璧 (bì): jade annulus (a flat disc of ja…

Measure Word

一块璧 kuài

Meanings

1 jade annulus (a flat disc of jade with a hole in the center)
2 ceremonial jade disc (ancient ritual object)

Characters

璧

bì

ceremonial jade disc with a central hole

Examples

和氏璧是中国历史上最著名的玉璧。

Hé shì bì shì Zhōngguó lìshǐ shàng zuì zhùmíng de yù bì.

The He Shi Bi is the most famous jade disc in Chinese history.

蔺相如完璧归赵的故事流传千古。

Lìn xiàng rú wánbìguīzhào de gùshi liúchuán qiān gǔ.

The story of Lin Xiangru returning the jade intact to the State of Zhao has been passed down for ages.

Tips

history

The most legendary 璧 is 和氏璧 (Héshìbì), the He Shi Bi — a magnificent jade disc presented to the King of Chu by 卞和 Bian He. Its story drives the chengyu 完璧归赵 (wán bì guī Zhào, 'return the jade intact to Zhao'): in the Warring States period, the diplomat 蔺相如 (Lin Xiangru) tricked the powerful Qin king out of seizing it. Later it was supposedly carved into the Imperial Seal of China.

culture

璧 is one of the 'Six Auspicious Jades' (六瑞 liù ruì) used in Zhou dynasty ritual to communicate with heaven, while the related 玉琮 (cong, a tube) communicated with earth. Excavations of 璧 from elite Neolithic and Bronze Age tombs (Liangzhu, Hongshan) show its ritual importance long predates writing.

Components

radical

玉 yù

jade

Bottom indexing jade radical (Kangxi #96) — three horizontal bars of jade strung together with an added mark. States the material directly. A 璧 is a flat circular jade with a hole in the centre, used in the highest sacrifices: jade for heaven, gold for earth (玉璧礼天). The classical idiom 完璧归赵 (returning the jade whole to Zhao) preserves the value placed on these discs.

phonetic

辟 pì

open; ruler (here phonetic)

Top 辟 supplies the sound — pì shifted to bì, regular labial-stop alternation. 辟 originally pictured a ruler administering justice with knife (辛) and decree (口); the meaning doesn't carry. Same phonetic gives 壁 (wall), 避 (avoid), 僻 (remote), 譬 (analogy), 臂 (arm), 劈 (split). A 璧 was a flat ringed jade, a great ritual object of ancient China.