About
萱 is a phono-semantic compound formed from the semantic radical 艹 (cǎo), indicating a plant, and the phonetic component 宣 (xuān). It refers to the daylily (Hemerocallis fulva), a perennial with bright orange or yellow flowers. In classical Chinese literature, the daylily was believed to help people forget sorrow and alleviate grief, earning it the alternative name "forget-sorrow plant" (忘忧草). This association connects the character to maternal love and the desire to ease a parent's worries, making it a common motif in poems about mothers.
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