The Imagery & Symbolization of Chinese Words--静 （quiet, peace)
汉字的意象--静 （quiet, peace)
On the day of Slight Heat (a day that means the season will start hot on the 24 Solar Terms of China. It was on July 6 in 2021), I saw the different Chinese calligraphic writings of the word "静" (pronounced as "jing") and liked them very much.
Different ways of writing “静” in Chinese calligraphy
When I was admiring them and thinking of the different strikes when writing them, a question came up in my mind. There is the word "青” (green) on the left side of the word and a "争” (fight or compete) on the right side. We know that Chinese originated from the hieroglyph. How do the "青" (green) and the "争" (fight, struggle, compete, or devote every effort to) make up the "静" (quiet or peaceful) ? It does not make sense. So I went online to look for an answer. First, I searched how to writhe "静“ in the traditional Chinese and foun a slight difference, but it does not make the difference in the makeup of the word. Continuing my search, I found an explanation of it on a website (http://www.renlu.net/html/jiaguwenzidian_675.html):
“青，是"清"的省略，表示纯净。静，金文=（青，"清"的省略，纯净）+（争，全力以赴），表示力图清心。造字本义：努力去除杂念，清心寡欲。有的金文将杂合结构调整简单的左右结构。篆文承续左右结构的金文字形。隶书有所变形。清心为"静"，无滓为"净"。
附 文言版《説文解字》：靜，審也。从青爭聲。
附 白话版《说文解字》：靜，自审内省。字形采用"青"作边旁，"爭"是声旁。 ”
Translate it into English: "青" (green) is the omission of "清" (clear or purity), e.g., clear water--added by me), which means purity. In Bronze, "青" (green, omission of "清", pure) + "争" (struggle, devote every effort to) means to clear the mind/heart; striving to eliminate distracting thoughts, purify the heart and eliminate the desires.
It means to clear the mind to achieve a peaceful internal state by intro-inspecting and self-reflecting.
It turns out that the primary meaning of the word “静” (pronounced as "jing") is peace of mind, not silence or quiet.
I think there is a more straightforward way of understanding the composition of the word "静" (quiet or peaceful). It is better to "become" our ancestors in order to understand how the hieroglyphic words were created. There were no voice-canceling houses or headphones when they were making the words. There was no mindfulness classes or yoga classes, either. What they had is the nature, unpolluted and original, and their existence in nature with limited (compare to us today) man-made materials and few technologies. I assume they had a similar need for introspecting and self-reflection as modern people. For them, the best place to do so was also in nature, the green field. Just closing your eyes to image: a man with wisdom, sitting or standing or lying in the nature field, the blue sky and white clouds above his head, birds, and insects, singing around, what he saw was the boundless green in the field and above the hills swaying by the wind. The green and wildness calmed his mind and heart down. He felt peaceful. The competing greens calmed him down, then a word "静" (quiet or peaceful) appeared in his mind.
Chinese words are derived from hieroglyphs. Every word is a picture, a symbol, and an imagery. Beautiful!
Peace of mind is a manifestation of anxiety-free and one of the signs of mental health.
There are many idioms in Chinese include "静" (quiet or peaceful); I found 74 such idioms on a website (https://www.cilin.org/chengyu/cylist_%E9%9D%99.html). Some are used to describe the quietness of the environment, some are used to describe the psychological state, some are personality describing idioms, and some are value-defining and philosophical. Please see the translations of some of them at the bottom of the Chinese version of this article. I selected some of the idioms that are psychologically related.
汉字的意象--静 （quiet, peace)
小暑那天，看到“静”字的几种写法，甚是喜欢。
定睛再看，“静”字左边是“青”字，右边是“争”，中文是象形文字发展而来，“青”和“争”在一起为什么是“静”呢？去查了一下，“静”的繁体写作“靜”，也没有更多的信息。又搜了一下，在甲骨文研究网上看到这样的解释：
静字的演化
The evolvement of word “静“
“青，是"清"的省略，表示纯净。静，金文=（青，"清"的省略，纯净）+（争，全力以赴），表示力图清心。造字本义：努力去除杂念，清心寡欲。有的金文将杂合结构调整简单的左右结构。篆文承续左右结构的金文字形。隶书有所变形。清心为"静"，无滓为"净"。
附 文言版《説文解字》：靜，審也。从青爭聲。
附 白话版《说文解字》：靜，自审内省。字形采用"青"作边旁，"爭"是声旁。
原来静字的意思主要并不是寂静无声的意思，而是心静的意思，努力做到清心寡欲，自审内省
其实有一个更简单的方式来理解静字的组成。闭上眼睛想象一下，当古人造字的时候，或许没有辉煌大厅或寂静密室，那么最好的内省自我的地方大概就是青青之原野。头上白云飘飘，眼前青色无边，耳边莺歌燕舞，树影婆娑，风吹原野沙沙作响，或坐或躺，双眼微闭，那心能不静吗？所以，静者，青色相争也。嘿嘿。这样解释似简单粗暴，仿佛不是没有一点道理。
中文，来自象形文字，每一个都是一幅画，是一个象征，一个意象
暑日，静，便是养。
而心静，是焦虑free （anxiety free）的表现，心理健康的标志之一
中文里有很多带静字的成语，在词林网中就搜出74 个带静字的成语 (https://www.cilin.org/chengyu/cylist_%E9%9D%99.html)，有的描述环境的安静，有的描述心理的状态，有的描述人的性格，有的形容人的行为方式，有的则是表达人的价值观或哲学态度。下面是和心态相关的一些例子 :
心理状态 (psychological states)：
平心静气--心情平和，态度冷静。(Peace and calm
沉心静气--犹言心平气和。 (Peace and calm
清静寡欲--清：清净；寡：少：欲：欲望，需求。保持心地清净，减少欲念。 (Pure of mind, few desires
神怡心静--怡：愉快。精神愉快，心境平和。(Pleasant and peace of mind
静中思动--静：平静，静止；动：变动。指在生活平静中希望有所改变。也指事物的静止状态达到极点就会向动的方向转化。(Expect changes in the peaceful life. It also refers to a change that will happen when a situation stays peaceful for too long.
性格描述 (personalities)：
头脑冷静--指气质上的冷静或异常的镇定，指在紧张情况下表现的冷静或镇定。(Calm temperament. Can keep calm in stressful situations.
廉静寡欲--廉：品行端正；静：脾气平和；寡欲：欲望很少。指人的品德高尚，性格平和，没有什么奢望。 (Refer to the noble character of a person, having a mild character and few desires
沉静寡言--性格深沉文静，不爱多说话。 (quiet and silent
行为方式 (behavioral description)：
静不露机--静：平静，安静；露：泄露；机：机密。指在心里暗暗谋划计策，外表不露任何声色。 (Quietly planning something without showing it out at all.
静言令色--静：安静；令：和善。指用花言巧语和媚态来迷惑他人。 （此处之静，实为不静。同巧言令色。）(Refers to the use of rhetoric and flattery to confuse others. *The quiet here is non-quiet.
冷眼静看--形容从旁冷静而仔细地观察。 (Observe calmly and carefully.
避嚣习静--嚣：喧哗。躲开喧闹，安于清静。(Avoid the hustle and bustle, enjoy the quiet and peaceful life.
闹中取静--指在热闹的环境中保持清静的心态。 (Keeping a calm mind during the hustle and bustle.
故作镇静--指故意装做心情安定。 (Pretending being calm.
沉声静气--指声调低沉，态度平和。 (Speaking with a low voice and keeping a mild manner.
静如处女，动如脱兔处女：未嫁的女子；脱兔：逃跑的兔子。指军队未行动时象未出嫁的姑娘那样持重；一行动就象飞跑的兔子那样敏捷。（Being like an unmarried girl when he/she is unmoved; being as agile as a rabbit when he/she starts to move. * In ancient China, a virtuous unmarried girl was supposed to be staying quiet and mild.
静言庸违--语言善巧而行动乖违。犹言口是行非。（此处之静，亦实为不静！）(Speaking skillfully but acting differently. Refer to the action of a person does not match what he said. * The quiet here is non-quiet.)
哲学态度 (Values & Philosophical sayings)：
静中思动--静：平静，静止；动：变动。指在生活平静中希望有所改变。也指事物的静止状态达到极点就会向动的方向转化。(Thinking of possible changes when things remain unchanged. It also refers to things that would change when they remain unchanged for a long time.
澹泊明志，宁静致远--澹泊：不追求名利；宁静：心情平静沉着。不追求名利，生活简朴以表现自己高尚的情趣；心情平稳沉着，专心致志，才可有所作为。 (Not enthusiastic about fame and fortunes leading a simple lifestyle for a long goal or a higher purpose.
六根清静--六根：佛家语，指眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意。佛家以达到远离烦恼的境界为六根清静。比喻已没有任何欲念。 (Without any desires. In Buddhism, the way of staying away from worries is to eliminate all the desires.
动静有常/动静有法--常：常规，法则。行动和静止都有一定常规。指行动合乎规范。 (There are rules of acting or non-acting. Refer to acting accordingly, do not act like a no-brainer.
树欲静而风不止--树想要静下来，风却不停地刮着。原比喻事情不能如人的心愿。(The tree wants to quiet down, but the wind does not stop. Refer to the things that cannot become what you want.
百动不如一静--指多动不如静待有效。(It is better to be quiet than be hyperactive. It refers to keeping calm or waiting is better than doing things hastily
虚一而静--指虚心、专一而冷静地观察事物，就能得到正确的认识。 (When you want to understand things correctly, you should observe humbly and calmly and stay focused.
清静无为--道家语。春秋时期道家的一种哲学思想和治术。指一切听其自然，人力不必强为。（Refer to following the natural course of things, do not intervene too much. A Tao philosophy.
（Francy Wang, July 11, 2021）
Francy Wang 王方
July 11, 2021, in Toronto
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