更

Also denotes “again,” “anew,” “further,” or the division of night watches in ancient Chinese timekeeping.

Originally written as 㪅, later standardized as 更.

Ancient form, ideogrammatic compound, composed of:

丙 (남녘 병 / bell-shaped stone) — representing a stone or metal block, used for sounding.

攴 (칠 복 / to strike) — indicating the action to hit or mark.

Thus, the original pictograph depicted striking a stone or gong to announce the time, symbolizing the change of night watch — the transition from one period to the next.

From this primary image of marking change in time arose the meanings “to change,” “to renew,” and “again.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「更，改也。从攴，丙聲。」

“更 means to change or correct; composed of 攴 (‘to strike’) and phonetic 丙 (‘bing’).”

The Shuowen gloss explicitly equates 更 with 改 (“to correct”), confirming the semantic development from marking time to altering or renewing.

Graphical development:

Oracle bone script (甲骨文): ambiguous early forms—some scholars see 穴 (hole) or 丙-like shapes; possibly representing a hollowed bell-stone.

Bronze script (金文): shows a clear 丙 + 攴 composition — a person striking a bell or block.

Seal script (小篆): standardized as 㪅 — still visibly composed of both components.

Clerical script (隸書): simplification merges components, producing modern 更.

The evolution from 㪅 to 更 illustrates the semantic shift from “marking time by striking” to “renewal and repetition.”

Semantic evolution:

Original: to strike a sounding stone (to mark time).

Temporal: the changing of the night watch (one of the “five watches,” 五更).

Actional: to alter, modify, correct, improve (synonymous with 改).

Adverbial: again, anew, more — expressing repetition or continuation.

Moral: to reform oneself (知過必更 — to correct one’s fault).

更正 (경정) — correction; amendment

變更 (변경) — alteration; change

更新 (갱신) — renewal; update

更生 (갱생) — regeneration; reform; rebirth

更迭 (갱질) — succession; alternation

夜更 (야경) — night watch; period of the night

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 658):

「更，改也；夜分也。」

“更 means to change, and also refers to the divisions of the night.”

Book of Rites (禮記 · 月令):

「夜半而更。」

“At midnight, the watch changes” — 更 denotes the turning of night watches.

Analects (論語 · 子路篇):

「知過必更。」

“When knowing one’s fault, one must change (correct) it.” — moral sense of self-improvement.

Zuo Commentary (左傳 · 成公十三年):

「不更舊德。」

“He did not change the old virtue” — 更 in the sense of “to alter” or “to modify.”

In Confucian ethics, 更 signifies self-renewal — continual moral correction through reflection (知過必更).

In Daoist texts, it carries cosmological meaning of cyclical renewal, paralleling the rhythm of yin and yang alternation.

The Five Watches of Night (五更) became a key temporal concept in traditional timekeeping, influencing idioms like 夜半三更 (“at the dead of night”) and 更鼓聲 (“the sound of the watch-drum”).