Shāng Yāng zài Qín guó tuīxíng le zhòngdà de biànfǎ.
Shang Yang carried out far-reaching reforms in the state of Qin.
Tips
history
鞅 is not used alone in modern Chinese. Its old meaning is a horse-harness strap; today it is met mainly as the name of 商鞅, the Legalist statesman behind the Qin reforms. A second reading yàng means an ox yoke.
The 革 (tanned leather) radical on the left fits the literal sense: a harness strap is a leather thing. Same radical as other gear words like 鞭 whip and 鞍 saddle.
Right side 央 supplies the sound yāng directly with no tone change. The same phonetic appears in 秧 seedling and 殃 disaster; it contributes no meaning here.
