| |
|
Pinyin | dōng (first tone) |
| English | east | |
| Pronounced like 'doong' | ||
The story behind this character is that it is a picture of the sun rising behind trees. The modern, simplified form of the character has lost much of the clarity for this derivation.
The Chinese often put 'opposites' together in words to mean general concepts. In this classic case the word 'dong xi' (literally 'east-west') gives the impression of generality (anything under the sun) and means any 'thing'.
The provinces of Shandong (literally mountain East) and Guangdong (literally vast East) have the character as part of the name.
| dōng | xī | |
 |
 |
|
| east | west | = thing |