黼 (fǔ): an embroidered ceremonial patte…

Meanings

1 an embroidered ceremonial pattern of black-and-white axes; one of the Twelve Ornaments
2 ceremonial screen / robe bearing this pattern

Characters

黼

fǔ

axe-pattern embroidery

Examples

礼书云：「白与黑谓之黼，黑与青谓之黻。」

Lǐ shū yún ：「 bái yǔ hēi wèi zhī fǔ, hēi yǔ qīng wèi zhī fú 。」

The ritual treatise says: black-and-white axes are called fǔ; black-and-blue interlocked 弓-shapes are called fú.

Tips

register

fǔ is archaic. It names one of the Twelve Ornaments embroidered on imperial ceremonial robes: an axe motif in alternating black and white, symbolising the sovereign's power to decide and to execute justice. The compound 黼黻 names the axe-pattern plus its 弓-shaped partner together — the two most senior of the Twelve Ornaments — and by extension came to mean 'magnificently ornamented'. The famous Tang phrase 黼黻文章 (literally 'ornament-pattern composition') praised splendid literary prose.

history

黼 also names 黼依 — the embroidered screen placed behind the emperor's throne, marked with the axe pattern. The motif itself derives from the ritual axe (钺), a high symbol of executive authority in early Chinese kingship; from Shang and Zhou bronzes onward, the axe = the sovereign's right to punish.

Components

radical

黹 zhǐ

embroidery (radical)

Left embroidery radical (Kangxi #204). Marks the character as a needlework / textile term — specifically a Twelve-Ornament ceremonial pattern. Same radical heads 黻 (the 弓-shaped sister-pattern).

phonetic

甫 fǔ

just; only just; supplying the sound

Right phonetic 甫 — exact sound match. The same phonetic anchors a large family: 捕 (catch), 哺 (feed), 辅 (assist), 脯 (jerky), 葡 (grape).