The story of 賊

thief

賊 is composed of 貝(shell) and 戎(weapon, military matters) but from Bronze Script(金文) and Seal Script(小篆), we learn that the original form of 賊 should be composed of 則(principle) and 戈(spear). The original meaning of 賊 should be someone who destroy rule and do something illegal, the later 賊 which is composed of 貝 and 戎, represents fetching the property of the other people by force, ancient Chinese use shell as currency, so 貝 has the meaning of assets or property.