凶

A simple ideograph, sometimes analyzed as a compound ideograph, composed of:

凵 (입 벌릴 감) — representing an open pit or hollow.

㐅 (다섯 오 / 상형부호) — a pictorial mark suggesting division, separation, or instability.

According to the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, p. 135) and traditional commentaries, these two elements together evoke the image of a pit or trap into which one falls, symbolizing misfortune or adversity.

In early scripts, the form may also depict an empty mouth (凵) and something broken within, suggesting danger or calamity.

Thus, 凶 originally conveyed a situation of emptiness, harm, or loss, and by extension, “bad luck,” “evil,” or “disaster.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「凶，不吉也。从凵，乂聲。」

“凶 means ‘inauspicious’; composed of 凵 (‘hollow, pit’) and 乂 (‘phonetic,’ meaning ‘to control’).”

Later forms merge 乂 with 㐅 in the upper part of the graph.

吉凶 (길흉) — fortune and misfortune; good or bad luck

凶惡 (흉악) — wicked, vicious, cruel

凶年 (흉년) — year of poor harvest; famine year

凶災 (흉재) — calamity, disaster

凶徒 (흉도) — criminal, villain

凶手 (흉수) — murderer

凶器 (흉기) — deadly weapon

凶相 (흉상) — sinister appearance

凶兆 (흉조) — evil omen

In Chinese cosmology and divination (especially I Ching / 易經), 凶 functions as a moral and cosmological counterbalance to 吉 (auspiciousness).

Every omen or outcome is judged as 吉 (favorable) or 凶 (unfavorable), revealing the harmony or disruption of natural and ethical order.

「吉凶悔吝，生乎動。」 (I Ching, Hexagram 1)

“Fortune and misfortune, regret and shame, arise from movement.”

Here, 凶 denotes the manifestation of disorder or imbalance.

「天道無親，常與善人。」 (左傳·僖公二十八年)

“Heaven’s Way has no partiality; it always sides with the good.” (Zuǒ Zhuàn — Duke Xi, 28th year).

In commentary, 吉凶 is said to follow virtue — 凶 as the consequence of wrongdoing or moral imbalance.

In Confucian moral discourse, 凶 is not merely “bad luck” but often a reflection of moral failure or loss of harmony with Heaven (天).

In Buddhist usage, 凶 sometimes appears in contrast to 祥 (“auspicious”), describing inauspicious karmic conditions or harmful destinies.

In folk belief and geomancy (風水), 凶地 or 凶方 refers to an unfavorable location or direction, bringing misfortune if disturbed.

Across Chinese philosophy and religion, 凶 embodies the shadow aspect of cosmic balance — a reminder of the dangers, moral failings, or natural disasters that disturb harmony.