Radical 194
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Radical 194 or radical ghost () meaning " ghost" or " demon" is one of the 8 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 10
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. (9 strokes in Simplified Chinese) is also the 184th indexing component in the ''
Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components ''The Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components'' () is a lexicographic tool used to order the Chinese characters in mainland China. The specification is also known as GF 0011-2009. In China's normative documents, "radical" is defined as any ...
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Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...
dictionaries published in
mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
.


Evolution

File:鬼-oracle.svg,
Oracle bone script Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or Turtle shell#Plastron, turtle plastrons used in pyromancy, pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millen ...
character File:鬼-bronze.svg, Bronze script character File:鬼-bigseal.svg,
Large seal script The large seal script or great seal script () is a traditional reference to Chinese writing from before the Qin dynasty (i.e. before 221 BCE), and is now popularly understood to refer narrowly to the writing of the Western and early Eastern Zhou ...
character File:鬼-seal.svg, Small seal script character
The character is historically composed of "legs", representing a large demon's head and a curl looking similar to taken to represent a swirl of vapour, or a demon's tail. The character can be traced to the
oracle bone script Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or Turtle shell#Plastron, turtle plastrons used in pyromancy, pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millen ...
, where it depicts a man kneeling on a monster head.


Derived characters

Most of the characters derived from the radical have meanings related to ghosts or souls, including "devil, demon", "black magic", "nightmare", "soul". In some signs, however, the radical is present purely as a phonetic marker, for example in , the
State of Wei Wei (; ; Old Chinese: *') was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han and Zhao. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and ...
during the Spring and Autumn period.


Variant forms


Literature

* *Li, Leyi: “Tracing the Roots of Chinese Characters: 500 Cases”. Beijing 1993, *Harbaugh, Rick, ''Chinese Characters: A Genealogy and Dictionary'', Yale University Press (1998),

*Childs-Johnson, Elizabeth (江伊莉), 甲骨文的“鬼”与假面具 (The Gui-Spirit in Oracle Bone Inscriptions), International Conference Celebrating the 95th Anniversary of the Discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions", Anyang, China, 1994.


See also

*
Ghosts in Chinese culture Chinese folklore features a rich variety of ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural creatures. According to traditional beliefs a ghost is the spirit form of a person who has died. Ghosts are typically malevolent and will cause harm to the liv ...
*
Oni An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess ...


External links


Unihan Database - U+9B3C
{{Simplified Chinese radicals
194 Year 194 (Roman numerals, CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 9 ...
184