Sinograph Addenda · Signs

white

Namewhite
Readsbái
Meanswhite; plain, unadorned
Taught in03 · Having and lacking

Where it comes from

The old picture is honestly disputed — a grain of rice, a thumbnail, the first glow of dawn have all been proposed; every candidate is something pale. The senses run white → plain → clear, the lit and knowable side of things. Taught in the having-and-lacking chapter, where it also lends its sound to .

How to remember it

A sunrise sliver over the sun-square: the first white of the day.

In the wild

,守黑。zhī qí bái, shǒu qí hēi"know its white, keep its black" — white is fame, black is obscurity: understand what it takes to shine, and choose the shadow anyway; the Laozi's recipe for lasting influence
Laozi 28. urn:nabu:kanripo:KR5c0057:028:1a · license: attribution.