The story of 然

correct, so, thus

然 is composed of the variant of 肰(dog meat) and the BuShou of 火(Fire). In ancient Chinese theory, the nature of dog meat is ‘hot’, like fire burning inside the body, that’s why 然 has the meaning of burning, not roast dog meat, now such meaning has been replaced by 燃. In addition, since the heat inside your body after you have eaten dog meat is taken as a matter of course, so 然 also has the meaning of correct, to be and to agree, now it is used as pronoun and adverb, such as 然而(but), 然則(in that case), 居然(unexpectedly), 竟然(unexpectedly), 若然(if), 或然(probably), 仍然(still), 既然(since), 雖然(therefore), 必然(certain).