The story of 赦

pardon

赦 is composed of the variant of 亦 (also) and 攵 (flap). 亦 depicts a man stretching his arms, while 攵 is the picture of a hand holding a stick or hammer, so 赦 is the picture of a criminal being hit by a stick. Corporal punishment was used in ancient China, the criminal would not be pardoned until he suffered the punishment.