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燮

xiè
verb #56,443

Meanings

  1. 1 to harmonize
  2. 2 to blend
  3. 3 to bring into accord

Examples

古语称贤相能燮理阴阳。
Gǔyǔ chēng xiánxiàng néng xiè lǐ yīnyáng.
An old phrase praising a minister speaks of harmonizing yin and yang.
两方需要有人从中燮和调解。
Liǎng fāng xūyào yǒurén cóngzhōng xiè hé tiáojiě.
The two sides need someone to harmonize and reconcile them.

Tips

usage
Almost entirely literary. You will mostly meet 燮 in the set phrase 燮理阴阳 (to harmonize yin and yang), classically used to praise a prime minister's statecraft. It also survives as a given name.
memory
Picture two fires (火) with speech (言) between them, calmed and brought into balance by a hand (又). Words smoothing out heat into harmony.

Components

radical
又 yòu
hand
A hand at the base, the acting agent. It does the work of adjusting and harmonizing what sits above it.
semantic
火 huǒ
fire
Upper-left fire. Paired with the second 火 it frames the idea of two heat sources that must be balanced and brought into accord.
semantic
言 yán
speech; words
Speech sits between the two fires, carrying the sense of using words to mediate and tune opposing forces into harmony.
semantic
火 huǒ
fire
Upper-right fire, mirroring the first. The doubled flame underlines the two competing elements the character resolves.

Stroke Order

燮 xiè