草

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

艸 (풀 초) — semantic element, indicating vegetation or plants.

早 (일찍 조) — phonetic element, contributing the sound cao and suggesting freshness or early sprouting.

Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「草，艸也。从艸，早聲。」

“草 means grass; composed of 艸 (grass) and 早 (phonetic).”

Originally, 艸 was the older, more general pictograph for “grass,” depicting two tufts of plants sprouting from the earth.

草 first referred specifically to the acorns of the oak tree, but by the Warring States period, it had replaced 艸 in usage and came to mean grass or vegetation in general.

Thus, 艸 became the radical (semantic classifier), while 草 became the standard character used in words.

Semantic development:

Literal: grass, weeds, herbaceous plants.

Extended: simple, rough, unpolished — as in 草書 (cursive writing).

Figurative: first stage, beginning, preliminary draft — as in 草案, 草創.

This evolution reflects the metaphorical use of “grass” for something spontaneous and unrefined, paralleling nature’s unshaped vitality.

草原 (초원) — grassland, prairie

草木 (초목) — plants, vegetation

草書 (초서) — cursive script (literally “grass writing”)

草案 (초안) — draft, proposal

草創 (초창) — beginning, founding

草藥 (초약) — herbal medicine

草花 (초화) — flowering plant

In early Chinese philosophy and literature, 草 symbolized the humble and transient — the soft life that bends yet endures.

In Daoist imagery, grass represents the natural, flexible, and yielding; in Confucian contexts, it symbolizes the common people (草民) — the foundation of the realm.

《論語·鄉黨》(Analects):

「與其奢也，寧儉；與其葬也，寧速。草創不備，君子哀之而不非也。」

“Better frugality than extravagance; better simplicity than delay. When the beginning is rough and unprepared, the gentleman pities it but does not criticize it.”

Here 草創 (초창) — literally “grass beginning” — conveys the idea of something newly started, simple, and unrefined.

《莊子·外物》(Zhuangzi, External Things):

「草木無心而成長。」

“Grass and trees grow without intention.”

Thus, 草 embodies spontaneity and naturalness, a key virtue in Daoism.

In calligraphy, 草書 (cursive script) captures the freedom and flow of natural movement, named after the wild and unrestrained growth of grass.

Symbolic interpretation:

草 represents life in its humble and spontaneous form — flexible, numerous, and enduring.

It symbolizes both the vitality of nature and the beginning of human creation.

「草木知春，人生有志。」

“As grass and trees know spring, so does life know aspiration.”

To call something “草” is not merely to say it is “rough,” but that it grows naturally and unforced — a virtue celebrated in literature and art.

In calligraphy and philosophy alike, 草 remains the emblem of natural vitality, unrefined truth, and the grace of beginnings.