爵 (jué): ancient bronze wine vessel (wit…

Meanings

1 ancient bronze wine vessel (with 3 legs and a loop handle)
2 nobility
3 peerage

Characters

爵

jué

ancient wine vessel; nobility

Examples

他被封为公爵。

Tā bèi fēng wéi gōngjué.

He was made a duke.

博物馆里展出了一个商代的爵。

Bówùguǎn lǐ zhǎnchū le yīgè Shāng dài de jué.

The museum displayed a Shang dynasty wine vessel.

Tips

history

The 爵 was a three-legged bronze drinking vessel used in Shang and Zhou dynasty rituals. Its association with ceremonial drinking led to its extended meaning of 'noble rank' (爵位).

Components

radical

爫 zhǎo

claw; hand-from-above (radical)

Top claw/hand-from-above radical — the indexing radical, pictures a downward-reaching hand. Anchors 爵 in the grasping/lifting family with 受 to receive, 爱 to love, 爬 to climb. Here it shows the hand picking up the ceremonial wine vessel from above, lifting it in a toast at the feudal investiture rite.

semantic

罒 wǎng

net; bowl shape

Middle net-shape — here standing in for the wide bowl of the ritual wine vessel. The character 爵 originally depicted a three-legged bronze wine cup with a spout and handle; the 罒 portion preserves the open mouth of that vessel viewed from above, recognisable on Shang-dynasty bronzes.

semantic

良 liáng

good; lower vessel portion (fused)

Lower-middle is a contracted 5-stroke form fused into this position; standalone 良 has 7 strokes. Here it does not carry the 'good' meaning — these strokes are the historical residue of the wine vessel's belly and three legs, stylised down into a compact silhouette resembling 良.

semantic

寸 cùn

inch; hand-measure

Bottom-right 寸 pictures a hand with a measuring mark — a second hand in the composition, supporting or steadying the vessel from below. The doubled-hand imagery (爫 above, 寸 below) captures the formality of presenting the wine cup with both hands, the gesture of conferring noble rank.