象

Alternative forms

In simplified Chinese and Vietnamese, the middle component of 象 is written 口 overlapped by a downward ㇓ slash. In traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese, the middle section is written 𫩏 followed by 𧰨.

Han character

象 (radical 152, 豕+4 in Chinese, 豕+5 in Japanese, 11 strokes in Chinese, 12 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 弓日心人 (NAPO), four-corner 2723₂, composition ⿱⺈⿻口𧰨(GV) or ⿳⺈𫩏𧰨(HTJK))

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 象
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Pictogram (象形) - pictographic representation of an elephant. ⺈ represents the trunk, 𫩏 represents the head, and 𧰨 represents the body.

Etymology 1

This character is used to represent two semantic fields ‘elephant; tusk’ and ‘to outline; to depict; to delineate; to represent; to resemble; to map’. Both fields are found from the earliest layers of the edited literature onwards, whereas only the first meaning is amply attested in oracle bone inscriptions.

Traditionally, the two senses are treated as related, with the sense of ‘to depict; to resemble’ considered a derivative of the sense of ‘elephant’. The derivation from the ‘elephant’ meaning to the ‘likeness’ meaning is explained in Han Feizi [ca. 221 BCE]: “Men rarely see living elephants. As they come by the skeleton of a dead elephant, they imagine its living form according to its features. Therefore it comes to pass that whatever people use for imagining the real is called 象.”

Modern etymology studies on Old Chinese have challenged this opinion.

As for the ‘elephant; tusk’ sense, this is a widely used area word in East and Southeast Asia. Literature opinions differ on the origin and immediate relationship of this Chinese word; some (e.g. Schuessler, 2007) believe the Chinese form is a loanword from a Southern language, since “it is hard to believe that people all over SE Asia and as far away as the Himalayan foothills would borrow a word for an indigenous animal from Northern China”. Others believe the direction of borrowing is reversed (i.e. Tai-Kadai borrowing from Chinese), and that Chinese 象 should be compared with Tibetan གླང (glang), གླང་ཆེན (glang chen, “elephant”) arising from a common Proto-Sino-Tibetan *glaŋ (“ox, bull; elephant”), which may ultimately have an Austroasiatic origin. The second viewpoint is supported by the early attestation of this character and the archaeological findings of the historical ranges of elephants.

See below for a tentative borrowing history of the various forms of this general area word.

Definitions

象 (1)

(Chinese Chess) 象 (3)

象

1. elephant (Classifier: 頭／头 m)
2. ivory; tusk
   • Synonyms: 象牙 (xiàngyá)
   • 象床  ―  xiàngchuáng  ―  ivory-decorated bed
3. (Chinese chess) elephant (on the black side)
   • Synonyms: 相 (xiāng)
4. symbol; emblem
   • 象徵 / 象征  ―  xiàngzhēng  ―  symbol
5. shape; figure
6. appearance; phenomenon
   • 現象 / 现象  ―  xiànxiàng  ―  phenomenon
   • 景象  ―  jǐngxiàng  ―  scene
7. (traditional Chinese medicine) complexion
   • 病象  ―  bìngxiàng  ―  disease signs and symptoms
8. image; picture; portrait
   • ⇒ 像
9. sign; indication
10. imagination
11. law; legislation
12. principle
13. calendar
14. to imitate; to follow the example of
15. to trace; to outline; to depict
16. to resemble
    • ⇒ 像
    • 象形字  ―  xiàngxíngzì  ―  pictographic character
17. like; similar to
    • ⇒ 像
18. A surname​.
19. (historical) an alternate name used for the Nanman tribes during the Ming Dynasty

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 大象 (“elephant”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		象
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		象
Taxonomic name		象
Mandarin	Beijing	大象
	Taiwan	大象
	Luoyang	象
	Jiedian	象
	Xi'an	象
	Ürümqi	象
	Wuhan	象
	Chengdu	象
	Guiyang	象
Cantonese	Guangzhou	大笨象
	Hong Kong	大笨象
	Dongguan	大笨象
	Taishan	大笨象
	Nanning	大笨象
	Wuzhou	大笨象
	Hepu	大象
Gan	Nanchang	象
Hakka	Meixian	象
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	象仔、大象
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	象仔、大象
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	象、大象
	Dongshi (Dabu)	象、大象
	Zhuolan (Raoping)	象、大象
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	象、大象
Jin	Taiyuan	象
Min Bei	Jian'ou	象
Min Nan	Xiamen	象
	Quanzhou	象
	Zhangzhou	象
	Penang	象
	Philippines (Manila)	象
	Pingnan	象
	Haikou	象
Pinghua	Nanning	大象
	Guilin	象
Wu	Shanghai	象、象鼻頭
	Suzhou	象
	Hangzhou	象
	Chongming	象
	Danyang	象
Xiang	Quanzhou	大象

Coordinate terms

• (Chinese chess pieces) 帥/將, 仕/士, 相/象, 俥/車, 傌/馬, 炮/砲, 兵/卒

Etymology 2

Kanji

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Etymology 1

象 (zō, kisa): an Asian elephant.

/zau/ → /zɔː/ → /zoː/

From Middle Chinese 象 (zjang^X, “elephant; image, resemblance”). Compare modern Cantonese reading zoeng⁶.

The goon reading, so likely the initial borrowing.

Etymology 2

/sjau/ → /sjɔː/ → /ɕɔː/ → /ɕoː/

From Middle Chinese 象 (zjang^X, “elephant; image, resemblance”). Compare modern Min Nan reading siōng or Mandarin xiàng.

The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Etymology 3

From Old Japanese. Cognate with 橒 (kisa, “wood grain”), from the way that ivory also has a grain.^[3]

References

• Kōno, Tama (c. 970–999) Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 10: Utsubo Monogatari 1 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 1959, →ISBN.
• Minamoto, Shitagō; Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (931–938) Shohon Shūsei Wamyō Ruijushō: Honbunhen (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, published 1968, →ISBN.

Hanja

象 • (sang) (hangeul 상)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Han character

象 (tượng)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.