殺

Originally a compound ideograph; later interpreted as a phono-semantic compound in some traditions.

The structure of the modern character 殺 derives historically from a complex graphic evolution.

Early forms show 㐅 (다섯 오) and 朮 (차조 출) — interpreted as symbolic of drawing out or stripping an animal hide.

The component 殳 (몽둥이 수) was added later, representing the instrument or weapon used for striking.

Hence the full composition depicts:

“To seize (㐅), strip (朮), and strike (殳)” — i.e. to kill or slaughter.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「殺，害也。从殳，𣦵聲。」

“殺 means to harm or slay. Composed of 殳 (weapon) and phonetic 𣦵.”

However, modern paleographical evidence (from 甲骨文 and 金文) shows that the original form 杀 preceded 殺, and only in the small seal script (小篆) did 殳 become appended to clarify the sense of striking.

Graphical development:

Oracle bone script (甲骨文): simple pictograph resembling a figure cutting or removing something.

Bronze script (金文): retains the same shape as 杀, showing cutting or pulling motion.

Seal script (小篆): addition of 殳 (weapon radical), stabilizing the form as 殺.

Clerical script (隸書): linear simplification; the modern shape appears.

Simplified Chinese: 杀 — drops the dot from 木, derived from miswriting of 术.

Structural analysis:

殳 (몽둥이 수) — semantic, denotes striking or killing action.

朮 (차조 출) — component linked with phonetic and semantic nuance of scraping or removing.

㐅 — ancient auxiliary form symbolizing grasping or drawing out.

Together these represent a violent act of taking life or stripping something away by force.

Semantic evolution:

Physical: to kill or slay a living being.

Judicial: to execute or punish (殺罪).

Figurative: to restrain or reduce (감하다).

Aesthetic / emotional: harsh, fierce, intense (殺氣, 殺色).

Metaphysical: in Daoist and Buddhist contexts, the act of killing symbolizes attachment and karmic entanglement (殺生爲罪).

殺人 (살인) — homicide; to kill a person

殺氣 (살기) — murderous energy; hostile intent

殺害 (살해) — to murder; assassination

殺生 (살생) — to take life (of animals or humans)

屠殺 (도살) — slaughter

相殺 (상쇄) — to cancel out, neutralize (literally “mutual killing”)

殺到 (살도) — to rush fiercely upon (figurative extension)

殺戮 (살륙) — massacre, wholesale killing

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 633):

「殺，害也。从殳，朮聲。」

“殺 means to harm or slay; composed of 殳 and phonetic 朮.”

Analects (論語 · 顔淵篇):

「殺身以成仁。」

“Sacrifice one’s life to fulfill benevolence” — here 殺 expresses voluntary self-sacrifice.

Book of Han (漢書 · 刑法志):

「殺者，極刑也。」

“To kill is the ultimate form of punishment.”

Mencius (孟子 · 梁惠王下):

「民無恒產，因無恒心，苟無恒心，放辟邪侈，無不為已，是動心忍性，增益其所不能。」

"When the people have no permanent property, they have no steadfast resolve. Without steadfast resolve, they will indulge in reckless extravagance and depravity, sparing no effort to satisfy their desires. This stirs their hearts and hardens their natures, increasing their capacity for what they cannot do."

(commentaries note “放辟” and “殺人” as moral degradation under chaos).

Cultural and philosophical notes:

In Confucian ethics, 殺 is always opposed to 仁 (benevolence). The phrase “殺一以警百” means “kill one to warn a hundred,” symbolizing deterrence through severity.

In Buddhist scriptures, 殺生 (to kill life) is one of the Five Grave Offenses (五戒), forbidden as it disrupts the chain of compassion.

In military texts, 殺氣 (martial aura) refers to disciplined ferocity, not cruelty — the energy of controlled lethality.

Beyond literal death, it encompasses cutting, diminishing, or suppressing — from the killing of enemies to the “killing” of emotions or desires.

Through history, 殺 has stood as both a symbol of violence and of restraint, embodying the dual nature of destruction — as necessary force or as moral transgression.

殺 — Traditional standard (Korea, Taiwan, Japan), Classical full form

杀 — Simplified Chinese & ancient oracle shape (Phonetic + historic simplification)

煞 — Derivative form (emphatic / figurative). Used for “murderous aura,” “abrupt end”

𣦵, 𢦳 — Obsolete seal forms (Early phonetic bases)

剎 (刹) — Borrowed Buddhist use (Originally variant; now separate word “temple”)