征

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

彳 (조금걸을 척) — semantic component, meaning “to walk,” “to go step by step,” indicating motion or travel.

正 (바를 정) — phonetic component, providing the sound zhēng / jeong and also suggesting rightness, correctness, justice.

According to Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「征，行正也。从彳，正聲。」

“征 means to go in the right way; formed from 彳 (‘to go’) and phonetic 正 (‘upright, correct’).”

The earliest meaning of 征 was “to march forth righteously” — a just or orderly expedition, especially one sanctioned by higher authority or moral law.

In bronze and oracle forms, the character depicted footprints or a path (彳) alongside an upright form (正), symbolizing disciplined movement, proper advance, or a just campaign.

征伐 (정벌) — to attack and subdue; military expedition

征服 (정복) — to conquer; to subjugate

出征 (출정) — to go forth on campaign

征戰 (정전) — to go to war; to fight in battle

征途 (정도) — a journey; a military march

遠征 (원정) — distant expedition; campaign abroad

征求 (정구) — to seek; to request; to solicit

征稅 (정세) — to levy taxes

征兆 (정조) — omen; sign (originally, “summons to go forth”)

The concept of 征 in ancient Chinese thought integrates motion, discipline, and moral purpose.

It is not merely “to attack” but “to march with justice.”

In early texts such as the Book of Documents (書經·武成), 征 is closely tied to the Mandate of Heaven (天命):

「惟天命不於常，惟德是輔。征伐有罪，撫綏有德。」

“Heaven’s mandate is not constant; virtue supports it. Punish the guilty by expedition (征伐), comfort the virtuous by benevolence.”

Here, 征 expresses righteous warfare — punishment of injustice and the restoration of order.

In Zuo Zhuan (左傳):

「義之征也，君子尚焉。」

“A campaign in accordance with righteousness — this the gentleman esteems.”

The character thus reflects the Confucian notion that war and movement must serve moral rectitude.

As civilization developed, 征 extended beyond the battlefield. It came to mean:

- to journey (travel for purpose or mission),

- to summon or levy (as in taxes, troops, or labor),

- metaphorically to pursue or strive toward a goal.

In Tang and Song poetry, 征 often evokes imagery of long journeys and separation, symbolizing human endurance and the passing of time.

「征人萬里心，秋草又青青。」

“The soldier on campaign holds a heart ten thousand miles away, while autumn grass grows green again.”

In later Chinese and Korean idioms, 征 also came to suggest progress through perseverance — a steady, disciplined journey toward one’s objective, mirroring the moral and physical “march” of life.

Through centuries, 征 came to symbolize purposeful action guided by moral clarity — the march of justice, the journey of the will, and the rhythm of humanity’s onward path.

Notes on variant usage:

In Simplified Chinese, 征 also serves as the simplified form of 徵 (징) when meaning “to summon, to levy, or to sign”, but not when 徵 denotes “the musical note ‘zhi’ (음률 이름 치)”.

Thus:

征兵 / 徵兵 — to conscript soldiers (identical in meaning).

音律徵 — the fifth tone in the Chinese pentatonic scale (not simplified).