in Shuowenjiezi and Xinhuazidian

2.1 Still in frequent use

These characters are still frequently used in todays society， with a strong word-building ability and rich meanings， such as “釘， 錘”， “橘， 柚”. In addition to the development of meaning， these characters part of speech has also increased.

2.2 Rarely being used

Compared with the previous category， the characters in this category basically retain its original meaning without extension， such as “札， 桎” ， and they are also mostly used in written articles rather than speaking.

2.3 Not used but included in Xinhuazidian

Although this type of characters can be found in Xinhuazidian， there is no separate entry to explain them， such as “鑒， 鑿”， “楽， 樂”. They are only included as a traditional or variant form of other characters， and they are not used in daily life.

2.4 New in Xinhuazidian

This part of characters is not included in Shuowenjiezi， and the number of these characters in Xinhuazidian is huge. There are several sources of these words. For example， the chemical word “鈥” has evolved with the development of technology.

2.5 Evolved from Shuowenjiezi

2.5.1 From the same radical sections

These characters are included in Shuowenjiezi under the radicals of gold and wood， but the fonts have changed through procedures like simplifying， replacing some parts， or changing the structure of the parts， such as “巨（鉅）”， “丫（枒）， 刊（栞）”.In addition， as for “槍（槍）”， because of the change of raw materials and signified， experienced changes from “鎗” to “槍”.

2.5.2 From other radical sections

With the development of society， some characters under other radicals transformed to be under the radicals of gold and wood. The number of characters in this category is slightly higher than the previous category. There are some examples such as 缽 （used to be written as 盋）， 錦（changed from 帛 radical into 金 radical）， 鋤（耡）， 銼（剉） ，條（條）.

3. Conclusion

Through the above investigations， we can find that most of the characters under 金 and 木 radicals in Shuowenjiezi have been preserved， but only some of them are kept alive， and many others are not used or are only used in written language. A small number of characters under 金 and 木 radicals have been eliminated. With the development of society， increasing number of metal chemical element was discovered and invented， the number of characters under 金 and 木 radicals has also increased. This reflects that with the deepening of peoples understanding， the written expression is of more detailed and higher requirements.

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