The story of 貞

chaste

貞 is composed of 卜(to divine) and 貝, but 貝 is actually the variant of 鼎(a three legged cauldron), so 貞 should be composed of 卜 and 鼎. In ancient China, 鼎 is not only a container for food, possession of 鼎 is often associated with power and dominion over the land, so the 鼎 is often used as an implicit symbolism for power. Also, before emperors made their own decisions, they will ask the god by divination, therefore, 貞 has the meaning of investigation and research, but such meaning has been replaced by 偵, now 貞 means divination. On the other hand, ancient Chinese think that, divination needs faith, so 貞 also means chaste and faith.