簡

Phono-semantic compound:

竹 (대 죽, “bamboo”) — semantic, indicating a writing medium made of bamboo.

間 (사이 간) — phonetic, providing the sound 간 (jiǎn) and contributing the idea of “space” or “interval,” suggesting separation between bamboo strips.

Originally referring to bamboo strips used for recording texts before the invention of paper, 簡 later came to mean a written document or message, and metaphorically simplicity or brevity in style and manner.

In bronze and seal script (金文, 篆書), 簡 clearly depicted bundles of vertical bamboo slats bound together with string, the traditional medium for texts before paper.

Each strip was a “page,” and the bound set was a “book.”

죽간 (竹簡) — bamboo slip; ancient writing material

서간 (書簡) — letter, correspondence

간단 (簡單) — simple, concise

간소 (簡素) — plain, modest, unadorned

간택 (簡擇) — selection, choosing

간지 (簡紙) — writing paper; letter form

The concept of 簡 extends beyond writing — it embodies clarity, restraint, and refined simplicity, qualities esteemed in traditional Korean aesthetics (e.g. “소박미,” beauty of simplicity).

Related terms:

簡冊 (간책) — bamboo scroll or bound set of slips.

簡牘 (간독) — general term for ancient documents.

簡明 (간명) — clear and concise.

簡潔 (간결) — succinct, compact in expression.

In ancient China, 簡 referred to bamboo slips (竹簡) used before the wide use of paper. Each strip was inscribed vertically with brush and ink, then tied together with cord. Major classics, such as the Analects (論語) and Book of Documents (書經), were originally recorded on such bamboo books (簡冊).

The discovery of the 馬王堆 (Mawangdui) and 郭店 (Guodian) bamboo manuscripts has provided invaluable insight into early Chinese writing and philosophy. These slips were called 簡, and a full bundle was a 冊.

Because bamboo slips were narrow and orderly, 簡 came to symbolize clarity and precision in expression — leading to its later meanings “concise,” “simple,” and “to select carefully.”

Symbolism & aesthetic meaning:

In Confucian thought, 簡 is associated with sincerity and restraint:

「質而不文，則野；文而不質，則史；文質彬彬，然後君子。」

“If substance lacks refinement, it is coarse; if refinement lacks substance, it is shallow — only when substance and refinement are in balance does one become a gentleman.” (Analects 6:18)

Here, the ideal of 簡素 (simplicity and purity) reflects the moral balance of elegance without excess.

In calligraphy and literature, 簡 evokes minimalism — brevity as beauty, an idea echoed in East Asian art and poetry where what is left unsaid is as powerful as what is written.