[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Society-and-Culture \ #Character-Traits # 魄 pò soul, spirit ## Components [[白 bái]] [[鬼 (guǐ)]] ## Meaning The character 魄 nowadays still retains its association with the soul or spirit, particularly in the context of Chinese metaphysics, where it represents one of the vital aspects of the human soul. ## History The character 魄 (pò) is a phono-semantic compound, combining a meaning component with a phonetic component. The semantic component is 鬼 (guǐ), indicating that 魄 is related to spirits or the soul. The phonetic component is 白 (bái), which is a simplified form of 迫 (pò), meaning "to approach." This suggests that 魄 is a spirit that is attached to the human body. The original meaning of 魄 refers to the spirit that exists attached to the human body. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ？ ### Bronze Script ？ ### Seal Script ![[魄 sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[魄 cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[魄 reg.svg]]