朝

朝 (Kangxi radical 74, 月+8, 12 strokes, cangjie input 十十月 (JJB), four-corner 4742₀, composition ⿰龺月)

• 𠎫 嘲 𢢅 潮 𨗛 𣊿 𣛨 𣎢 謿 𨅹 𩻹 𦺓 𣋂 𢀭 廟

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 506, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14374
• Dae Jaweon: page 885, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2084, character 8
• Unihan data for U+671D

Historical forms of the character 朝
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Qin slip script

In the oracle bone script, it was an ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 2 or 4 屮 (“grass”) or even 木 (“tree”) + 日 (“sun”) + 月 (“moon”) – the sun rising above the ground while the waning moon is still in the sky – the morning.

In the bronze script, it was a compound of 𠦝 and a pictograph of a river (川 or 水) – this was possibly an original form for 潮 (OC *r'ew, “tide”). The river glyph may be a corruption of 月 due to association with tides or diurnal events. Chi (2010) considers such forms to be phono-semantic (形聲／形声) , where 𠦝 is the abbreviated form of the phonetic 朝 (OC *ʔr'ew, *r'ew). In the some late Western Zhou forms, 𠦝 was corrupted into a form resembling 車.

According to Guo Moruo, in the stone drum inscriptions (石鼓文 (shígǔwén), likely from the Spring and Autumn period) 㫃 was added (attached to 車), and the river glyph was replaced with 舟 (OC *tjɯw), which was interpreted as the phonetic component; the small seal script might have inherited from this form. Shuowen interpreted the fused components of 𠦝 and 㫃 as a semantic component 倝 (“dawn”). However, the accuracy of identification has been questioned; the character was a heavily weathered one in which the 㫃 identification was probably spurious and likely influenced by the Shuowen. Meanwhile, the 舟 component on the right remained somewhat legible.[1]

The 舟 component remained in the bamboo and wooden slips of the Warring States period (see the table). In the clerical script since the Han dynasty, 舟 had been reverted to 月; it is unclear whether this was a remnant from 月 in the oracle bone script or a corruption of 舟 (as in 朕 < 𦩎 and many other characters). The current form is essentially inherited from the clerical script.

“Morning” > “perform the morning ceremony” > “to go/come to court; to have an audience”. Derivative: 潮 (OC *r'ew, “morning tide”).

Perhaps related to Thai เพรา (prao, “morning”) (Manomaivibool, 1975).

朝

1. morning

   朝夕  ―  zhāoxī  ―  morning and evening; all the time

2. daytime; day; full day

   • 由今之道，無變今之俗，雖與之天下，不能一朝居也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     由今之道，无变今之俗，虽与之天下，不能一朝居也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Yóu jīn zhī dào, wú biàn jīn zhī sú, suī yǔ zhī tiānxià, bùnéng yī zhāo jū yě. [Pinyin]

     Although a prince, pursuing the path of the present day, and not changing its practices, were to have the throne given to him, he could not retain it for a single day.

   • 今朝有酒今朝醉，明日愁來明日愁。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     今朝有酒今朝醉，明日愁来明日愁。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 833-909: Luo Yin (羅隱／罗隐), 自遣 (Self Consolation)

     Jīnzhāo yǒu jiǔ jīnzhāo zuì, míngrì chóu lái míngrì chóu. [Pinyin]

     If there is wine today, then today is the day to get drunk. Worry about tomorrow's worries when they come tomorrow.

3. (obsolete) beginning; start
4. (Cantonese, Hakka, Northern Min) breakfast
5. a surname

朝

1. (historical) to wish elders or seniors good health; to visit (a senior person)
2. (historical) to have an audience with the king or emperor; to perform the morning ceremony; to go to court
3. to make a pilgrimage to; to pay homage to
4. to assemble; to call; to gather
5. imperial court
6. dynasty (line of rulers)
7. emperor's reign; period ruled by a particular emperor or king
8. government; imperial government
9. affairs of the state
10. (historical) courtier class
11. (Huizhou) paternal grandfather
12. to face

    朝著南邊／朝着南边  ―  cháozhe nánbiān  ―  facing the south

13. towards; to; on

    朝前看  ―  cháo qián kàn  ―  look ahead [lit. look to the front]

14. Short for 朝鮮／朝鲜 (Cháoxiǎn, “North Korea; Korea”).

    美朝關係／美朝关系  ―  Měi Cháo guānxì  ―  US-North Korea relations

• “朝”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

From Middle Chinese 朝 (MC trjew, “morning”):

• Go-on: ちょう (chō, Jōyō)^{←てう (teu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ちょう (chō, Jōyō)^{←てう (teu, historical)}
• Kun: あさ (asa, 朝, Jōyō); あした (ashita, 朝)
• Nanori: とき (toki); はじめ (hajime)

From Middle Chinese 朝 (MC drjew, “dynasty; imperial court; epoch”):

• Go-on: じょう (jō)^{←でう (deu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ちょう (chō, Jōyō)^{←てう (teu, historical)}
• Nanori: かた (kata); さ (sa); つと (tsuto); とも (tomo); のり (nori)

• 朝臣(あそん) (ason)
• 朝(ちょう)鮮(せん) (Chōsen)
• 後朝(きぬぎぬ) (kinuginu)

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *asa. Attested in the Man'yōshū of 759.[2]