About
The character 蘩 (fán) refers to an aromatic herb, white southernwood (Artemisia stelleriana), used in ancient Chinese sacrificial rituals and traditional botany. It is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical 艹 (cǎo) at the top places it in the plant category, while the component 繁 (fán) below primarily indicates pronunciation, though its meaning of "flourishing" may also suggest dense foliage. Due to its specialized use, 蘩 appears chiefly in classical poetry, historical agricultural texts, and discussions of traditional Chinese herbal taxonomy.
Etymology Hide
