Lin Xiangru was a famous minister of the State of Zhao.
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Literally a marsh rush used for weaving, but learners meet it mostly as the surname of 蔺相如 — the Warring States diplomat of the famous 'returning the jade intact to Zhao' story, who also reconciled with the general 廉颇.
The grass radical on top, the compressed form of 草. It marks the character as a plant name — here a marsh rush — even when the word is borrowed as a surname.
The gate 门 wraps around the inner element from top and sides. Together with the bird inside it gave the original phonetic body; in the modern form it works as a frame around the core.
The short-tailed-bird element 隹 sits inside the gate. Historically the gate-plus-bird unit carried the sound the surname/plant name is built on; it contributes pronunciation, not the rush meaning.
