It is stated in The Book of Rites that“立必正方，不倾听”（To stand，one must be straight；to hear，he must not incline his head）． The New Book by Jia Yi also says“固颐正视，平肩正背，臂如抱鼓。足间二寸，端面摄缨，端股整足。体不摇肘曰经立，因以微磬曰共立（恭立），因以磬折曰肃立，因以垂佩曰卑立”．In translation，it means“when standing，one should hold his head straight and look ahead，with shoulders and back square and flat，and holding the arms as if holding a drum，and keeping the feet two inches apart，... ”There are four standing postures of courtesy namely经立（jīnɡlì），恭立（ɡōnɡlì），肃立（sùlì）and卑立（bēilì）．经立（jīnɡlì）refers to the posture that one stands with his cap well fit，looking ahead，shoulders square and head facing the front．恭立（ɡōnɡlì） means to stand with one'stop bending a little，head lower a little and eyes looking down，bending one's waist naturally，and肃立（sùlì）refers to the standing posture with one's back bending to 90 degrees．卑立（bēilì）is to stand bending one's belly more than 90 degrees．

The Book of Rites says“立则磬折垂佩。主佩倚，则臣佩垂；主佩垂，则臣佩委”，meaning“the king or the host stands straight with his scarf on his body and the subject should bend over to hang down his scarf．If the king or host bends over to make his scarf hand down，the subjectshould descend and make his scarf hand down to the ground”．

In this section，we will explain characters related to the Standing Postures such as人，体，大，太，天，夫，夭，从，立，匕，比，北，并，夏，exploring their meaning，origins and relations with human body．

人rén

人is written as （《铁》191）in oraclescript， in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Section 页from Shuo Wen ，it says，“人，天地之性最贵者也。此籀文，象臂胫之形”（Man is the noblest creature on earth．The shape of this large seal script is like that of the arms）．According to Xu Shen，人is the noblest creature that the world has ever bred．It is a pictogram，looking like the shape of a person standing sideways．The shapes of his arms and legs can be seen clearly．

The original meaning of the character人means“man who can produce and use tool”．人is a hieroglyph related to human body．In Chinese oracles，there are a number of human body related hieroglyphs．In the early times，oracle characters representing human body profiles，head，body，arms，elbows，hands，fingers，calves，neck，feet and toes were omnipresent．Later as Chinese ancestors carved and inscribed characters on tortoise shells and animal bones，they changed the curved lines to straight ones for convenience，and therefore transformed the shapes of head，body，legs and neck into a turning line and arms and legs into a downward slanting line．

For thousands of years，the character人（rén），a primitive pictograph，has already changed from the original image of a person in profile into a streamlined present form．And this indicates the evolving process and rules of Chinese characters．A man standing in profile is represented by人，a front standing profile of a man is symbolized by大（meaning large），a man lying on his back is尸（meaning a corpse），and a kneeling man is presented by卪 （jié）．The character人in oracle forms is an image of a man standing in profile，meaning a person．Any Chinese character with this radical component of sign is somehow related to the human beings and their activities，such as从，众，伐，休，伏，保，etc．The semantic radical component of人does not have a fixed position when used in a character．It can be put in the left，right or middle of the character as a radical component indicating the sign and meaning．When this character evolved into the clerical script of隶书（lìshū），it has developed two variations，namely the left positioned radical component form亻and the right positioned人．

In the Chapter On Wood of Er Ya ，the earliest ancient Chinese encyclopedia，there was a term called核人，meaning the kernel or nut．And it is very common to find in a traditional Chinese medicine prescription the characters like杏人七钱or枣人五钱，referring to the apricot kernel or China date kernel．And this indicates in ancient Chinese，the character人and仁can be used interchangeably．

体tǐ

The original complex form of体is體．It is written as in small seal script．In Radi cal Section 骨from Shuo Wen ，“体（體），总十二属也。从骨，”豊声［体（體）refers to the body．There are twelve parts of human body in total．This character is categorized as骨in radical section．It is pronounced as豊]．According to Xu Shenis the word de，体scribing the total twelve parts of the human body．It is a pictophonetic character or phonogram with骨as its ideographic element and豊as its phonetic component．

The original meaning of体is body．For example，in On Self-Cultiva tion from Xunzi （ Works of Xuncius ），it says，“体恭敬而心忠信，术礼义而情爱人”（When an integral man should be respectful and humble in his body posture，and loyal in his heart，... ）In Gaozi Ⅱ from Mengzi or Works of Mencius ，it also reads“饿其体肤，空乏其身”．In translation，this sentence means“when heaven is about to confer a great office on any man... It exposes his body to hunger，and subjects him to extreme poverty”．

“体”（body）can also be extended to四肢（limbs）．For example，in Weizi from The Analects of Confucius ，it writes“子路问曰：‘子见夫子乎？’丈人曰：‘四体不勤，五谷不分，孰为夫子？’”Intranslation，itmeans“Zi Lu，one of Confucius's disciple，asked the old man，‘Have you ever seen my master，sir？’”The old man replied，“Your four limbs areunaccustomed to toil；you cannot distinguish the five kinds of grain—who is your master？”Another example can be found in King Hui of Liang I from Works of Mencius ，that is“轻暖不足于体与”（Are you led to desire pleasure because you have not enough of rich and sweet food for your mouth or because you have not enough light and warm clothing for your body？）The meaning of“体”（body）can also be metonymically extended to“体态”（posture）and“实体”（entity）．In terms of literature，this character can be used to mean“文体”（writing style）．For example，in Biography of Xie Lingyun of The Book of Song ，it says“自汉至魏，四百余年，辞人才子，文体三变”，which means“over the 400 years from the Han Dynasty to Wei，the writing styles of the scholars and poets have changed for three times”．

大dà，dài

大is written as （《佚》393）in oracle script， in bronze script（from Wu Si Zi Tripod ），and in small seal script．In Radi cal Section 大from Shuo Wen ，it says，“大，天大、地大、人亦大，故大象人形”（Theheaven and earth are grand．So are human beings．Hence，大has a shape of a human being）．According to Xu Shen，the heaven，earth and human beings are grand．Therefore，大has the shape of人（a human being）．Therefore，the word大looks like theshape of人（human beings）．It is a pictogram，indicating the meaning of big by showing the shape of human in the front．

The meaning of大is“very big or large human body”．The reason for using the symbol of a tall and big man to indicate largeness is the Chinese belief that“human beings are the prime of all the creatures of nature”，and it can also be a reflection of human beings'anthropocentrism．The character is the front shape of human body．When used as a radical in a character，it is usually positioned in the middle or the upper section．Characters with大are usually related to“human”such as夫（man，husband），夭（run），奔（run fast），爽（cool）．

The meaning of this character is extended from the largeness and height of a man to seniority in age or the nobility of virtue．It can also be used to mean bigger，larger or more than that．For example，when people say“我大你一轮”（I am bigger than you by a round），they mean“I am 12 years older than you”．The word大夫（big man）differs in meaning over times．After the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty，the term大夫（dàfū） was used to mean the title of imperial officials like the censor，court-admonisher，the imperial advisor and Imperial Minister of State．After the Song Dynasty（960 AD－1279 AD），doctors were called大夫（dàifu）and this use is continued until now．

If a dot is added to the character大，another character太is formed．太is a self-explanatory or indicative character，sharing the same meaning with大．According to Guang Ya ，the oldest Chinese encyclopedia，太was created because people wanted to use words to describe bigness，greatness or grandness．For example，大宰（minister）is called太宰，大子（prince） is called太子，周大王is called周太王（King Tai of Zhou）．It is believed that太was used as early as in the Warring States Period．However，this character was not taken in Shuo Wen ，the first dictionary of China．It was only put under the character泰with an ancient script太．

天tiān

天is written as （《乙》9092）in oracle script， in bronze inscription（ Mao Gong Tripod ）and in small seal script．In Radical Section 一from Shuo Wen ，it says，“天，颠也，至高无上。从一、大”（天is the highest peak among all the things on earth）．This character is categorized in radical sections一and大．According to Xu Shen，天is the head of the universe with the highest position．It is an associative compound expressed by一and大，showing that the greatest of all things is the sky．

In Shuo Wen ，天means the highest，the supreme，the most lofty，the mightiest，etc．It is made up of the radical一and大．According to Xu Shen，the author and compiler of Shuo Wen ，天refers to the paramount of the universe，and has the transcendent position．This character is an associative character，employing the parts of一（one）and大（large）to mean the largest，highest and mightiest of everything is the universe，the sky．

Xu Shen believed that天indicated the head of man，and this is right．But he regarded the character as an associative compound，and it is not that correct．天is actually a pictograph of人（human），and it cannot be explained in separate parts．In oracles，天is similar to大in form but there is some difference．大is the image of a man standing in front and if the head of the standing man is emphasized，天is formed．Originally，the head part of the character should be round in shape，and it is written in a line or drawn as a square for the purpose of convenience．

The original meaning of天is the head or top of head of a human being．In oracles，there are two usages with one used to mean the top of the head．In Shan Hai Jing （ Legends of Mountains and Seas ），an ancient mythology encyclopedia about China，there is a story about a man called刑天（xínɡtiān）．This man tempted to fight for the thrones of the gods in the heaven but was defeated，beheaded，and buried under the Mount Changyang．His ambition was not fulfilled and he was not reconciled to this failure．He would not take his defeat lying down，and therefore，he used his breasts for eyes and belly button as mouth，keeping on fighting by wielding his poleaxe and shield．The character of刑in刑天is a verb，meaning to punish，while天means the human head．Therefore，刑天means beheaded．

The meaning of the character天（the human head）is later extended to mean the highest part of the universe—the sky．It is also used to mean the will of the heaven or one's destiny．For example，in Chapter Gong Sun Chou Ⅱ in Works of Mencius ，it reads天时不如地利．In translation，this means“opportunities of time vouchsafed by Heaven are not equal to advantages of situation afforded by the Earth．”（translated by James Legge） In a philosophical treatise entitled Lun Heng （ On Judgment ），written by the scholar Wang Chong of Later Han Period（25 AD－220 AD），it writes“古天与今无异”，which means“the sky of the ancient times is not so different from what it is now”．In a poem entitled The Chile Song of Yue Fu Poem Anthology ，it reads“天似穹庐，笼盖四野”，which means“the sky is like a dome covering the wild land”．In a poem entitled A Song of the Everlasting Sorrow by Bai Juyi（772 AD－846 AD），a famous Tang Dynasty poet，it reads“天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期”．In translation，this poem line means“Heaven and earth may not last forever．But this sorrow was eternal”．The character天in these examples refers to“the heaven or the sky”．In contrast，in the Speech of Tang ， Shang Shu in Book of Histori cal Documents ，it reads“有夏多罪，天命殛之”，which means“but for the many crimes of the sovereign of Xia，Heaven has given the charge to destroy him”．In Records ofthe Grand Historian-Annals of Xiang Yu ，it says“此天之亡我，非战之罪也”，which means“it is the fate that wants to perish me，and has nothing to do with this war”．In Homeward Bound I Go ，a poem written by Tao Yuanming（365 AD－427 AD），a renowned poet in the Jin Dynasty，it reads“乐夫天命复奚疑”，which means“let me submit to the will of heaven and be content with my fate forever”．In these three examples，天means“the will of heaven or the fate”．

天下and天涯are used to refer to“China or the world”．In Chapter GonɡSun Chou Ⅱ in Works of Mencius ，it reads“天下顺之”，which means“the whole kingdom becomes obedient to the prince”．Another example can be found in Northern Expedition Memorial from The Romance of Three Kingdoms ，it writes“今天下三分”（Today，the empire is divided in three）．In a poem entitled A Song for the Lute Player by Bai Juyi，a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty，there is a famous sentence“同是天涯沦落人，相逢何必曾相识”（Both of us in misfortune go from shore to shore．Meeting now，need we have known each other before？）

In ancient books，天马usually was a term for steed，and it could also be mantis．According to Wings in Er Ya ，the reason could be that a matis has a long head and light weight，and when moving，it looks like flying，resembling that of a horse．

夫fū，fú

夫is written as in oracle script（《前》5．32）， in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Section 大from Shuo Wen ，it says，“夫，丈夫也。从大，一以象簪也。周制以八寸为尺，十尺为丈。人长八尺，故曰丈夫”（夫meanshusband．It is categorized as the radical section大．The一at the top of the character looks like a hair clasp）．According to the measurement in the Zhou Dynasty，eight寸（ cun ）equals one尺（ chi ）；ten（ chi ）equals one丈（ zhanɡ ）．When the height of a man is eight chi ，he can be called丈夫（an adult man）．According to Xu Shen，夫is a common name for adult men．It is a pictograph with大as human and一as a hair clasp of an adult man．

In oracles，the three characters of大、天、夫are similar in stroke and structure．夫means an adult male，and is pronounced as fū．In ancient China，a man is considered an adult when he was 20 and capped through the Adulthood Capping Ceremony，which marked a person's transition to adulthood．夫refers to an adult man．In the poem entitled Mu Men from Ode of Chen ， The Book of Odes and Hymns ，there is a line saying“夫也不良，国人知之”（That man is no good，and everyone knows it）．夫means that man．In Chapter Tang Wen ， Liezi ，written by Lie Yukou in the Early Warring States Period（about450 BC－375 BC），it reads“遂率子孙荷担者三夫”，which means“Yu Gong，the old man，then led three of his adult sons and grandsons who were strong to the mountains”．三夫means three adult males．Another example can be seen in an article entitled On Wealth Accumulation by a scholar called Jia Yi in the Han Dynasty，it reads“一夫不耕，或受之饥”．In translation，it means“If an adult man does not do his farming，someone is likely to suffer from hunger”．一夫refers to an adult man．

When a man enters his adulthood，he can get married and therefore，the character夫is extended to mean the husband of a woman，and the pronunciation is fū．夫人means man's wife．In the poem entitled The Mul berries by the Road from Yue Fu Poem Anthology ，the lines read“使君自有妇，罗敷自有夫”（What nonsense you talk，sir！You have your own wife，and I my own husband）．夫here refers to husband．

夫can also be used as a pronoun，meaning“this”or“that”，and is pronounced as fú．This usage is a borrowing，which does not have direct relation to the original meaning of the character．For example，in Xian Jin from The Analects of Confucius ，it says“夫人不言，言必有中”（That man keep silent，but when he does say something，he invariably takes the point）．夫can also be put at the beginning of the sentence as a modal particle．For instance，in Zuo Zhuan （ The Spring and Autumn Annals ），it says “夫战，勇气也”（The most important element to win a battle is the courage）．When used at the end of a sentence，the character can also function as a word to introduce comments．For example，Confucius says“逝者如斯夫”（Time is going on like the river flowing away endlessly day and night） in The Analects of Confucius ．

夫子was used to refer to a scholar or a teacher as a respectful form of address．In King Hui of Liang I from Works of Mencius ，it says“愿夫子辅吾志，明以教我”（I wish you，my master，to assist my intentions）．Here夫子means the teacher，master．

夭yāo

夭is written as in oracle script（《甲》2810）， in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Section 夭from Shuo Wen ，it says，“夭，屈也。从大，象形”（夭means the action of bending．It is categorized in the radical section大．The word is called a pictograph）．According to Xu Shen，夭means bending over．It is a pictograph，with大as its ideographic component．大looks like a crooked head．

Observed from oracles or bronze inscriptions，this character夭looks like a running figure with hands swinging by the sides．There is no tilt of head．In seal characters，it was wrongly changed into a tilted shape．And the meaning of the character explained by Shen Xu in Shuo Wen as“bending the body”is not correct．The character means“run fast”．Neither this“running”nor that“bending”meaning is found in ancient documents．When doubled in use as夭夭，the word means“the flourishing and exuberant growing of plants”．In The Book of Odes and Hymns ，it says“桃之夭夭，灼灼其华”（The peach trees are in full blossom，so dazzling and brilliant are the flowers）．Here夭夭means exuberant，灼灼means blooming beautifully．Another usage of this word is to describe a gentle and graceful movement．For example，in The Analects of Confucius ，it reads“子之燕居，申申如也，夭夭如也”，which means when the Master was unoccupied with business，his manner was easy，and he looked pleased．夭夭here means placid and serene manners．

夭is also used to mean“premature death”as the death of a young child．In Works of Mencius ，it says“夭寿不贰，修身以俟之，所以立命也”（Neither a premature death nor long life causes a man any double-mindedness，but he waits in the cultivation of his personal character for whatever issue；this is the way in which he establishes his heaven-ordained being）．

匕bǐ

匕is written as in oracle script（《乙》3729）， in bronze inscription（from Wo Tripod ）and in small seal script．In Radical Section 匕from Shuo Wen ，it says，“匕，相与比叙也，从反人。匕，亦所以用比取饭，一名柶”（匕has the same meaning with比，referring to comparison．It is categorized in the radical sections反and人．匕can also mean the spoon for putting rice ，which can be called柶）．According to Xu Shen，匕is similar to比and it means to compare with others．

There are three meanings of this character．The first one is that it is a reversed character of人，like a profile of a man bending or lying on stomach，and is a separated part from the character比．The second meaning is more or less of a soup spoon，which was a long handle spoon used to get food．And the third meaning is“the spouse of an ancestor”．And this is the belief of Mr．Guo Moruo，a Chinese historian．In oracles and bronze inscriptions the meaning of spouse of an ancestor was indicated by the character妣．It is difficult to distinguish the three meaning from the shape of this character．To identify the meanings，a context is needed．

The following part compares the characters of匕，比，从，立，并and北．

比bǐ

比is written as in oracle script（《人》1822）， in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Section 比from Shuo Wen ，it says，“比，密也。二人为从，反从为比。凡比之属皆从比。夶，古文比”（比means intimacy．It consists of two人．When the two人are arranged in the opposite way，a new character is formed．All the words with比are categorized into the radical section比．夶is the ancient usage of比）．According to Xu Shen，比represents intimacy．The meaning can also be extended into denseness．This associative compound is made up of two人．If it is written in a right way，it will be从；in the opposite，it will be比．It indicates the side-by-side relationship between people．

In oracles and bronze inscriptions，比was presented as the figures of two men standing together facing right，with the top part illustrating the heads，and the lower part indicating the legs and the lower right section representing the extended arms．The original meaning of the character比is two men standing close together．

This meaning is extended to many other usages．The character can be used to mean“side by side”or next to each other．In a poem written by Wang Bo（about 650 AD－676 AD），a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty，it says“海内存知己，天涯若比邻”，meaning“long distance separates no bosom friends”．比can also be used to mean“together”，as is in the ancient Chinese encyclopedia Er Ya ，“南方有比翼鸟焉，不比不飞，其名谓之鹣鹣”，which means“there are inseparable love birds in the South，always flying together and are named Jianjian”．The character also means“opposite to each other”．

Since the shape of the character represents two men who can be compared，比can be used as a preposition of comparison and contrast，such as“小李比小陈个高”（Mr．Li is taller than Mr．Chen）and“现在的生活比过去好多了”（The life now is much better than that in the past）．

从cónɡ

The original complex form of从is從．从is written as （《粹》149） in oracle script， in bronze inscription and in small seal script．In Radical Section 从from Shuo Wen ，it says，“从，相听也，从二人”（从means obedience．The character is classified into the radical section of two人）．According to Xu Shen，从means obedience and compliance．It is an associative compound represented by one人following another．

According to Xu Shen，the original meaning of the character is“a man following the other”and this is an associative compound character indicating a man in front followed by another．

立lì

立is written as in oracle script， in bronze script and in small seal script．In Radical Section 立from Shuo Wen ，it says，“立，住也，从大立一之上。臣铉等曰：‘大，人也；一，地也。会意’”（The meaning of立is standing by．The character is classified into the radical section大，which is arranged at the top of 一）．According to Xu Xuan and other experts，大（big）means人（people）；一means ground．This is an associative compound．According to Xu Shen，立means stand．It is an associative compound with大and一representing people standing on the ground．

This character is also used as a radical．With立as a radical part，the character is related to standing such as并（bìnɡ，竝 standing together），端（duān，端正standing straight）．大is the front side of the human，一（yī）is the surface of the ground and立is a man standing on the surface of the ground．

The basic meaning of立is“standing on the surface of the ground”．In the chapter of Records of the Grand Historian-Annals of Xiang Yu ，it says “哙遂入，披帷西向立”（Then he rushed in，stood facing the west with the mantle on his shoulders）．

The meaning of human standing can be extended to the standing of objects or the establishment of a state，the making of policies or laws or the enthronement of an emperor．立can also be used as an adverb，meaning“straight away，immediately”．

并bìnɡ

并is written as ， in oracle script， in bronze script and in small seal script．In Radical Section 立from Shuo Wen ，it says，“并，相从也。从从，开声。一曰：从持二为并”（并refers to following．It is categorized into the radical section从and follows the phonetic pattern of开）．According to Xu Shen，并means to follow．It is a pictophonetic character with从as its ideographic element and开as its phonetic component．Others hold that it is an associative compound．从is composed by two人（persons）taking干（shields），meaning being comparable．

In oracles and bronze inscriptions，并is an indicative character，indicating two persons with the one or two horizontal strokes refer to“categorizing or being together”．

北běi，bèi

北is written as in oracle script， in bronze script and in small seal script．In Radical Section 北from Shuo Wen ，it says，“北，乖也。从二人相背”（北means violating．It is two人standing back to back）．According to Xu Shen，北is breach．It is an associative compound，indicating its meaning by showing two人（persons）back to back against each other．

This character originally meant two men standing back to back．It is later used to mean“against”，and is written as背（bèi），replacing the character“北”，and北is used exclusively as a word for the location．In the literature，北is often used to mean“defeated and flee”．For example，in Wu Du from Han Feizi ，it writes“鲁人从君战，三战三北”（A man of the State of Lu went fighting the battles with the ruler of Lu．He went to the battles three times and fled three times）．It can also be used to mean“the north”as in Records of The Grand Historian-Annals of Xiang Yu “沛公北向坐”，which means Pei Gong sat facing the north．Another example can be found in On the Stone Bell Mountain written by Su Shi（1037 AD－1101 AD），a famous scholar and poet in the Song Dynasty，it reads“南声函胡，北音清越”，which means“they（the rocks）made a clanging sound，dying away gradually like bells，one in a clearer and the other in a muffled tone”．北can also be a verb，meaning“to face north”．For example，in a prose called On Yueyang Pavilion written by Fan Zhongyan（989 AD－1052 AD），a scholar，poet and educator of the Song Dynasty，it reads“然则北通巫峡，南极潇湘”．In translation，the sentence means“since the lakes linked with Wu Gorge in the north and extends to the Xiao and Xiang rivers in the south，many exiles and wandering poets gather here and their reactions to these sights vary greatly”．

兆was used as the same meaning of背in ancient times，and is pronounced as bèi，meaning“against，counter to，violate，breach，etc”．

夏xià

夏is written as in oracle script and in small seal script．In Radical Section 夊from Shuo Wen ，it says，“夏，中国之人也。从夊，从页……”（夏means inhabitants from China．It is classified into the radical sections夊 and页）．According to Xu Shen，夏refers to the tribes in the ancient central plain，which became the name of the central plains or Chinese people．

The character夏illustrates a complete image of human figure with the head，hands，and legs．Its image vividly represents the human figure in early bronze inscriptions and looks like a strong and powerful man，and its original meaning is the tribal man of Huaxia clan（华夏族）．The Huaxia clan was the ancestors of the Han nationality．It is said that in the times of Xiahou family（夏后氏），men were able to build places to live with wood and make fire by striking a flint to produce sparks．夏is also borrowed to refer to summer，the second season of the year．In The Book of Odes and Hymns ，the first collection of Chinese poetry，it writes“四月维夏，六月徂暑”（April is the start of summer while in June it is already very hot）．夏is also used to mean“tall building”as厦．In a poem entitled June from Minor Odes of the Kingdom in The Songs of the South ，it says“曾不知夏之为丘兮”，which means“how it comes that the tall buildings in Yingdu，the capital of Chu has become ruins”．Later，the character夏is often used as a family name．

夹jiā

夹is written as in oracle script（《佚》792）， in bronze scriptand in small seal script．In Radical Section 大from Shuo Wen ，it says，“夹，持也。从大，侠二人”（夹means to take．It is categorized into the radical sections大and侠）．According to Xu Shen，in the middle of夹is大．There are two人on the left and on the right respectively，showing the meaning of two people supporting the middle one．

夹originally means to assist．For example，in On the Burial Rites of Li Ji （ The Book of Rites ），it says“使吾二婢子夹我”（And ask the two maids of mine to assist me）．This is an interesting character with multiple meanings．夹缝means the gap or the path between two walls，夹衣means two layers of clothes，夹子means clips．The traditional complex form of夹is written as夾，indicating a man is assisted by two other men standing on each side of him．For example，the traditional complex form of“陕”is written as“陝”with two人as its radical parts in the right side and is distinctively different from the simplified modern form． sPkpYhuayfOYWKJgiCqii3WkIbEsXnBECtIq/vpRNx/2Y3f76WHHkNT0Q9tZH/xa