Lexicon

F or those who are fond of Chinese,a good understanding of the character家(jiā)will make them more familiar with Chinese society. In China,it is very common that three or more generations live together as one family,and usually a woman becomes a member of her husband’s family and lives with them after marriage.This is attributed to the widespread convention that family members get to stick together and expand in size. To a certain degree,家is the headquarter and harbor of every individual family member.

In ancient Chinese oracle bone inscriptions,the character家comprises two images,i.e.a side view of a house and a pig.Later on, these two images were converted to two radicals,namely the upper“宀”(mián)and the lower“豕”(shǐ).

It is quite obvious why there is the upper radical in this character—both human beings and animals need to take shelter away from the wind and rain.But why did“豕”become a component of家?In ancient times,every household would raise pigs(豕in ancient Chinese),as the pig is a kind of animal that is meek with a high fertility rate. Therefore,家means prosperity and harmony.

The fundamental meaning of家can be described as a dichotomy of家人(jiārén,family)and住宅(zhùzhái,home),of which more examples can be found respectively.家眷(jiājuàn)means wife and children,while家属(jiāshǔ)may factor in one’s siblings and relatives.One thing to mention is the addressing terms,such as家父(jiāfù)and家母(jiāmǔ),a modest way to call one’s father and mother;家宅(jiāzhái) can refer to both a particular building where a family dwells and the family itself,whereas家园(jiāyuán, homestead)and家乡(jiāxiāng, homeland)stand for the place where one grows up.

家is also applied to indicate the characteristics of animals.家禽(jiāqín)is a general term for birds that are tamed by human beings for the purpose of making money or for food,for example,chickens, ducks,geese,et cetera.家畜(jiāchù),a term for domesticated beasts,such as cattle,horses,dogs, pigs,goats,sheep,rabbits and so on.

When家is put at the end of a compound word,it may be used to describe anyone who is proficient in a special field or a master hand of a specific skill.For instance,天文学家(tiānwénxuéjiā)refers to astronomer;作家(zùojiā),writer;and歌唱家(gēchàngjiā),singer.

Furthermore,家is not only a gathering of family members,but also a genre that shares the same ideology or opinion.百家争鸣(bǎi jiā zhēng míng),the contention of a hundred schools of thought took place in the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC),and the Warring States Period(475-221 BC).The most predominant ones are儒家(rújiā,the school of Confucianism, with Confucius being its most representative figure);道家(dàojiā,the school of Taoism,with Laozi being regarded as its leading figure).

Wish you have a big家宅(jiāzhái),healthy家人(jiārén)and lovely家眷(jiājuàn).May you become a专家(zhuānjiā,expert)in the domain you engage,and your name家喻户晓(jiā yù hù xiǎo,famous and popular).