駁

A compound ideogram, consisting of:

馬 (말 마) — representing “horse,” the semantic base.

爻 (효) — representing “crossed lines” or “alternation,” originally symbolizing change, crossing, or interaction.

Together, they signify a horse with interwoven or mixed colors, i.e., a variegated or piebald horse.

Later, this sense of “mixed” or “interwoven” was extended metaphorically to conflict of arguments, hence “to refute” or “to contradict.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「駁，馬雜色也。从馬，爻聲。」

“駁 means a horse of mixed color; composed of 馬 (‘horse’) and 爻 (‘phonetic’).”

論駁 (논박) — to argue, to refute, to rebut

駁正 (박정) — to correct or amend by refutation

駁雜 (박잡) — mixed, heterogeneous

駁色 (박색) — mottled, variegated color

駁回 (박회) — to reject (a document or request), to send back

駁馬 (박마) — piebald or speckled horse

駁船 (박선) — barge, lighter (in modern Chinese, “cargo barge”)

In classical texts, 駁 often appears with aesthetic and moral overtones:

A mottled horse (駁馬) symbolized diversity and imperfection, as opposed to the pure, single-colored steed (駿馬).

Metaphorically, 駁 suggested heterogeneity — of thought, speech, or character — sometimes valued for its realism, sometimes criticized for its inconsistency.

In philosophical discourse, especially in the Zhuangzi (莊子) and Han Feizi (韓非子), 駁 came to mean contradictory reasoning or dialectical challenge, a vital part of rhetorical and logical exchange.

「辯者相駁。」 (韓非子·外儲說左上)

“Debaters refute one another.” (Han Feizi)

Here 駁 directly expresses the sense of logical opposition and debate, derived from its figurative root “interwoven colors.”

In literary aesthetics, the idea of 駁色 (mixed tones) was sometimes extended to describe contrast and richness in style or emotion, akin to variegated texture in art.

Thus, 駁 expresses both intermixture in form and opposition in thought — a union of contrast that gives rise to complexity and debate.