笙
small gourd-shaped musical instrument
At a glance · 笙
Evolution of the glyph
Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.
Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE
⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.
「笙」从竹生声，小篆从竹笙声，形声清晰。
What the sketch shows
Origins & notes
「笙」本义为簧管乐器（笙簧），八音之一。
Structure
从竹、生声，形声字，竹表吹奏乐器义类，生表音，本为笙。
At a glance
Pinyinshēng
Radical竹
Strokes11
UnicodeU+7B19
Character type形声
Theme礼乐
Six languages, one character
Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.
English
small gourd-shaped musical instrument
small gourd-shaped musical instrument
Français
sheng (orgue à bouche)
Sheng (orgue à bouche). «鼓瑟吹笙» : jouer du sheng.
Español
sheng (órgano de boca)
Sheng (órgano de boca). «鼓瑟吹笙»: tocar el sheng.
العربية
شِنغ (آلة نفخ)
شِنغ (آلة نفخ). «鼓瑟吹笙»: عزف الشِنغ.
Русский
шэн (духовой)
Шэн (духовой инструмент). «鼓瑟吹笙»: играть на шэн.
Common words
- 笙shēngsheng
- 笙箫shēng xiāowind instruments