牧
- to herd, tend livestock;
Etymology
An associative compound:
牛 (ox, cattle) + 攴 (hand holding a stick; to strike, to direct)
牛 — represents domesticated animals
攴 — depicts a hand wielding a rod, used to guide or control
The original image is a herdsman directing cattle with a switch, from which the meanings “to herd,” “to tend,” and later “to rule” naturally developed.
In oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions, 牧 already appears with the concrete sense of animal husbandry.
During the Zhou period, the term broadened metaphorically to describe political governance. This metaphor became standard in Confucian political philosophy.
Usage in Korean
牧牛 (목우) — cattle herding (literary)
牧場 (목장) — pasture; ranch
牧民 (목민) — to govern the people
牧師 (목사) — pastor; minister
放牧 (방목) — free-range grazing
遊牧 (유목) — nomadic pastoralism
Note: 牧師 (“pastor”) reflects the same metaphor of spiritual guidance found in Western traditions.
Words that derived from 牧
Additional notes
牧 presents governance as guidance, not domination.
The ruler is envisioned as a caretaker, not a predator.
This metaphor deeply influenced:
- Confucian political theory
- East Asian bureaucratic ideals
- Religious leadership terminology
In classical thought "to rule well is to herd wisely".
Semantically related characters:
畜 — livestock; to raise animals
牛 — cattle
羊 — sheep
Governance-related:
治 — to govern; to bring order
政 — administration
宰 — to manage; steward
Metaphorical parallels:
導 — to guide
訓 — to instruct
Classical citations:
《孟子·梁惠王上》 (Mencius)
「牧民之道，何先？」
“In governing the people, what comes first?”
Here 牧民 (“to shepherd the people”) is a central political concept, showing how 牧 moved fully into the sphere of statecraft.
《書經·呂刑》 (The Book of Documents)
「牧民惟德。」
“In governing the people, virtue alone matters.”
This line firmly establishes 牧 as a moral form of governance, contrasting rule by force.
In Buddhist translations, 牧 is occasionally used metaphorically:
牧心 — “to tend the mind”
the practitioner guides thoughts like a herdsman guiding cattle. This parallels Buddhist metaphors of mind-training and discipline without violence.
Neighboring characters in the dictionary
