同

The Chinese character 同 (tóng) is composed of two parts: the radical 亻(rén), which represents a person, and the phonetic component 仝 (tóng), which is a simplified form of the character 東 (dōng), meaning "east". The original meaning of 同 was "to go east together", which later extended to mean "to be together", "to be the same", or "to agree".The character 同 has been used in Chinese for over 3,000 years and has a rich history of usage. In ancient times, it was often used in religious and philosophical texts to refer to the unity of heaven and earth or the harmony of the universe. In modern times, it is commonly used in everyday language to express the idea of "togetherness" or "similarity".The character 同 is also used in many Chinese idioms and proverbs. For example, the idiom 同舟共济 (tóngzhōu gòngjì) means "to be in the same boat and share the same fate", while the proverb 同声相应, 同气相求 (tóngshēng xiāngyìng, tóngqì xiāngqiú) means "birds of a feather flock together".Overall, the character 同 is a versatile and important character in the Chinese language, with a rich history and a wide range of meanings and uses.