What does 經 mean?
In the previous two posts, we discovered that these Six Thing-a-ma-jigs were first named as Jīng, 經 by Qí Bó in NèijīngSùwèn, chapter 6. Therefore, the next step in understanding what these Six Things are is to explore the meaning of 經.
To decide what any character “means”, one must look at the way it is used in different contexts and discover the consistent thread of meaning between these uses. It is virtually impossible to accurately translate 經 as one word, though we often must. For the student/practitioner, a bit of understanding of these complex meanings may expand our relationship to our medicine.
Jīng 經 is made up of the thread radical on the left and the image of water streaming below the surface on the right. A possible definition of 經 is “an underlying structure or constant flow of threads or information that is invisible or enigmatic[1], giving rise to rise to and influencing visible phenomenon.”
This broad definition covers the bases I think. Let’s check. […]