oraclebone script  

南(nán)

"南“字的甲骨文像是乐器的样子。有人说，这种乐器在南方很流行，所以用来表示”南“。也有人说，古人欣赏音乐的时候，是向南坐的，所以才用这个字。

(nán zì de jiǎ gǔ wén xiàng shì yuè qì de yàng zǐ. yǒu rén shuō, zhè zhǒng yuè qì zài nán fāng hěn liú xíng, suǒ yǐ yòng lái biǎo shì nán. yě yǒu rén shuō, gǔ rén xīn shǎng yīn yuè de shí hòu, shì xiàng nán zuò de, suǒ yǐ cái yòng zhè gè zì.)

The character’s oraclebone script resembles a musical instrument. Some people reckon that this instrument was popular in southern China and was thus used to represent nan. Others think this character came to be used to denote nan because ancient Chinese people faced south when they listened to music.

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