陳

Ideogrammatic compound composed of:

阜 (언덕 부) — radical indicating mound, hill, or terrain, often used in characters relating to land or position.

東 (동녘 동) — meaning “east,” originally depicting the sun rising behind a tree; here, lending both sound (zhēn / jin) and semantic association of direction and extension.

Together, these elements express the sense of “to extend or spread out on the ground”, hence “to arrange, to set forth.”

According to Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「陳，列也。从阜，東聲。」

“陳 means to arrange or line up. Formed from 阜 (‘mound, hill’) and phonetic 東 (‘east’).”

Thus, the primary sense of 陳 is to lay out in order — whether troops on a field, objects on display, or arguments in speech.

陳列 (진열) — to display; to arrange in order

陳述 (진술) — to state; to express clearly

陳設 (진설) — to arrange ceremonially; decoration, furnishings

陳舊 (진구) — old-fashioned; obsolete

陳兵 (진병) — to deploy troops; military formation

陳情 (진정) — to make an appeal; to present one’s situation

陳年 (진년) — aged; of long standing (e.g., “old wine”)

陳腐 (진부) — stale; clichéd

陳跡 (진적) — traces of the past; remains

陳國 (진국) — the State of Chen (ancient Chinese kingdom, 11th–5th c. BCE)

The original meaning of 陳 — “to line up, to arrange” — extended metaphorically into organization of words, thoughts, or time, giving rise to meanings like to state, to explain, to recount the past.

Over centuries, the semantic evolution of 陳 followed three main trajectories:

Physical arrangement — to lay out, display, or deploy (e.g., 陳列, 陳兵).

Verbal exposition — to state or explain (e.g., 陳述, 陳情).

Temporal sense — to describe what is old, past, or long-standing (e.g., 陳舊, 陳年).

This versatility made 陳 a foundational character for both military and literary vocabulary.

In warfare, it refers to strategic formation; in speech, to rhetorical ordering.

In Korean and classical Chinese contexts alike, 陳 often carries an undertone of formality and respect — to “present” or “offer up” something properly arranged, whether soldiers, objects, or words.

Historical background:

陳 is also the name of an ancient Chinese state (陳國) founded during the early Zhou dynasty (周朝).

Located in what is now Henan Province (河南省), it was established by descendants of Emperor Shun (舜), and its ruling house bore the surname 陳 (진), which remains one of the most common Chinese surnames today.

The Chen State played an important role in early Zhou politics and culture until it was annexed by Chu (楚) during the Spring and Autumn period (BCE 479).

Its legacy continued in later dynasties, notably the Chen Dynasty (陳朝, 557–589) of Southern China, founded by Emperor Chen Baxian (陳霸先).

Thus, 陳 as a surname carries deep historical resonance, signifying lineage from ancient royal and noble families.

Cultural and symbolic meaning:

The act of 陳 (arranging) embodies the Confucian ideal of order and propriety (禮).

To “arrange things properly” — whether rituals, armies, or arguments — is to bring human affairs into harmony with cosmic order.

Thus, 陳 signifies clarity through arrangement — the visible manifestation of principle through structured action.

In literature, 陳 is often used poetically to evoke memory and passage of time, as in 陳跡 (traces of the past) or 陳年 (old vintage) — symbols of endurance, reflection, and continuity.

陳 is one of the most widespread surnames in East Asia — common in China, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam (where it appears as Trần).

Through its historical and philosophical evolution, 陳 has come to represent order, continuity, and the elegant arrangement of both matter and meaning — a bridge between the physical act of placement and the intellectual art of expression.