About
The character 橐 originally depicted a sack or bag, open at both ends and tied in the middle, used for carrying goods on a person's or pack animal's back. Its early pictographic forms showed a tied bundle, which later stylized into a complex modern structure that no longer clearly resembles its origin. Beyond serving as a simple container for transport, its meaning expanded to include mechanical blowing devices, particularly the leather bellows used by blacksmiths to pump air into a forge and increase the fire's temperature.
Etymology Hide
