[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Natural-World \ #Colors # 彤 tóng crimson; red ## Components [[一 yī]] [[一 (yī)]] [[丶 (zhǔ)]] [[冂 (jīong)]] [[彡 (shān)]] ## Meaning Nowadays, the character 彤 (tóng) generally means "red" or "crimson." It often refers to a bright, vibrant shade of red, and is sometimes used in names or in poetic contexts to describe the color of the sky at sunrise or sunset. The character retains its connection to the color red but is used more broadly without the specific connotations of painting or applying color that it originally had. ## History The character (彤 tóng) is an ideogrammatic compound. On the left, 丹 represents a framework for extracting cinnabar, with cinnabar in the middle (an ancient red pigment made from cinnabar). The right side, 乡, suggests the action of painting or applying. Together, these elements convey the idea of applying red color. The original meaning of 彤 is "to paint with red," and it later extended to simply mean "red." ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ？ ### Bronze Script ![[彤 bronce.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[彤 sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[彤 cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[彤 reg.svg]]