來 reading
Origin of the character
In oracle-bone script, 來 was modeled on the drooping ears of a grain plant; originally it was the early form of '麥' (barley). Because barley was the grain that "comes" (i.e., ripens and arrives), the character was borrowed to mean "to come," and later '麥' was created separately to clarify the original sense of barley. By the small-seal script, it had taken on a form similar to today's.
How it is built
來 is a pictograph formed as a single, indivisible unit.
來 is a distinctive character that came to mean "to approach" or "to arrive" by imitating the shape of barley. Though similar in form to '米' (rice), the two have different origins: 來 depicts barley ears while 米 depicts grains of rice. 來 carries the basic sense of movement through time and space — the idea of "coming."
In its line
Cold comes, and heat goes.
Line 5 of 250 in the Thousand Character Classic.
Words with this character
- 去者日疏 來者日親거자일소 래자일친
Those who depart grow more distant by the day, while those newly arrived grow closer by the day. It expresses the change and impermanence of human relationships.
- 未曾有來미증유래
Something that has never once occurred before. Used to describe an unprecedented event or situation.
After writing
Confucianism emphasizes cultivating the wisdom to understand the present through the past and to plan for the future. The Analects records, "The Master said: Reviewing what is old and knowing what is new — such a person may become a teacher" (溫故而知新, 可以為師矣), stressing that learning from the past illuminates the path forward into the future.Confucianism
As you drew each stroke slowly, did a moment from today come to mind?
