盈 reading
Origin of the character
The character 盈 began as a pictograph depicting a vessel (皿) filled to the point of overflowing with water. In oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions it vividly portrayed the shape of something brimming and spilling over, and at times it depicted a person filling a container to the full. In small-seal script these figurative features were standardized into a combination of 皿 ("vessel") and 夃 ("to be brimful"), clearly showing that the contents fill the vessel and even spill beyond it. This visually conveys the original sense of "to be full" and "to overflow."
How it is built
盈 = 夃 (to be brimful) + 皿 (vessel)
盈 is a character formed by combining 皿 ("vessel") with 夃, which carries the meaning of "being full" and "overflowing." 夃 originally derived from the image of a person with an open mouth, taking on the sense of "to fill completely," and placed atop 皿 it intuitively expresses the state of a vessel so full that its contents spill over. Similarly there is 滿 ("full"), which depicts something filled with water, but 盈 differs in placing greater emphasis on the abundant state of being "filled to the point of overflowing."
In its line
The sun and moon wax and wane.
Line 3 of 250 in the Thousand Character Classic.
Words with this character
- 盈科而進영과이진
Meaning "to fill the hollows and then advance," this phrase comes from Mencius. It is a metaphor for proceeding step by step in due order, without haste, when undertaking a task.
- 盈虛消長영허소장
Meaning "to wax and wane, to diminish and grow," it expresses the principle of change by which all things in the world flourish and decline. It is a metaphor for the ceaseless cycling of nature and human life.
After writing
Confucianism holds that the noble person should pursue a fullness of heart through accumulating virtue, yet should be wary of material fullness (盈滿). As the maxim "when it fills, it overflows (盈則溢)" suggests, the fullness of wealth and power can readily invite arrogance and calamity, so humility and restraint are always emphasized.Confucianism
As you drew each stroke slowly, did a moment from today come to mind?
