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The character 笏, denoting a ceremonial tablet held by officials in imperial audiences, is structured with the bamboo radical (⺮) atop the phonetic component 勿, reflecting its original manufacture from bamboo and its historical pronunciation. Initially representing a practical object for noting memoranda, the term's application expanded to encompass later variants made from ivory or jade denoting higher rank, yet the character itself did not broaden in meaning, consistently referring to this specific instrument of court ritual across historical periods.
Etymology Hide
