Definitions

zhé to relegate a high official to a minor post in an outlying region (punishment in imperial China); to banish or exile; (of immortals) to banish from Heaven; to censure; to blame
zhé variant of 謫|谪[zhé]

Etymology phono-semantic

speech

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

(traditional ) originally means to reprimand, blame, or officially condemn someone for a fault. It is a phono-semantic compound: the left side ( in traditional) conveys speech, while the right side provides the sound. In historical bureaucratic usage, this verbal censure evolved into the demotion and forced exile of a government official to a remote location, typically for incurring the emperor's displeasure or committing an administrative error.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern