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灵líng

Character evolution

灵

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Shuowen

灵 (líng). The oracle bone form depicts a rain cloud above a shaman (巫) performing a ritual, indicating a spirit invoked by rain. The character later added the “雨” radical to emphasize the meteorological aspect, while the phonetic component “冖” and “口” represent the ritual utterance. Thus the written form encodes the ancient belief that rain spirits were called forth by shamans.

Pinyin

líng· HSK 2