繇 (yáo): forced labor; corvée (variant o…

Meanings

古代百姓要服繁重的繇役。

Gǔdài yáo

In ancient times the common people had to perform heavy corvée labor.

民繇反映百姓的风俗。

Mín yáo

Folk songs reflect the customs of the people.

history

Read yáo, 繇 stands in for 徭 (corvée labor) and 谣 (folk song) in classical texts. Two other readings exist: 繇 (cause, means) and 繇 (divination text).

radical

糸 sī

silk; thread

糸 is the silk radical at the bottom. The original sense was following or attendant threads, later borrowed for labor service and song.

phonetic

䍃 yáo

pottery jar

䍃 supplies the sound yáo, the same phonetic seen in 谣 and 摇. It carries the reading, not the meaning.

繇 yáo