[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Society-and-Culture \ #Deities-and-Spirits # 社 shè community; society ## Components [[礻 (shì)]] [[土 tǔ]] [[土 (tǔ)]] ## Meaning Today, the character 社 (shè) primarily refers to "community" or "society" in modern Chinese usage. It denotes a group of people living in a specific area or sharing common interests or goals. Additionally, it can imply "social organization" or "local community," often associated with various communal activities and gatherings. ## History The character 社 (shè) originated as a pictograph and compound ideogram. In oracle bone script, it depicted the shape of a plot of land. In bronze script, the character was augmented with the radical 示 (shì) representing an altar and 木 (mù) representing a tree, indicating the deity presiding over the land. Its original meaning is the earth god. In《说文 • 示部》, it explains 社 as the deity presiding over land, formed from 示 (shì) and 士 (shì), representing the master leading the land. According to ancient customs, the son of Gonggong, Julong, served as the deity of the land. During the Zhou Dynasty, it was customary to establish a 社 for every twenty-five families, with suitable trees planted in each area. Over time, 社 extended to refer to the deity's image or tablet. For example, in《论语 • 八佾》, it mentions different trees associated with different dynasties, representing their respective land gods. In its evolution, 社 transitioned from a pictograph resembling "土" (tǔ), symbolizing the original form of land worship, to incorporating the additional meanings of 示 (shì) and 木 (mù) in bronze script. In seal script, it combined 示 and 士, representing the deity's presence, leading to its current form 社 in clerical and regular scripts. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ![[社 ora.svg]] ### Bronze Script ![[社 bronce.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[社 sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[社 cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[社 reg.svg]]