The word 公平 (gōngpíng), meaning "fair" or "just", is formed through a conceptual blend of its two component characters. The first character, 公, carries the core idea of "public", "common", or "impartial", evoking a sphere beyond private interest. The second, 平, means "level", "even", or "flat", like a undisturbed surface or scale. Combined, they create a powerful compound metaphor: fairness is conceived as an impartial, public standard applied in a uniform, balanced way to everyone, just as a level tool would treat all things it measures without bias. The formation is thus a fusion of a social principle (impartiality) with a physical ideal (evenness) to embody the abstract concept of justice.