璋

zhāng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 a ceremonial jade tablet (shaped like half of a gui)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Guī jiān qí shàng, bàn guī wéi zhāng.
A gui is pointed at the top; half a gui makes a zhang.
HSK 7-9
Nòngzhāng zhī xǐ shì jiùshí hè shēng nánhái de huà.
The phrase "a happy zhang" was an old way to congratulate someone on a baby boy.

Tips

culture
璋 is a ritual jade shaped like half of a 圭 tablet, used in ancient ceremonies and given to baby boys to hold. This gave the classical phrase 弄璋 ('playing with a jade tablet') as a congratulation on the birth of a son.

Components

radical
王 yù
jade
The jade radical on the left, the side form of 玉 written without its dot (identical in shape to 王, king). It marks 璋 as a jade object, alongside 玉 and 珠.
phonetic
章 zhāng
chapter (phonetic)
Supplies the sound. Standalone 章 means a chapter or seal; here it gives the exact zhāng reading and carries no meaning into the jade word 璋.

Stroke Order

璋 zhāng