黨

黨 is traditionally analyzed as a phono-semantic compound or, in older interpretations, a compound ideograph:

黑 (검을 흑) — represents “darkness” or “shadow,” often used as a phonetic or associative radical.

尚 (오히려 상) — provides the phonetic element (dǎng).

Some ancient script forms depict a village scene with people gathered under a roof, emphasizing community and collective belonging.

Early meanings centered around “a group of people under one banner or leadership” — which later broadened to moral, familial, and political associations.

政黨 (정당) — political party

黨派 (당파) — faction, political group

同黨 (동당) — associates, companions, accomplices

私黨 (사당) — private faction

黨員 (당원) — party member

黨首 (당수) — party leader

In ancient China, 黨 originally referred to a village group or extended kinship network — those of the same community or lineage (鄉黨).

Confucius used the term morally in Analects (論語) to describe one’s local community:

「鄉黨恂恂如也。」— Among his townsmen, the Master was mild and respectful.

Over time, the term came to signify factions or political alliances, especially during the Han and Tang dynasties, when 黨爭 (factional struggles) became a recurring theme in government.

In Confucian thought, 黨 was ambivalent — it could mean moral fellowship (善黨, virtuous group) or corrupt faction (惡黨).

Thus, the character reflects both the social nature of human unity and the danger of exclusivity or factionalism.

In modern Chinese, 黨 almost universally refers to political parties, as in:

中國共產黨 (중국공산당) — Chinese Communist Party.

執政黨 / 在野黨 — ruling party / opposition party.

However, it retains older, moral usages in phrases such as 私黨 (private faction, clique), implying selfishness or disunity.

In Korean and Japanese, 당(黨 / とう) similarly means “political party” or “group,” but can also mean “those belonging to a side.”