Explore the character that encompasses birth, nurture, and education
Mother’s Day offers a moment to reflect on the often invisible labor of care, teaching, and emotional resilience that shapes our lives from the very beginning. Just as our ancestors worshipped fertility through art and ritual over 30,000 years ago, we continue to recognize the vital role mothers play in shaping our lives today. In Chinese, the character 育 (yù) captures this layered role with remarkable precision: it means “to give birth,” but also “to nurture” and “to educate.”
As far back as the second century, The Analytical Dictionary of Chinese Characters (《说文解字》) defined 育 as the act of teaching a child to do good deeds (育，养子使作善也). On the oracle bones over 3,000 years ago, the character for “birth” is quite self-explanatory. On top of the character is the shape of a woman, and on the bottom is an upside-down baby. Together, it creates the scene of a woman in labor.
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