載

Phono-semantic compound:

車 (수레 차) — semantic component, indicating a vehicle, transport, or movement.

𢦏 (다칠 재) — phonetic component, providing the sound zài / jae and connoting carrying or bearing weight.

Thus 車 + 𢦏 → 載 — “to load or carry by means of a vehicle,” hence to bear, to transport, to convey.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「載，擔也。从車，𢦏聲。」

“載 means to bear or carry; composed of 車 with phonetic 𢦏.”

The earliest inscriptions show 載 as a depiction of a cart carrying goods, signifying transportation or loading, which later extended metaphorically to recording, containing, or enduring through time.

Semantic evolution:

Literal sense: to load, carry, transport (vehicle or burden).

Extended sense: to include, to contain, to record (e.g., 記載 “record in writing”).

Temporal sense: a year, or cycle of time (古年名 “archaic word for year”).

Adverbial / aspectual sense in Classical Chinese: marking sequence or completion (e.g., “and then,” “having done so”).

載運 (재운) — transportation; conveyance

載入 (재입) — to load in; to register

記載 (기재) — to record; to document

裝載 (장재) — to load (cargo)

搭載 (탑재) — to mount or install (equipment)

載錄 (재록) — to transcribe; to include in record

載明 (재명) — to specify in writing

載荷 (재하) — to bear a burden; to carry a load

千載 (천재) — a thousand years; an age; eternity

千載一遇 (천재일우) — “once in a thousand years”; a rare opportunity

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 1248):

「載，車所任也，運載也。」

“載 means that which a vehicle bears; it signifies carrying or transporting.”

又：「載，年也。」

“載 also means a year.”

Book of Documents (書經 · 舜典):

「載見瞽瞍。」

“He carried (or brought) his father Gusu to see him” — literal sense: to carry.

Book of Odes (詩經 · 大雅 · 文王):

「於昭于天，皇以間之，載戢干戈，載櫜弓矢。」

“Brilliant in Heaven above, he rested his spears and sheathed his bows” — 載 here used adverbially, meaning then / thus.

Erya (爾雅 · 釋天篇):

「夏曰歲，殷曰祀，周曰年，唐虞曰載。」

“The Xia called it 歲, the Yin (Shang) called it 祀, the Zhou called it 年, and the Tang and Yu called it 載” — One of the earliest attestations of 載 meaning year, showing deep cultural-historical roots.

Old Book of Tang (舊唐書 · 玄宗紀):

Records that during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗), the word “年” (year) was replaced with “載” in imperial documents:

“In the 3rd year of Tianbao (天寶三載, 744 CE), the emperor ordered that ‘載’ be used instead of ‘年.’”

This usage persisted until 758 CE, when Emperor Suzong (肅宗) restored “年” during the 乾元 reign period.

Joseon Annals (朝鮮王朝實錄 · 英祖實錄):

「旣聞此報之後，豈不思近卅載父子之恩乎？」

“Having heard this report, how could I not recall the nearly thirty years of father-and-son affection?” — 載 used as “year.”

Cultural and linguistic remarks:

The meaning “year” (載 = 年) reflects an ancient cosmological worldview: time as a vehicle that “carries” the world forward.

The idiom 千載一遇 (천재일우) — “once in a thousand years” — preserves this temporal sense of 載.

In Korean historical and literary texts, 載 appears frequently in chronological records (e.g., “三十載”, “for thirty years”).

In contrast, modern Chinese seldom uses 載 for personal names due to its archaic flavor and association with documentation.

Mathematical and modern note:

In modern technical notation, 載 is also used as a counting term in Chinese large-number naming, denoting 10⁴⁴ (the 44th power of ten).

In contemporary Chinese:

下载 (xiàzǎi) — to download.

加载 (jiāzǎi) — to load (data or program).

These modern terms preserve the original physical sense “to load or carry,” adapted to digital contexts.

From ancient ritual calendars to digital downloads, 載 embodies the enduring concept of conveyance — whether of objects, information, or time itself.

It is the character of continuity and transmission, symbolizing the act of carrying both burdens and memory across the ages.

𨌏 (ancient clerical variant).

縡 (simplified phonetic variant, identical in sound and meaning).