向
surname Xiang; towards; to face; to turn towards; direction; to support; to side with; shortly before; formerly; always; all along; (suffix) suitable for ...; oriented to ...; to tend toward; to guide; orientation; to turn toward; to
Closest English meanings
toward·direction·facing·always·tend
The Calligrapher — Zhào Gòu 赵构
Southern Song emperor and prolific patron of running-script calligraphy.
Song calligrapher (1107–1187), master of regular script/running script — known for 《草书洛神赋》. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
向 was toward. Li Shangyin, ill at ease as evening came, "drove toward the ancient mound" -- 向晚意不适，驱车登古原. The word carried the facing of one thing by another: a door's orientation, a heart's lean. 向来 meant always, from of old. It named the direction taken and the habit long held, the turn of body and of mind.
Common words & phrases
- 方向 direction · orientation · bearing
- 向往 yearn for · look forward to · aspire
- 向前 forward · ahead · onward
- 向上 upward · up · ascending
- 向来 always · all along · hitherto
- 倾向 tendency · leaning · incline · bias
Read the story behind the character
A sign shows the 方向; a teenager 向往 the city she has only seen online. The marchers step 向前; the balloon rides 向上. He 向来 arrives early; the data shows a 倾向 toward the left. The word runs the day's aims -- the bearing, the yearning, the advance, the habit, the lean. It names where a thing faces and where a person means to go.
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