About
榷 is a phono-semantic compound: the wood radical 木 on the left associates it with timber and wooden items, while the phonetic element 隺 on the right gives the sound "que". Its earliest meaning was a simple wooden footbridge, essentially a single plank placed across a stream. Over time, the character broadened into economic and administrative contexts, signifying a state monopoly over trade, especially for commodities like salt, tea, and liquor in imperial China. It later developed a separate sense of discussion or deliberation, now most commonly seen in the word 商榷 (shangque).
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