臧

zāng, zàng

戕 + 臣

Definitions

zāng surname Zang

zāng good; right

zàng old variant of 藏[zàng]; old variant of 臟|脏[zàng]

Etymology

Depicts a weapon (戈) slashing an eye (臣). In ancient China, captured prisoners were blinded with weapons making them into slaves. 爿 was later added as a sound component. Based on the original meaning, "slave; servant". The current meaning "good" is a phonetic loan.

Semantic: 臣 Phonetic: 戕

About

臧 is a complex compound character that historically meant "good", "right", or "morally sound", while also serving as an early variant for the verb "to store" or "conceal". Its structure combines the minister radical 臣 on the left, the halberd component 戈 on the right, and the split wood element 爿 integrated into the left vertical section. This arrangement of a servant, a weapon, and structural elements originally related to safeguarding captives, treasures, or valuables in a secure place, which informed its verbal sense of storing. Over time, the successful protection and accumulation of such goods became associated with positive outcomes, leading to the character's common use in classical literature as an adjective for goodness, virtue, and success.