種

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魅力漢子ON THE CHARACTER

種

It takes all sorts

種：只問耕耘

A utumn rain poured down on 900 rural poor as they desperately prayed for it to stop. Escorted by two m ilitary off cers， they were expected to arrive at Yuyang （northeast of present day Beijing）to serve as guards for the frontier of the Q in Em pire （221 BCE - 206 BCE）. Roads were fooded and they had lost all hope of making it on time. The punishment for tardiness was death， not an uncommonsentence under the rule of their ferocious emperor who moved nearly 15 percent of the empire's entire population to build the Great Wall， a luxury palace， and a grand mausoleum. Just as their bleak future began to set in， Chen Sheng （陳勝）， a m inor leader of the group， started to preach to his peers： “王侯將相，寧有種乎！” meaning，“K ings， lords， generals， and m inisters， it's not the noble breed that made them！” Such a statement was shocking， but it worked. This group of poor peasants became rebels and Chen became China's own Spartacus. Though ultimately defeated， Chen's famous slogan rang across the country， inspiring thousands upon thousands of repressed to join the rebellion， which weakened the rule of the Qin that would crumble three years later.

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This historical tale leads us to our character of the day， 種， which has several pronunciations and meanings. When pronounced zhǒng， as in the tale， it means “breed， seed， or species”； when it's pronounced zhòng， it means “to p lant， sow”. On the left side， the 禾 （hé， standing grain，especially rice） represents its relationship to plants. The right radical 中 （zhōng） was in its traditional form 重 （zhòng） but has since been simp lifed； In both case： it represents the character's pronunciation.

The original meaning of 種 （zhòng） is “to sow， grow， plant， and cultivate”： 種花（zhònghuā， to p lant fowers）； 種菜 （zhòngcài， to plant vegetables）； 種田 （zhòngtián， to cultivate the feld）. The next time you p lant something， here's some musing on karma for your garden： 種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆 （zhòng guā dé guā, zhòng dòu dé dòu. Plant melons， you get melons； sow beans， you get beans； as you sow，so w ill you reap）.

Sometimes， the return can be long-term， as in the idiom 前人種樹，后人乘涼 （qiánrén zhòng shù, hòurén chéngliáng. While earlier generations plant the trees， posterity will enjoy the shade）.

種 can also be used in situations other than farming； for instance， to have a dental implant is 種牙 （zhòngyá）； to have a vaccination is 接種疫苗 （jiēzhòng yìmiáo）， or種疫苗 （zhòng yìmiáo） for short. You can also“plant” something abstract， such as in the overly dramatic case of 你在我的心里種下了愛情，我在你的心里種下的是仇恨。（Nǐ zài wǒ de xīnli zhòngxiàle àiqíng， wǒ zài nǐ de xīnli zhòngxià de shì chóuhèn.） O r， “You p lant love in m y heart， but what I have planted in your heart is hatred.”

As mentioned before， when 種 is pronounc with the third tone， as in zhǒng， it turns into a noun. For examp le， you have 種子 （zhǒngzi，seeds） and 花種 （huāzhǒng， fower seeds）. See can also be f gurative， such as a seeded playe or 種子選手 （zhǒngzi xuǎnshǒu）， and a seeded team， or 種子隊 （zhǒngziduì）.

Although originally connected with p lants，the character can also generally refer to animals and people to mean species， or 物種（wùzhǒng）. W hen it comes to race， the word to use is 種族 （zhǒngzú）， more academ ically known as 人種 （rénzhǒng）.

When a species dies out， which is sadly all too often these days， it's called 絕種 （juézhǒng For instance， 科學家在研究恐龍為什么會絕種。（Kēxuéjiā zài yánjiū kǒnglóng wèi shénme huì juézhǒng. Scientists are researching why dinosaurs went extinct.）Also， as you m ight imagine， the character is also involved in quite a few insults. Calling someone a 孬種 （nāozhǒng） is to say they hav no guts， a coward. In a confrontation， you wi probab ly hear the aggressive p rovocation， 有種的站出來！（Yǒuzhǒng de zhàn chūlái！）， or “Let anyone who has guts step forward！”

種 can also typify sub jects， meaning “kind，style， sort， and type” as in 種類 （zhǒnglèi）. For any special type， use the word 特種 （tèzhǒng）such as 特種部隊 （tèzhǒng bùduì， special forc The character is also a measure word， for instance， 漢語是一種美麗的語言 （Hànyǔ sh zhǒng m0ilì de yǔyán）， which means “Chinese i a type of beautiful language.”

From plants， animals， peop le， and more， 種a testament to the colorful world in which we live. - HUANG WEIJIA （黃偉嘉） AND lIU JUE （劉玨）