The Chinese word "指南" is formed by combining the characters "指" (zhǐ), meaning "to point" or "indicate", and "南" (nán), meaning "south", which directly originates from ancient Chinese compass devices that physically pointed toward the south. This literal concept of "pointing south" evolved metaphorically to represent anything that provides direction or guidance, such as a manual or guidebook, encapsulating the idea of steering or showing the way in a broad sense.