The story of 茍

introspection

茍 is composed of 卝 (two tufts of hair) and the variant of 卩 (token). 卝 is the picture of the two horns of goat, while 卩depicts a kneeling man, so 茍 depicts a Qiang (羌) people kneeling respectfully and wearing a ram's horn headdress, goat is the symbol of the Qiang people. In ancient times, the Qiang people were enslaved by the Yin (殷) people, so the picture of a kneeling Qiang people were used to mean respect. 茍 is rarely used nowadays, and such meaning has been replaced by 敬.