董

Phono-semantic compound:

艸 (풀 초) — semantic component, indicates plants or matters regarding cultivation/management in early script.

重 (무거울 중) — phonetic component, conveys the sound (tuwng → dǒng / 동)

The earliest forms show that 董 developed the sense “to press down, to control, to oversee,” likely from the idea of organizing or managing plant growth, and later extended metaphorically to supervising people or affairs.

Appearance in rhyme books:

董 is famously the first representative character of the 上聲 (upper rising tone) in major Chinese rhyme dictionaries like:

《廣韻》(Guangyun)

《集韻》(Jiyun)

Therefore scholars of Chinese phonology and classical poetry frequently encounter this character.

Semantic development:

Supervision / direction

- managing affairs; overseeing subordinates

Correction / rectification

- to set right; to adjust conduct

Admonition / teaching

- urging someone toward proper behavior

Custody / keeping

- to hold onto or preserve something

Surname 董

- widely used across Chinese history (e.g., 董卓)

Abstract governance

- moral or ritual discipline; control of a state or a household

In Korean Sino-vocabulary, 董(동) appears in compounds relating to supervision, control, guidance, and responsibility.

Supervision / control:

監董 (감동) — 감독하고 관리함; to supervise; to oversee

督董 (독동) — 독려하며 지도함; to guide and urge forward

總董 (총동) — 총괄하여 관리함; chief overseer; general director

Direction / guidance:

指董 (지동) — 이끌어 지도함; to direct; to instruct

教董 (교동) — 교화하고 이끔; to guide educationally

董理 (동리) — 다스리고 바로잡음; to manage and correct

Holding responsibility:

董辦 (동판) — 맡아서 처리함; to manage; to be in charge of

董事 (동사) — 기업의 이사; director (of a company)

董事會 (동사회) — 이사회; board of directors

Miscellaneous:

家董 (가동) — 집안을 관리함; to oversee household affairs

董責 (동책) — 책임지고 관리함; dutiful supervision

董 vs 監 vs 督:

All relate to oversight but differ in tone:

董 — guidance + correction, often moral or conceptual

監 — watch closely, inspect, supervise technically

督 — command by urging or pushing, often military or administrative

A historically important Chinese surname, most famously:

董卓 (Dong Zhuo), warlord of the late Eastern Han

董仲舒 (Dong Zhongshu), leading Confucian philosopher

Classical citations:

《論語·子路》 (Analects, “Zi Lu”)

「君子之德風，小人之德草；草上之風，必偃。君子以德董事。」

“The virtue of the gentleman is like the wind; the virtue of the petty man is like the grass—when the wind blows over it, the grass bends. The gentleman guides affairs through virtue” — 董 = to guide, to direct.

《史記·董仲舒列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「董仲舒上書言天人三策。」

“Dong Zhongshu submitted the Three Strategies on Heaven and Humanity” — 董 used as a surname; indicates 董 is well known as a family name.

《漢書·食貨志》 (Book of Han)

「董其責者，宜以誠信為本。」

“Those who oversee these responsibilities must take sincerity and trust as their foundation” — 董 = supervise.

《後漢書·百官志》 (Book of the Later Han, “Treatise on Offices”)

「有司董之。」

“The officials supervised it” — 董 = to supervise.

《荀子·非十二子》 (Xunzi)

「以禮義董其心。」

“Use ritual and righteousness to direct the mind” — 董 = to direct, to govern inwardly.

These show 董’s meanings: to guide, to oversee, to govern morally or administratively.