兑 | 兌

Today we move to character 兑, whose Traditional version is 兌. 兌 not particularly different from its Simplified counterpart - 兑, but we can tell that it is related to 兄 we just learnt. What does the header  or represent here, together with 兄?

Before guessing its original meaning, let us examine its ancient scripts first:

 We can see that there is no obvious difference between 兌 and its ancient scripts shown above.

兌, which is 兄 plus . As we have know, 兄 is the person with authority in the family.  should be 八, which we also know to contain the original meaning of divide. So 兌 is to present that oldest brother excises his authority to divide (something) among his clans.

while Simplified version 兑 is more likely to represent the 兄 is speaking  or commanding.

During the process of dividing benefits among clans, people would exchange their shares with others for something they are more interested in. 兑 is thus used to mean exchange. for example: 兑换.

And during the same process, 兄 would fulfill his promise to clan members who contributes more, 兑 thus also contains the meaning of fulfill or realize (the promise or agreement). for example 兑现诺言.

That is all for 兑, time to enjoy a Chinese calligraphy with 兑 | 兌 inside:

春播一禾，秋兑一梦。

兄

Our character today 兄 is obviously composed of two components : upper part 口, bottom part 儿. 

We have known the meaning of both of them, but what is the aggregated meaning here? A kid is talking? Or a kid is eating?

Let us see if we can get more clues from the evolution history of 兄 :

evolution history of 兄

Its Oracle script , and its following Bronze and Seal scripts are all following the same pattern. But its bottom part refers to 人, instead of 儿 initially.

Since we cannot get any ideas from 兄 itself, we look around for other Chinese characters for help. Another Chinese character 祝, which contains more complex meanings, helps to understand the character 兄. 

evolution history of 祝

We will get to know what 祝 means later, but for now, you only need to know that 祝 confirms that 兄 is to represent "a person is speaking".

And modern form of 兄 uses 儿 as its bottom part instead of 人, 兄 must be more closer to kid or child.

In ancient China, during the family 祭祀 (a Chinese family ceremony during which family members recall and worship ancestors) , the male head of the family will represent the family to speak and worship. This is what  is drawn to represent "the son who is speaking".

And in Chinese tradition, usually first born son is always the male head, who is the eldest brother of the siblings.

And also in Chinese tradition, eldest brother take the responsibilities to take care of the family when their father passed away, thus he also have the authority to command his younger brothers. So   also represent "the son who is in command".

So that is all for 兄, it is to mean elder brother. for example 长兄如父。

Since 兄 has the meaning of male head of a family or tribe, we also call others 兄 to show respect. for example: 赵兄.

that is all for today, time to enjoy a Chinese calligraphy with 兄 inside:

兄弟敦和睦，朋友笃信诚。