0071 法

法

This character means ‘law, method, rule.’ It’s pronounced HŌ or nori in Japanese, fǎ in Chinese.

No author claims to understand its origin. The figure on the left,

氵,

is the vertically compressed form of

水,

which means ‘water.’ The figure on the right,

去,

means ‘to leave, to pass (as in time passing), to move away.’ The archaic character,

,

doesn’t help too much in understanding the meaning, though some water, a man, and something like a pot are clearly visible. Therefore, I propose remembering the character with these Taoist-style thoughts:

The Rule is that water goes away. It leaves, flows, or simply evaporates. Also, it seeks to be level, i.e., lawful.