About
禛 (zhēn) is a phono-semantic compound: the radical 示 (shì, 'spirit' or 'divine') gives the semantic category, while 真 (zhēn) provides the sound. The character means receiving blessings, true auspiciousness, or a sincere response from heaven. It is most famous from the personal name of the Yongzheng Emperor (Yinzhen) of the Qing Dynasty, which led to naming taboos that restricted its use during his reign. As a result, the character now appears almost exclusively in historical writings or rare contexts referring to divine favor, seeing very limited use in modern standard texts.
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