廏

A phono-semantic compound:

广 (shelter; a structure with a roof but open on one side) — semantic component, the radical that classifies buildings and enclosed spaces;

𣪘 (a type of ritual vessel; a vessel name) — phonetic component, supplying the reading (jiù / 구).

The radical 广 is the standard roof-and-shelter indicator for architectural characters — it marks structures such as 廳 (hall), 庫 (storehouse), 庭 (courtyard), and 庵 (hermitage). Its presence in 廏 identifies the character as naming a built enclosure: not merely a space where horses stand, but a roofed structure purpose-built for keeping and housing them.

마구간 (馬廏間) — horse stable; the full compound most commonly used in Korean

마구 (馬廏) — stable; horse enclosure; shorthand compound used historically

구사 (廏舎) — stable building (Japanese compound)

In classical Chinese, 廄 (the literary variant) appears frequently in canonical texts, making it more familiar in classical contexts while 廏 is the form standardized in the Kangxi Dictionary tradition.

The horse stable occupied a significant institutional role in classical East Asian society.

At court level, the imperial stables (太廄, 御廄) were major administrative establishments overseen by specialized officials.

The quality and number of a ruler's horses was a direct indicator of military power and state wealth — which is precisely why Mencius deploys the image of 廄有肥馬 ("fat horses in the stables") as a symbol of aristocratic excess.

At the household level, the presence of a stable indicated wealth and status. Only households capable of maintaining horses — which required substantial feed, space, and labor — would have had stables of any kind. This social significance gives the stable's appearance in the Analects passage added weight: even this symbol of personal wealth is made secondary to concern for human life.

Related characters (animals, stables & shelter):

馬 — horse (often combined with 廏 in compounds)

圉 — horse pasture; a place to keep horses; also an area near a state border

槽 — a feeding trough; a manger

駿 — an excellent horse; a thoroughbred

Classical citations

《論語·鄉黨》 (Analects of Confucius, "Xiang Dang," Chapter 10):

「廄焚。子退朝，曰：傷人乎？不問馬。」

"The stable burned down. When the Master returned from court, he said, 'Was anyone hurt?' He did not ask about the horses."

This is the most celebrated passage in the classical canon containing the stable character. In it, Confucius's immediate concern for people over property — not even asking about the horses after his stable burned — is held up as an expression of his humaneness (仁). The episode is brief, laconic, and wholly characteristic of the Analects' narrative economy: the fact that he does not ask about the horses is itself the teaching.

《孟子·梁惠王上》 (Mencius, "King Hui of Liang," Part I), c. 4th century BCE:

「庖有肥肉，廄有肥馬，民有飢色，野有餓莩，此率獸而食人也。」

"In your kitchen there is fat meat; in your stables there are fat horses. But your people have the look of hunger, and on the wilds there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to devour men."

Here 廄 appears in its social-critical register: the well-stocked stable as a symbol of aristocratic excess standing in damning contrast to the hunger of the people. Mencius uses the image to condemn rulers who prioritize their own animals over the welfare of their subjects. The pairing of 庖 (kitchen) and 廄 (stable) — both abundance for the powerful — became a classical shorthand for unjust governance.

廏, 廄, and 廐 are three variant forms of the same character, all meaning horse stable and all read jiù / 구. The differences lie in the phonetic component used below 广:

廏 (U+5ECF) — 广 + 𣪘 (ritual vessel): the form recorded in the Korean 漢韓大辭典 and Kangxi Dictionary;

廄 (U+5EC4) — 广 + 遽 (variant phonetic): found in classical literary texts including the Mencius and the Analects;

廐 (U+5ED0) — 广 + 旣 (already): a graphic variant, structurally distinct;

All three are recognized traditional forms. In modern simplified Chinese, all three are unified into the single simplified character 厩 (U+5EC9), which uses the simplified shelter radical 厂 combined with 既.