奉

It carries the sense of reverent action performed with both hands — symbolizing the attitude of respectful offering or obedient service.

It encompasses both physical presentation (to offer, to bring) and moral reverence (to serve faithfully or uphold with devotion).

Compound ideograph / phono-semantic hybrid composed of:

丰 (풍요할 풍) — representing abundance, divine presence, or ritual offerings.

手 (손 수) — meaning hand or to hold.

Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「奉，承也。从手，丰聲。」

“奉 means to hold up or to bear respectfully. Formed from 手 (hand) with the sound 丰.”

Originally, the character depicted two hands lifting up offerings before the spirits, embodying the gesture of reverent service or dedication.

Over time, this evolved semantically from ritual presentation to service, obedience, and respect in both religious and secular contexts.

The gesture underlying 奉 — two hands raised to lift an offering — naturally produced several related meanings:

Physical offering — to lift or present with both hands.

Ritual devotion — to offer to deities, ancestors, or superiors.

Obedient service — to follow orders or serve a superior.

Respectful communication — to submit or report formally.

These developed through Confucian ritual language (禮) into both political and religious usage, reflecting the continuity between reverence and obedience.

奉仕 (봉사) — service; to serve

奉獻 (봉헌) — to offer, dedicate, or consecrate

奉養 (봉양) — to support, attend to (especially one’s parents or elders)

奉安 (봉안) — to enshrine, place respectfully (e.g., relics, tablets)

奉命 (봉명) — to act under command; to carry out an order

奉行 (봉행) — to carry out, to execute respectfully

奉迎 (봉영) — to receive or welcome with honor

奉祀 (봉사) — to perform ancestral rites

奉天 (봉천) — to serve Heaven; an ancient expression of loyalty to the Mandate of Heaven

In everyday classical expressions, 奉 often occurs as a humble or respectful prefix before verbs:

奉上 — “to present (upward)”

奉告 — “to report respectfully”

奉承 — “to flatter, to praise deferentially”

In Confucian ethics, 奉 embodies filial piety (孝) and ritual propriety (禮) — the respectful offering of self, service, or substance to those above (parents, rulers, Heaven).

「孝子奉親，忠臣奉君。」

“A filial child serves his parents; a loyal subject serves his ruler.”

In Daoist and Buddhist usage, 奉 signifies spiritual dedication or reverent offering:

「奉佛修行」 — “to serve the Buddha through practice.”

「奉法持戒」 — “to uphold the Dharma and keep the precepts.”

It is thus both an act of service and an attitude of humility.

Symbolic interpretation:

The image of 奉 — hands raising an offering — signifies the human relationship of reverence and reciprocity.

It illustrates the moral principle that to serve and to honor is both a physical act of giving and a spiritual act of humility.

「奉以敬，事以誠。」

“Serve with reverence, act with sincerity.”

The two elements — 丰 (abundance) and 手 (action) — together represent the union of grace received and devotion returned.

From ritual worship to loyal service and spiritual dedication, 奉 expresses the essence of respectful devotion and humility — the act of lifting one’s heart and hands toward what is higher.