央 yāng center
central; to beg
How it came to be
A person with a yoke or collar across the neck, sitting exactly halfway along it. The figure is not the point; where the crossbar meets it is, and that is the middle.
用法
- Bound morpheme 'center' - chiefly 中央 (zhōngyāng) the center / central authorities: 中央政府 (zhōngyāng zhèngfǔ) central government.
- Verb sense 'to beg/plead': 央求 (yāngqiú) to earnestly implore. 夜未央 (yè wèi yāng) = the night is not yet over (literary).