民

Originally pictographic:

Oracle bone script shows 目 (eye) combined with 十 (to pierce/cut), depicting the piercing of an eye.

This image symbolized slaves or captives whose eyes were blinded—either to weaken resistance while preserving labor, or during ritual human sacrifices in Shang times.

Later, the character was borrowed to mean “the populace” or “the governed,” while the original meaning shifted to 盲 (“blind”).

In Zhou and Spring–Autumn periods, 人 (“man, nobleman”) and 民 (“commoner”) were distinct:

人 referred to aristocratic ranks (士, 大夫);

民 referred to the lower, governed classes.

Over time, 人 became the general word for “human being,” while 民 stabilized as “the people,” especially the governed populace.

Semantic range:

- ancient: slaves, captives, subjects;

- classical: the common people, non-nobles;

- modern: people, citizens, the populace of a state.

공민 (公民) – citizen

국민 (國民) – the nation’s people

시민 (市民) – city-dwellers, citizens

서민 (庶民) – common people, lower classes

민족 (民族) – ethnic group, nation

민주 (民主) – democracy (“rule of the people”)

훈민정음 (訓民正音) – “the Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People” (Korean script proclamation)

In modern Korean, 민 (民) is used neutrally as “citizen” or “people belonging to a state,” whereas the native gloss 백성 (“commoner, subject”) carries more of a premodern, subordinate connotation.

In modern East Asia, 민 became tied to sovereignty and rights: the governed people became recognized as the bearers of power (천부인권, “natural rights”).

In Japanese online slang, 民 can colloquially mean “fans” or “players” of a game/anime (e.g., ブルアカ民 “Blue Archive players”).

In clerical script (隸書 lìshū), the upper-left portion of 民 sometimes appears open. Several other minor variant shapes exist.