懂中文 Dong Chinese

羲

xī

ancient emperor

Original meaning: 

sacrificial slaughter

Depicts a weapon (我) slaughtering a pig for the purpose of sacrificing an animal for offering. The 我 component was later reanalyzed into phonetic component 義 and the component depicting the slaughtered pig was later reanalyzed as meaning component 兮. Based on the original meaning "sacrificial slaughter", now written as 犧. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components
義 sound component

義  Sound component

yì

  

justice

Originally 我. Depicts a weapon. The 羊 (sheep) component was added later reanalyzing this component into phonetic component 義.

兮 meaning component

兮  Meaning component

xī

  

exclamatory particle

Originally depicted a slaughtered pig. Later reanalyzed into meaning component 兮.

Evolution

羲 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
羲 Bronze script Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze script

Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
羲 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
羲 Clerical script Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Clerical script

Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
羲 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

羲  

xī

ancient emperor; breath, vapor

羲  

Xī

same as Fuxi 伏羲[Fú​Xī], a mythical emperor; surname Xi

Most common words with 羲
Freq.
Word
Meaning

伏羲

Fuxi or Fu Hsi, legendary Chinese emperor, trad. 2852-2738 BC, mythical creator of fishing, trapping and writing

王羲之

Wang Xizhi (303-361), famous calligrapher of Eastern Jin, known as the sage of calligraphy 書聖|书圣

羲

surname Xi

黄宗羲

Huang Zongxi (1610-1695), scholar and writer of the Ming-Qing transition

伏羲氏

Fuxi or Fu Hsi, legendary Chinese emperor 2852-2738 BC, mythical creator of fishing, trapping, and writing

Component uses

Sound component in 2 characters (0 verified)

犧 曦