The story of 券

ticket, deed

券 is composed of 龹 and 刀(knife). 龹 depicts two hands holding a stalk of grain in order to separate the grains from the straws, while 刀 has the meaning of dividing and separating, so 券 means contract or bond, in ancient China, contracts are written on a wooden or metal plate, then split in two with each party holding one half. Now 券 mainly means ticket or voucher.