what exact image is the basis for the 圭?

Question

The Hanzi meaning for 圭 guī = (old) jade tablet (a ceremonial badge of rank)

I checked the images, not sure based on what jade tablet 圭 is drawn, can any one point to the correct image? Thanks

Answer 1

「圭」 does not come from a depiction of a tablet. That meaning of jade tablet is a semantic extension.

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時期 字體	字形	參考資料
—	A	—
商 甲		乙6776 合集11006
—	B	—
商 玉璋		殷墟玉璋
西周 金		師遽方彝 集成9897
春秋 金		旨於賜戈 集成11310
戰國・秦 石刻文		詛楚文
東漢 隸		華山廟碑
楷

「圭」 (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*[k]ʷˤe/, jade implement) had two origins: A) the blade-head of a ceremonial jade dagger-axe 「戈」 (/*kʷˤaj/), and B) semantic 「士」 (bladed weapon > soldier) with simultaneously semantic and phonetic 「戈」.

For reference, Shāng-era forms of 「戈」 inscribed with an emphasised blade-head:

商
甲

屯南2194
　商
金

戈觶
集成6054

Series A) doesn't survive in the modern writing system; for Series B), later on, 「士」 was doubled, and 「戈」 was omitted. The 「士」-shapes were eventually corrupted into 「土」, forming 「圭」.

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References:

• 季旭昇《說文新證》
• 李學勤〈從兩條《花東》卜辭看殷禮〉
• 陳劍《說殷墟甲骨文中的「玉戚」》
• 小學堂
  • 字形演變
  • 金文
• 王輝《殷墟玉璋朱書「⿹戈士」字解》
• 國學大師
  • 郭沫若《甲骨文合集》
  • 中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》

Answer 2

If you google for images of 圭 you may find the designs vary a bit. The following is the shape given by dictionaries:

辞源 ▼

汉语大字典 ▼