版

Originally referred to a wooden block used for printing or stamping, later extended to mean “page,” “edition,” or “version.”

In Korean, the word 판 (版) retains senses such as “board, surface, publication, or edition.”

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

片 (조각 편) — semantic component, indicating a piece of wood, board, or slice.

反 (돌이킬 반) — phonetic component, giving the sound pǎn / pan and connoting reversal or turning.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字), Xu Shen explains:

「版，牘也。从片反聲。」

“版 means a writing tablet or board; composed of 片 and the sound 反.”

Thus, its original sense was that of a wooden tablet used for writing or official records, akin to early bamboo slips (牘).

版 (판) — board, plate, edition

木版 (목판) — woodblock, printing block

版畫 (판화) — woodcut print, engraving

出版 (출판) — publication, to publish

版權 (판권) — publishing rights, copyright

初版 (초판) — first edition

再版 (재판) — reprint, second edition

版圖 (판도) — territorial domain, area under rule

石版 (석판) — lithograph, stone plate

In ancient China, ban referred to wooden boards used as official documents or announcements — precursors to the written scroll. Over time, as printing developed, 版 came to signify the woodblocks engraved for reproducing texts, images, or seals.

The Tang and Song dynasties saw the flourishing of woodblock printing, and 版 thus acquired the meaning of “edition” or “publication.”

In classical Korean scholarship and printing history — notably in Tripitaka Koreana (高麗大藏經) — the term 판목(版木) referred to the carved wooden blocks on which Buddhist scriptures were inscribed. These 版木 were venerated as both sacred objects and technological achievements.

In idiomatic and modern usage, 版 extends metaphorically to denote any “field” or “sphere,” as in 정치판 (the political scene) or 세상판 (the state of the world), preserving its original nuance of a broad, flat foundation upon which things are imprinted or played out.

Thus, 版 unites the tangible craft of woodblock engraving with the conceptual sense of record, edition, and realm — a character linking the material act of printing with the cultural transmission of knowledge.