About
裱 is a phono-semantic compound: it joins the radical 衤, the combining form of 衣 (yī, 'clothing'), with the component 表 (biǎo), which indicates the pronunciation and also means 'to display'. This link to clothing arises from the age-old technique of using cloth, silk, or paper backing to reinforce and protect fragile items like paintings, calligraphy, and scrolls. Thus, 裱 primarily means to mount such artworks for preservation and display, and by extension it refers to applying paper or fabric to walls and ceilings.
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