符

By extension: a mark or document used for verification or authentication — hence “symbol, code, or sign” in modern usage.

Phono-semantic compound:

竹 (대 죽) — semantic component, indicates bamboo, from which tallies and written slips were made.

付 (부칠 부) — phonetic component, provides the sound fú / bu and implies delivery, transmission, or entrustment.

Thus 竹 + 付 → 符 — “a bamboo piece delivered or entrusted,” i.e., a bamboo tally used for correspondence or verification.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「符，合契也。从竹，付聲。」

“符 means a matching tally; composed of 竹 and phonetic 付.”

The earliest oracle bone and bronze forms show paired tallies — bamboo slips split into two matching halves, each bearing identical markings, used to confirm identity or authority.

符號 (부호) — sign; symbol; code

符籍 (부적) — amulet; charm; register (in Daoist and folk contexts)

符令 (부령) — command token; order of authority

符合 (부합) — to correspond; to fit; to match

法符 (법부) — legal document; writ of authority

兵符 (병부) — military tally used to mobilize troops

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 868):

「符，信也。古者分竹為符，以合契信。」

“符 means proof or token of trust. In ancient times, bamboo was split to make tallies as signs of agreement.”

Book of Han (漢書 · 百官志):

「符節者，所以為信也。」

“Tallies and seals are means of authentication.” — referring to 符節, the paired tallies used in imperial administration.

Zuo Zhuan (左傳 · 成公十三年):

「合符而行。」

“They joined the tally and set out” — describing the ritual of verifying identity by matching the two halves of a token.

In Daoist literature, 符 took on mystical meaning as a sacred diagram or talisman (符籙) used to invoke divine authority.

In modern linguistic and technical contexts, 符 extends metaphorically to signs, marks, and symbols — as in 符號 (“code, symbol”) or 字符 (“character, glyph”).

In both classical and modern usage — from imperial tallies to written codes — 符 signifies connection through matching and authenticity, embodying the trust that joins two halves into one truth.