調 reading
Origin of the character
The character 調 (jo) is a phono-semantic graph combining 言 (speech) with 周 (all around). 言 conveys the sense of 'to speak,' while 周 carries meanings of 'to reach everywhere,' 'surroundings,' and 'complete.' Originally it began from the sense of 'to investigate by speaking thoroughly' and 'to balance and even out through all-round adjustment.' It expresses the process of bringing various elements into harmony through speech, or of surveying a situation in full and adjusting it accordingly.
How it is built
言 (speech) + 周 (all around) = 調 (to harmonize)
調 joins 言, meaning 'speech,' with 周, meaning 'all around' or 'well-rounded,' to form the sense of 'to adjust by speaking thoroughly' or 'to make even.' It is a typical phono-semantic character in which 言 carries the meaning and 周 the sound. Because 周 itself contains the sense of 'well-rounded' and 'complete,' it carries the deeper meaning of smoothly setting right a state of imbalance through speech. Indeed, 周 also holds the sense—like the Zhou dynasty—of unifying and completing all things, underscoring the importance of the act of adjusting and harmonizing.
In its line
The pitch pipes tune yin and yang.
Line 8 of 250 in the Thousand Character Classic.
Words with this character
- 風調雨順풍조우순
Literally, "the wind even, the rain in season." It denotes a climate well suited to farming and figuratively describes a world at peace in which all things proceed smoothly.
- 調琴和瑟조금화슬
To tune the geomungo (zither) and the pipa so that they harmonize. It figuratively describes a married couple or a group of people living together in concord and good fellowship.
After writing
Through 調, Confucianism prizes the values of 'harmony' and the 'doctrine of the mean.' As a core virtue of following the principles of all things in heaven and earth and fulfilling human relations, it seeks a state in which different things blend together to achieve a beautiful balance. The Analects says, "the noble person is harmonious but does not conform; the petty person conforms but is not harmonious," emphasizing the attitude of the noble person who pursues inner harmony even while differing on the surface.Confucianism
As you drew each stroke slowly, did a moment from today come to mind?
