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confucius
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Etymology of the ideogram Shi.7
The ideogram used to describe the seventh hexagram is assembled in two parts. The part on the left is used to suggest the idea of a wall which has been built by a succession of material layers. On top of it is a stroke illustrating the detail that there is something resting on top of that wall; what it is specifically is described in the right part of the figure.
The symbol on the right is the general term for cloth. On top of it rests an added stroke to explain the idea of one.
The composition of this ideogram is intended to describe the walls of a military fort (whether be it a fixed encampment or a mobile garrison) above which is floating a clothed flag with the number one painted on it: it is the official standard of the first army. That first army had the privilege of being directly under the command of the general. The flag with the number one was intended to signal his presence within the fort and amongst the troops.
By association, starting from the general symbolism of the first army, Shi.7 can mean the general himself as well as the army as a whole, the troops. The canonical text of the Yi Jing capitalizes on this double meaning. Elaborately, the ideogram can satisfy the idea of the master teacher in martial arts or the instructor of some techniques. Its most common modern application is that of professor.
Confucius
The ideogram used to describe the seventh hexagram is assembled in two parts. The part on the left is used to suggest the idea of a wall which has been built by a succession of material layers. On top of it is a stroke illustrating the detail that there is something resting on top of that wall; what it is specifically is described in the right part of the figure.
The symbol on the right is the general term for cloth. On top of it rests an added stroke to explain the idea of one.
The composition of this ideogram is intended to describe the walls of a military fort (whether be it a fixed encampment or a mobile garrison) above which is floating a clothed flag with the number one painted on it: it is the official standard of the first army. That first army had the privilege of being directly under the command of the general. The flag with the number one was intended to signal his presence within the fort and amongst the troops.
By association, starting from the general symbolism of the first army, Shi.7 can mean the general himself as well as the army as a whole, the troops. The canonical text of the Yi Jing capitalizes on this double meaning. Elaborately, the ideogram can satisfy the idea of the master teacher in martial arts or the instructor of some techniques. Its most common modern application is that of professor.
Confucius