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琮 is a phono-semantic compound: the left-side radical 王, which serves as the combining form of the jade radical, indicates a semantic connection to jade and precious stones, while the right-side component 宗 functions as the phonetic to guide the pronunciation. It names a highly specific ritual jade object, a hollow cylindrical inner tube encased within a square or rectangular outer block. These physical artifacts functioned as critical ceremonial instruments in state rituals to offer sacrifices to the earth, representing the cosmological concept of a square earth. The structural precision of the character underscores the highly specialized terminology used to classify ceremonial jade items according to their exact geometric proportions.
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