TSUMUGU · TOCFL 5 (est.) · 字
荊
荊 ＝ 艹 ＋ 刑
ㄐㄧㄥ · jīng
noun — thorn bush, brambles; the old name of the Chu lands
字源 FORM — what the parts do
艹義plants — the grass radical
{j,q,x}ITxíng → jīng — a step inside {j,q,x}; tone shifts too
A plant (艹) with 刑 xíng for sound, x stepped to j — the thornbush, the bramble that closes a hillside. The bramble country of the south was 荊 — the old name for Chu, kept in 荊州. With its partner: 荊棘, thorns and hardship.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
山徑兩旁的荊棘（艹）長過人高，袖子一勾就是一道口子。
The brambles (艹) along the trail stand head-high; one snag of a sleeve leaves a tear.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)荊條、荊棘— thornbush, brambles
→荊州、荊楚— the Chu lands — the bramble country常用
→負荊請罪— to carry brambles begging pardon — the rod on one's own back
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
刑xíngthe sound donor — 刑 keeps its blade 刂 bare, 荊 grows grass over it棘jíthe partner in 荊棘 — two thorn-trees 朿 side by side