往 reading
Origin of the character
The character '往' means "to go," and its origin can be traced to the image of a person taking steps forward. In oracle-bone and bronze scripts it depicted a person advancing while leaving footprints, sometimes carrying the sense of going toward a ruler or an important destination. In the small-seal script it settled into a form combining '彳' (short step) and '主' (master), clearly conveying the idea of advancing with small steps (彳) toward a particular place (主). The present regular script preserves this same structure.
How it is built
彳 (step) + 主 (master) = 往 (to go)
'往' combines '彳' (a small step) and '主' (master/center). '彳' is the radical denoting "small steps" or "to travel a road," while '主' carries the meaning of "master" or "center." Thus '往' can be read as "to advance toward a master or destination." Whereas the related '來' (to come) means returning to or appearing at some place, '往' emphasizes the movement of departing toward, or traveling to, a particular point.
In its line
Cold comes, and heat goes.
Line 5 of 250 in the Thousand Character Classic.
Words with this character
- 一往無前일왕무전
Literally "once going, nothing before" — pressing forward without yielding to any difficulty. Used to express the courage and spirit of advancing boldly toward a goal.
- 來往不絶내왕불절
"The coming and going never cease." It denotes the frequent and continuous traffic of people or things, and is used to liken lively relationships or exchange.
After writing
In Confucianism, '往' can be interpreted as "advancing toward the way of the noble person" or "ceaselessly pursuing the path of learning." The Analects says, "The past cannot be amended, but the future may still be pursued" (往者不可諫 來者猶可追), stressing the attitude of moving toward the future without being bound by what is gone. This aligns with the Confucian teaching of aspiring, through cultivation and practice, toward a better character and society.Confucianism
As you drew each stroke slowly, did a moment from today come to mind?
