Chinese Characters

升

PINYIN

shēng

Main meanings:

①liter.

②ascend; rise.

③promote

HSK - 5

STROKES - 4

RADICAL - 十

Etymology:
Elements ---- Pictogram of a ladle as 升. Phonetic series 升.

In Oracle Bone Characters it was the pictogram of a ladle of this capacity; the tenth of a dou 斗. Ascend is the simplified form of 昇.

Main Words:

②ascend; rise.

上升 shàngshēng rise.
升飞机 zhíshēng fēijī helicopter.

③promote

提升 tíshēng promote; hoist.

Discussion and sources

Most of the scholars, Karlgren, Gao Jingcheng, and others think that it was originally a pictogram of a ladle, later loan to ascend. Liao Wenhao however thinks that originally there were two very similar pictograms, one of a ladle and other of a bird ascending, similar to that of 卂 xùn fly quickly. Later both were written 升.

- Gao Jingcheng (高景成). Diccionario del origen de los caracteres más comunes. (常用字字源字典). Language Publishers. Beijing. 2013.

- Karlgren, Bernhard. Grammata Serica Recensa. The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Bulletin 29. Stockholm. 1957.

- Liao Wenhao (廖文豪). El árbol de los caracteres - Esquema de los caracteres referidos al cuerpo (汉字树 - 身体里的汉字地图). Beijing United Pusblishing. Beijing. 2014.

index