合

合

“合”字在甲骨文、金文中已出现，可谓历史悠久。按照许慎《说文解字》的解释，“（合），合口也，从亼，从口”，所谓合口，本义为闭合、合拢，引申为多方聚合、聚集、联络、结合的意思。

在现实生活中，“合”强调的是一种外在的行为结果，即因相聚而相合。这种聚集相合行为是直接指向外在的，强调不同个体之间的相合。比如，“合诸侯亦如之”（《周礼》），“君子因睦以合族”（《礼记》）。总之，这种“合”是一种非常好的结果，也是可以带来和睦、和谐的一种行为。又如，“以礼乐合天地之化”（《周礼》），“合于利而动，不合于利而止”（《孙子》）等，这些都是对于人的行为相合与否的论述，表明作为一种行为的结果。

He (合)

The Chinese character "合," which is pronounced in pinyin as "he," boasts a long history as it appeared in inscriptions on oracle bones and on ancient bronze objects. In the Explanation of Script and Elucidation of Characters, Xu Shen stated: "The character '合' is made up of two parts: the upper part '亼' and the lower part '口' Both parts are its radicals." It originally meant closure, and later got extended meanings such as gathering, aggregating, connecting and integrating. 

In real life, "合" emphasizes the external result of a certain action, that is, getting integrated due to the action of gathering. This does stress an external process that different entities get together or get integrated. Such quotes as "Arrange the same rituals when the king meets dukes and princes" (合诸侯亦如之) from The Rites of Zhou (Zhou Li), and "A gentleman binds his kindred by showing kindness to them" (君子因睦以合族) from The Book of Rites (Li Ji) are notable examples. In brief, "合" represents a very good result, as well as an act that can bring peace and harmony. Such quotes as "acting in coordination with the inanimate objects in the universe with rites and music" (以礼乐合天地之化) from The Rites of Zhou, and "Take action when it is in line with the state's interests and stop otherwise" (合于利而动，不合于利而止) from Master Sun's Art of War (Sun Zi) are all descriptions regarding whether people's actions are "合" or not. In those descriptions, "合" is the result of a certain action.