圖

Phono-semantic compound or associative compound:

口 (구, mouth, enclosure) — suggesting a bounded space.

啚 (비, stingy, small domain) — phonetic element, also related to a bounded area of land.

Originally depicted the division of land plots on a map, which led to meanings of “to draw, to plan, to scheme.”

In the simplified form 图, the inner 啚 is replaced by 冬 — a purely phonetic substitute with no semantic connection, chosen for stroke-count reduction.

Carries both visual sense (illustration, map) and conceptual sense (plan, intention, scheme).

地圖 (지도) — map

圖畫 (도화) — drawing, painting

企圖 (기도) — attempt, plan, intention

圖謀 (도모) — to scheme, to plot

意圖 (의도) — intention, design

Idiomatic expressions:

도궁비현 (圖窮匕見) — "when the map is exhausted, the dagger is revealed": the true intention is finally exposed when events reach their conclusion; a hidden agenda can no longer be concealed at the last moment.

This idiom derives from one of the most dramatic episodes in Chinese history: the assassination attempt on Ying Zheng — the future Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China — by the warrior Jing Ke in 227 BCE. To gain access to the king, Jing Ke presented a rolled map of Yan territory (a gift of territory in return for peace) with a dagger concealed inside. As the map was slowly unrolled before the king, the dagger was revealed at the very end — at which point Jing Ke lunged. The attempt failed; the king escaped, and Jing Ke was killed. The episode is recorded by Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian (史記).

The idiom preserves both meanings of 圖 simultaneously: the map as physical object and the plan as hidden intention — the moment when the deception of the map finally yields its true purpose.

도모불궤 (圖謀不軌) — to plot treasonous or unlawful schemes; to conspire against proper authority. 圖 here carries its full scheming weight.

圖 in library science:

The compound 圖書館 (도서관, library) — literally "hall of pictures and books" — reflects the traditional Chinese understanding of a collection of knowledge as encompassing both visual representations (圖) and written texts (書). The first character was so integral to this compound that the library scientist Du Dingyou in the early 20th century coined the single character 圕 (combining 圖 and 書 within a single 囗 enclosure) as a compressed notation for the word — one of the rare modern coinages in the Chinese character inventory.

Related characters (maps, plans & enclosure):

啚 — borderland; outlying area; early form of 鄙 (inner component)

鄙 — rustic; vulgar; remote countryside; to look down on (derived form of 啚)

界 (계) — boundary; border; domain

域 (역) — territory; region; domain

謀 (모) — to plan; to scheme; strategy (heart + cover = hidden mental plan)

策 (책) — plan; strategy; policy; whip

志 (지) — will; ambition; aspiration; a record

Among the planning characters, 圖 is distinctive in having its strategic meaning grow organically from a visual-spatial origin — the map that represents territory becomes the mental plan that charts ambition, making 圖 the character where drawing and scheming, image and intention, are permanently fused.

𨮢, 𪛇