唐 (Táng): Tang (dynasty)

Meanings

1 Tang (dynasty)
2 Tang (surname)
3 boastful; exaggerated

Characters

唐

Táng

Tang (dynasty/surname)

Examples

唐朝是中国历史上最繁荣的朝代之一。

Tángcháo shì Zhōngguó lìshǐ shàng zuì fánróng de cháodài zhīyī.

The Tang Dynasty was one of the most prosperous dynasties in Chinese history.

唐先生在吗？

Táng xiānsheng zài ma?

Is Mr. Tang here?

Tips

culture

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) is considered China's golden age. Overseas Chinese communities are called 唐人街 (Tángrénjiē, Chinatown, literally 'Tang people street').

memory

唐 contains 口 (mouth) and 庚 — think of the Tang Dynasty's famous poets speaking great words from their mouths.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Bottom-right mouth radical — the indexing radical (Kangxi #30). Carries the semantic core: 唐's earliest sense was 'big talk, exaggerated speech' (preserved in 荒唐 'absurd'), an action of the mouth. Same radical anchors 吃, 喝, 叫, 吧 — the speech-and-eating family.

semantic

广 yǎn

shelter; lean-to

Top wrapping 广 (shelter) — historically marked 'enclosed space.' In 唐 it caps the older 庚 phonetic (which has split into 广 above + the 肀-shape below) — together the residue of phonetic 庚. The whole char is indexed under Kangxi #30 口 (kǒu, mouth) — the mouth radical at the bottom.

semantic

肀 yù

brush; writing implement (here graphic remnant)

Middle 4 strokes — graphically a 肀-shape, originally the lower body of phonetic 庚 (a sounding-instrument). Pedagogically a bridge between the 广 shelter above and the 口 mouth below; the etymology was 'big talk in a resonant hollow,' from which 唐 took both 'boastful' and (via borrow) the Tang dynasty name.