About
The character 狷 combines the animal radical (犭) on the left with the phonetic component 肙 on the right. Originally related to animal behaviors, it came to describe a cautious, overly timid, or stubbornly principled human personality, one who holds to their own standards and refuses to follow the crowd. In Confucian philosophy, it is often contrasted with wildness, representing someone who is restrained and avoids wrongdoing, making it an important ethical term in classical moral discourse.
Etymology Hide
