鎔

Originally, 鎔 referred to a mold or crucible, later extending to the act of melting or casting metal.

In metaphorical usage, it came to signify “to temper, to mold (a person or a principle)” — the refinement of human nature, much like smelting metal.

Phono-semantic compound:

金 (쇠 금) — semantic component, indicates metal or metallic work.

容 (얼굴 용) — phonetic component, provides the sound róng / yong and implies capacity, containment, or form — fitting the concept of a “melting vessel.”

Thus 金 + 容 → 鎔 — “to contain and melt metal,” i.e., smelting or casting.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「鎔，銷金也。从金，容聲。」

“鎔 means to melt metal; composed of 金 and phonetic 容.”

This definition shows that the character denoted both the container (crucible) and the action of melting metal.

鎔解 (용해) — to melt; fusion (especially of metals)

鎔鑄 (용주) — to smelt and cast; figuratively to forge or shape

鎔接 (용접) — welding (modern technical term; also written 熔接)

鎔化 (용화) — melting, transformation

鎔體 (용체) — molten metal; fused mass

陶鎔 (도용) — to mold and refine character (metaphorical)

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 1301):

「鎔，銷金也。又鎔鑄，化也。」

“鎔 means to melt metal; 鎔鑄 means to cast or transform.”

The meaning later broadened beyond metallurgy:

“To temper or shape virtue and learning, as one molds metal” (metaphorical sense found in Confucian commentaries).

Distinction in modern Chinese semantics:

鎔 / 熔 - melt, smelt (solid → liquid; metallurgical process).

溶 - dissolve (solid dissolving in liquid; chemical solution).

The character 鎔 gained renewed life in the 20th century due to its appearance in names (e.g., 朱鎔基 Zhū Róngjī, former Premier of China), ensuring its inclusion even in the simplified script set (镕).

While largely replaced by 熔 or 镕 in modern Chinese, it remains recognized in classical and Korean usage — symbolizing both the physical process of fusion and the moral process of refinement through discipline and harmony.