召

Formed as a phono-semantic compound:

口 (“mouth, speech”) provides the semantic element, indicating calling or speaking.

刀 (“knife,” here phonetic) provides the sound.

Together, the character originally signified “to call aloud” or “to summon.”

Semantic range:

- to call, summon (부르다);

- to invite (초대하다);

- by extension: imperial summons, command.

소환 (召喚) — to summon, to call forth

소집 (召集) — to convene, to call together

소명 (召命) — a summons, calling (also religious vocation)

소상 (召喪) — to call mourning, to announce death

소군 (召君) — “Lord Zhao,” a title

In Confucian and imperial contexts, 召 often appears in records describing the ruler’s formal act of summoning ministers or subjects to court. A royal “召命” was not merely an invitation but a command carrying the authority of Heaven’s mandate.

In Confucian texts, the character embodies the relationship between ruler and subject: the ruler “calls” (召), and the subject responds with loyalty and duty.

In later usage, 召 also acquired a religious nuance, as in “소명(召命)” for a divine or moral calling.