211) 东

dong

east

Symbolizes a sack (小) with its mouth tied (symbol) up. East, an abstract concept of direction, was something difficult to represent by symbols, and so this character was taken due to its identical pronunciation. Used together with “west 西170[xī],” which was a very common type of pottery that can be seen in any directions, to mean things in general.

211a) 束

shu

bind, tie

tree 木²¹⁰[mù] + bundle 口 [symbol]

Symbolizes how tree (木) branches are tied and bound (口) together for easier transportation.

211yx) 攵

pu

211yxx) 正

zheng

211y-54a*) 整

zheng

orderly; whole

bind 束 [shù] + strike 攵⁵⁰[pū] + right 正 [zhèng]

To tie wood in bundles (束) and tap the ends (攵) so they are easy to carry means to put in order, which is the right (正) thing to do. As bundles of wood become one, it also means ‘whole.

211bx) 欠

qian

211b) 嗽

sou

cough

mouth 口¹⁶[kǒu] + bind 束 [shù] + yawn 欠²³[qiàn]

Symbolizes an animal coughing with its mouth (口) wide (欠) open when hunters or butchers tie (束) its neck with string

letter; card

bind 束 [shù] + item 丶 [symbol]

Only necessary items (丶) are selected when packing (束) things into a sack. Also derived to mean letter, in a sense that only selected words are actually written down when writing a formal letter.

211zx) 练

lian

practice

thread 纟 [sī] + select =柬^221c[jiǎn]

To make silk, the thread (纟) has to be extracted from the silkworm’s cocoon and this is done by soaking them in boiling water. The time has to be estimated (symbol) correctly and that requires much practice.

211d) 炼

lian

refine

fire 火¹⁵⁸[huǒ] + select =柬 [jiǎn]

Impurities can be selectively (柬) removed by melting a metal with fire (火) – the process of refining metal.