說「爭」

An Explanation of the Word〝爭〞

本文由古文字分析爭字本義，以明其字形演變的脈絡。甲骨文的爭字作爭，可區分作又、 、力三部件，字的本形象手持力器翻土挖井形，字的本義為耕。爭字至周金文增生聲而為靜，作靜，正確分析是「从爭生聲」。《說文》以降謂「从爭青聲」的理解，恐非爭字的原意。

The essay discusses the original meaning of the ancient character 〝爭〞, and traces the transformation of its spelling over time. The word 〝爭〞in oracle bone inscriptions means 耕; it consists of three pictographic parts to create the image of a hand holding tools to cultivate soils and to dig well. In Chou bronze inscriptions 〝爭〞is spelled as〝靜〞, which includes a phonetic part (生聲). 靜 should therefore be interpreted as 「 爭生聲」, but not, as in the cases of 《說文》 and later understandings, 「 爭青聲」.