The story of 豈

how

豈 is composed of the variant of 手 (hand) and 壴 (drum) . 壴 is the picture of a drum, so 豈 depicts a hand beating a drum. In ancient China, troops would beat drums after returning from a victory. 豈 originally meant victory and joy, but such meaning was later replaced by 凱 and 愷. Nowadays, 豈 is only used as a function word, means how, with the tone of criticizing.