冊

Originally a pictographic character representing bundled bamboo slips (죽간) tied together with cords.

In ancient China, texts were written on narrow bamboo strips, which were then bound with string; this visual structure became the prototype of 冊.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字), Xu Shen defines:

「冊，竹簡也。从竹。凡冊之屬皆从冊。」

“冊 means bamboo strips; composed of bamboo (竹). All characters related to records and writings derive from 冊.”

However, in the Small Seal Script (小篆), the form is simplified into vertical lines with binding marks, abstracting the image of several slips tied together.

The structure reflects both material form (bamboo slips) and function (recording, compiling, binding).

Later, 冊 also came to mean imperial records, because royal decrees, appointments, and genealogical records were written on such tablets.

冊 (책) — book; register; record; conferment document

冊封 (책봉) — to invest (a title or rank); investiture

冊命 (책명) — royal decree of appointment

冊禮 (책례) — formal ceremony of investiture

冊子 (책자) — booklet; bound pamphlet

古冊 (고책) — ancient volume; old book

經冊 (경책) — classical book

寶冊 (보책) — imperial register of titles

學冊 (학책) — academic volume

紀冊 (기책) — record; chronicle

封冊 (봉책) — to enfeoff and confer titles

登冊 (등책) — to inscribe officially; enter into record

The Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典) records only the traditional form 冊, glossing:

「冊，竹簡也，古者書策以為書。」

“冊 means bamboo slips; in ancient times, books were made of bound bamboo.”

It further notes:

「冊封之冊，謂以文書封君。」

“The 冊 in 冊封 refers to the document conferring rank or title upon a feudal lord.”

Thus, 冊 historically had both literary and political applications:

- as 書冊, the bound record of human thought;

- as 冊封, the bound decree of royal authority.

In Confucian contexts, 冊 symbolized recorded wisdom — knowledge preserved through writing.

In imperial ritual, it symbolized order and legitimacy — authority transmitted through documented edict.

Cultural and linguistic notes:

In classical Korea and Vietnam, 冊/册 retained its sense as “book,” becoming the base word for 책 (Korean) and sách (Vietnamese).

In Chinese, 冊 survives in specialized compounds (e.g., 冊封, 冊命) while the everyday term for “book” shifted to 書 (shū).

In Japan, 冊 is used primarily as a counter for books (一冊, 二冊, “one book,” “two books”), while 本 remains the common noun.

In both literary and philosophical metaphor, 冊 came to represent the repository of culture, the binding of knowledge, and the authority of the written word — the act of preserving truth through inscription.

冊 originated as a pictograph of bound bamboo slips, embodying the earliest form of the book.

It evolved from physical record (죽간의 묶음) to symbolic document — a record of both knowledge and power.

In civil life it means “book,” in political ritual “imperial register,” and in philosophy it signifies the continuity of memory and law through writing.

From bamboo and silk to paper and print, 冊 has remained the enduring emblem of civilization’s written thread — the bound voice of generations.

The variant 册 (U+518C) is an early simplified form found in Qin and Han documents; it later became the official simplified character in modern Chinese and the shinjitai form in Japanese.