国会

Étymologie et composants

The Chinese word 国会 (guóhuì) for "parliament" is a compound of two characters: 国 (guó), meaning "country" or "nation," and 会 (huì), meaning "meeting" or "assembly." The term 国会 was first used in China in the late 19th century, when it was adopted from the Japanese word 国会 (kokkai), which in turn was borrowed from the English word "parliament." The term 国会 was chosen to represent the idea of a representative body of the people, as it literally means "national assembly."The character 国 (guó) has a long history in Chinese, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE). It was originally a pictograph of a walled city, and it has been used to represent the concept of a country or nation ever since. The character 会 (huì) also has a long history, dating back to the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046-256 BCE). It was originally a pictograph of two people talking, and it has been used to represent the concept of a meeting or assembly ever since.The combination of the characters 国 and 会 to form the word 国会 is a natural and logical one, as it literally means "national assembly." The term 国会 is now used in China to refer to the country's highest legislative body, the National People's Congress.