徵 (zhǐ): the 4th note of the ancient Chi…

Meanings

1 the 4th note of the ancient Chinese pentatonic scale (corresponding to sol)
2 zhi (musical note)

Characters

徵

zhǐ

4th note of the pentatonic scale (sol)

Examples

五音是宫、商、角、徵、羽。

Wǔyīn shì gōng, shāng, jué, zhǐ, yǔ.

The five pentatonic notes are gong, shang, jue, zhi, and yu.

这首古曲以徵调为主。

Zhè shǒu gǔ qǔ yǐ zhǐ diào wéizhǔ.

This ancient piece is primarily in the zhi mode.

Tips

history

徵 (zhǐ) is the 4th of the 五音 (five tones) of the classical Chinese pentatonic scale: 宫商角徵羽. It roughly corresponds to 'sol' in solfège. When read as zhēng, the same character means 'to levy/summon' - two completely separate words sharing one character.

usage

In modern simplified Chinese, 徵 as 'to levy' is simplified to 征. But 徵 in the musical sense retains the traditional form.

Components

radical

彳 chì

step; small stride

Step radical on the far left, the indexing radical. It marks 徵 as something done by walking - the original character meant 'to summon, to fetch', the act of going to bring someone in. The pentatonic-note reading zhǐ is a later borrowed sense layered onto the same graph.

semantic

山 shān

mountain (here graphic)

Middle-column top is 山-shaped - historically the top of an old graph for 'hidden figure waiting to be called out'. Read it as a graphic component rather than 'mountain'; the same shape sits at the top of 微 (subtle), which shares this character's middle stack.

ideograph

一 yī

one (here a horizontal stroke)

Single horizontal under the mountain-shape, separating the upper graphic from the 王 below. It acts as a structural divider in the stacked middle column rather than carrying the number sense - purely a positional marker.

semantic

王 wáng

king (here graphic)

Middle-column bottom is 王-shaped. The original graph here was a figure carrying a load on a pole, simplified into a 王 silhouette - the figure being summoned by the steps on the left. Treat it as the graphic 'caller-out' image, not 'king'.

semantic

攵 pū

rap; strike (radical form of 攴)

Right side 攵 is the action radical, picturing a hand holding a rod to strike or compel. Combined with the step on the left and the figure in the middle, the full graph captures 'walking up and prodding someone to come' - the original 'to summon, to verify'.