总
(bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zong3 jing1 li3] or 總編|总编[zong3 bian1] etc
Closest English meanings
total·overall·always
The Calligrapher — Yī Bǐngshòu 伊秉绶
Qing master whose monumental clerical script rivalled Deng Shiru.
Qing calligrapher (), master of clerical script/seal script — Qing master of monumental clerical script, all width and calm. Qing dynasty
Cultural Story
总 is the binding into one — 說文 shows the gathering of threads under a knot. The word was the whole made from the loose ends, the count that subsumes the count. A character for the summing, the place where the many become the one number you can actually carry.
Common words & phrases
- 总之 in short · in conclusion
- 总数 total · sum
- 总理 premier · premier minister
- 总结 summarize · summary
Read the story behind the character
总理 is the title on the podium, 总结 the deck a quarter demands, 总之 the word that closes the argument, 总数 the figure at the bottom. The knot is a spreadsheet now; the whole is the same. We still bind the loose ends, and call the sum a conclusion, which the old knot already was.
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