姓 pŏ hsing the hundred surnames, i.e. all the surnames, of which no less than 4657 have been recorded; hence the people of China.
47. | 百 | 而 | 千 | hundreds and thousands, | |
Pai3 | êrh2 | ch'ien1 | |||
Hundred | and | thousand |
Pai see line 46.
Erh see line 45.
Ch'ien is composed of 十 shih ten (line 45) as radical, and a corruption of 人 jen man. 千歲 ch'ien sui a thousand years (line 37) is a title of a prince.
48. | 千 | 而 | 萬 | thousands and tens of thousands. | |
Ch'ien1 | êrh2 | wan4 | |||
Thousand | and | ten-thousand |
Ch'ien see line 47.
Erh see line 45.
Wan was originally classed under radical 禸 jou the track of an animal, and meant insects; hence its primary meanings, myriad, all. It is now classed under radical 艸 ts'ao vegetation. It is often written 万 for short; sometimes the Indian 卍 sauvastika is employed. 萬歲 wan sui ten thousand years (see line 37) is a title of the Emperor.
49. | 三 | 才 | 者 | The Three Forces | |
San1 | ts'ai2 | chê3 | |||
Three | force | ones |
San see title. The three lines of which this character is composed have been said to stand for heaven, earth, and man.
Ts'ai was originally written as a vertical line dividing two parallel horizontals, and meant vegetation sprouting. It came to mean force, power, talent, and is now classed under radical 手 shou hand.