溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
盈 (영) means "찰" and is the 11th character of the Thousand Character Classic. The character 盈 began as a pictograph depicting a vessel (皿) filled to the point of overflowing with
📖 Origin
The character 盈 began as a pictograph depicting a vessel (皿) filled to the point of overflowing with water. In oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions it vividly portrayed the shape of something brimming and spilling over, and at times it depicted a person filling a container to the full. In small-seal script these figurative features were standardized into a combination of 皿 ("vessel") and 夃 ("to be brimful"), clearly showing that the contents fill the vessel and even spill beyond it. This visually conveys the original sense of "to be full" and "to overflow."
🔍 Structure
盈 = 夃 (to be brimful) + 皿 (vessel)
盈 is a character formed by combining 皿 ("vessel") with 夃, which carries the meaning of "being full" and "overflowing." 夃 originally derived from the image of a person with an open mouth, taking on the sense of "to fill completely," and placed atop 皿 it intuitively expresses the state of a vessel so full that its contents spill over. Similarly there is 滿 ("full"), which depicts something filled with water, but 盈 differs in placing greater emphasis on the abundant state of being "filled to the point of overflowing."
🏛 Philosophy
Confucianism
Confucianism holds that the noble person should pursue a fullness of heart through accumulating virtue, yet should be wary of material fullness (盈滿). As the maxim "when it fills, it overflows (盈則溢)" suggests, the fullness of wealth and power can readily invite arrogance and calamity, so humility and restraint are always emphasized.
Taoism
In the Tao Te Ching, the Taoist sage Laozi declared "大盈若沖" — that what is truly full appears, on the contrary, to be empty. This is not about outwardly displayed fullness; rather, it argues that only through inner fullness and freedom from desire can one achieve a lasting fullness, valuing a life that follows the natural flow.
📝 Idioms (3)
Meaning "to fill the hollows and then advance," this phrase comes from Mencius. It is a metaphor for proceeding step by step in due order, without haste, when undertaking a task.
Meaning "to wax and wane, to diminish and grow," it expresses the principle of change by which all things in the world flourish and decline. It is a metaphor for the ceaseless cycling of nature and human life.
Meaning "when the moon is full, it soon begins to wane," it is a metaphor for how all things, once they reach their height, begin to decline again. It emphasizes the principle of rise and fall, flourishing and decay.
💬 Proverbs
Book of Han — Biographies of the Maternal Relatives
日中則昃, 月滿則虧, 物盛則衰, 樂極則哀. ("When the sun reaches its zenith it declines; when the moon is full it wanes; when things flourish they decay; when joy reaches its peak grief comes.") Just as the sun declines once it peaks and the moon wanes once full, this conveys the meaning of "fullness leads to loss (盈則虧)" — that all things in the world, upon reaching fullness, begin to decline. It transmits the teaching always to keep to humility and the mean.
Zuo Zhuan — Duke Zhao, Year 8
盈而勿復, 天之道也. ("To fill yet never fill again — this is the Way of Heaven.") This passage recorded in the Zuo Zhuan explains the principle of "waxing and waning" that is the workings of nature. It awakens us to the truth that when things reach fullness, not clinging to that fullness but passing on to the next stage is the natural order of the world.
📚 Daily Words
Brimming over with fullness; or to make something brim over.
Money or goods left over after use; a surplus, or the state of having such a remainder.
Waxing and waning; mainly used of changes in the moon or the tides.
Filled to overflowing; the state of a space or a heart being sufficiently filled.
🎭 K-Culture
Tradition
"盈" carries an important meaning in Korean traditional culture as a symbol of "abundance" and "fruition." Especially on holidays such as Chuseok and the first full moon of the lunar year, its spirit dwells in the wish that the year's harvest and hopes be "filled to the full," expressed by sharing food and exchanging words of blessing.
🌍 World Culture
Western Philosophy
In Western philosophy too, the concepts of "excess" and "deficiency" are important. Aristotle's idea of the "Golden Mean" resonates with the Eastern thought of guarding against the excess of fullness (盈) and pursuing proper balance. In holding up a harmonious and fitting state, rather than extreme fullness, as the ideal, we can find a point where the wisdom of East and West converges.
🤖 AI Era Lesson
"Amid the boundless "fullness (盈滿)" of information and technology, we must reflect on what true wisdom really is. Beyond simply "filling up" with data, we must consider what value and meaning that data can "fill us with" for the good of humanity. Recognizing that the fullness of technology does not equal the fullness of happiness, and living while preserving the innate value of being human, we can at last experience the true value of 盈 and achieve sustainable growth."
📜 Classical Poetry (1)
A Verse from the Thousand Character Classic
Zhou Xingsi (470–521) — Liang Dynasty
日月盈昃 辰宿列張
The sun and moon wax and decline; The stars and constellations are arrayed and spread across the sky.
This verse from the Thousand Character Classic embodies the workings of nature — that just as the sun and moon, once full, decline, all things in the world follow the principle of waxing and waning, diminishing and growing. Here '盈' means "filling up," like the moon growing full, and forms a contrast with the following character '昃 (declining)' to reveal the cyclical order of the universe. Through it we learn the virtues of humility and restraint and gain the wisdom to accept the changes of the world.
❓ Quiz
1. Which of the following is the most appropriate basic meaning of the character 盈?
2. Among the following idioms, which is closely related to '盈' and is a metaphor for "a matter being accomplished step by step in due order"?
