The Plow FamilyRadical 耒
One plow turned up the well-fields and the solar terms
ShuowenShuowen: “耒, the curved wooden implement for tilling by hand. From wood, with 丰 as sound.”
The oracle form of 耒 is a forked curved stick — the oldest earth-turning tool. The plow radical keeps the farmer’s kit: 耒耜, 耕耘, 耙耨. The character 耕 takes “well” (井) — ploughing on the well-field system; 耦 takes “pair” — two people pulling one plow abreast. Shennong cut wood for the spade and steamed it for the plow: one plow turned up the well-fields, turned up the twenty-four solar terms, and turned up the saying “plough and read, and the family endures.”
The Root Character · Reading “耒” in Three Layers
See the form
A forked curved stick: one handle, two tines — thrust into the earth like an oar.
Read the logic
Plow characters are all farming: 耕, 耘, 耙, 耨, 耦, 籍 — one plow turned up the well-field system and the registers of households.
Grasp the wisdom
“Hoeing grain at noon” — see the Grain Family. The plow turns up soil, and raises people: plough and read, and the family endures.
The Making of a Glyph
- Oracle boneA curved handle, forked at the tip, held as if in hand.
- BronzeThe curve deepens; tines distinct.
- Small sealWood radical, three bars — the form regularised.
- Clerical & regularSettled into 耒, head of the farm-tool family.
Glyphs are schematic reconstructions, not rubbings.
The Chain of Tillage
From the earth-turning spade to the seed-drill cart — one chain walks a whole year of fieldwork.
Turn, break, weed, sowThe curved-handled digger — ancestor of farm tools.
Shennong “cut wood for the spade, steamed wood for the plow” — the first patent of farming civilisation.
Character Assembly · Two Parts Become One
When two parts walk toward each other, a new character is born. Watch how they meet.
耕 gēng
FormThe plow (耒) beside a well (井) — tilling the well-fields.
LogicThe character carries a map of the well-field system: nine squares, eight families each tilling their plot, the centre tilled for the lord.
Wisdom耕 hides a fossil of land law inside it — the system drawn in the character, the dinner growing in the system.
耦 ǒu
FormThe plow (耒) beside 禺 as sound — two people, one plow.
LogicTwo ploughing abreast is 耦 — the earliest “collaborative labour”.
Wisdom耦耕 — Chang Ju and Jie Ni ploughed abreast as Confucius passed by: two recluse plows cut the eternal question of engaging or withdrawing from the world.
耤 jí
FormThe plow (耒) beside “past” (昔) — the Son of Heaven gripping the plow himself.
LogicThe 耤-field rite: at spring ploughing the emperor pushes the plow three steps, to lead the realm.
Wisdom耤 — even the Son of Heaven must push the plow once: inside the ceremony is governance — food is heaven for the people; ploughing comes first for the ruler.
耨 nòu
FormThe plow (耒) beside 辱 — a hand weeding with the plow.
Logic辱 originally meant weeding with a plow — the weeding work was called 辱.
Wisdom耨 — weed while the sprouts are small: the same with habits. “Deep ploughing, easy weeding”: the effort lives in the everyday.
Branches of the Family
Hover (or tap) a character to see what it means.
The Farm-Tool House
The register of implements under the plow radical.
- 耒
- 耜
- 耙
- 耖
- 耧
- 耢
- 耥
- 耔
From Plow to Person
The turned soil grew into registers and names.
- 籍
- 藉
- 耪
- 藕
- 耠
- 耢
- 耨
- 耦
「Plough and read, and the family endures; poetry and books continue the line.」
—— Proverb
「One plow in spring rain, ten thousand households tilling and weeding.」
—— Proverb