Why is there the character 李 in 行李？

Question

Pleco lists three meanings for the character 李：

• plum tree
• plum
• a surname

None seem related to luggage!

Answer 1

The comments have the right idea.「行李」originally referred to a kind of messenger sent to run an errand, extended to mean the act of delivering a message/running an errand, further extended to mean to travel, and then finally the items taken along a journey; luggage.

「李」was used as a phonetic loan for「理」since the Warring States period, and for whatever reason,「行李」became more popular than「行理」, which is now restricted to meaning messenger.

Answer 2

the earliest one i find, "行李" was used in 春秋　襄公八年:

知武子使行人子員對之曰﹒君有楚命﹒亦不使一介行李﹒告于寡君﹒而即安于楚

"李" is borrowed from another character "吏" (lower ranking official)

so "行李" meant "行吏", roughly "special envoy"

the identifier "一介" is still used nowadays, to describe "一人，一個。有卑微、謙虛之意。"

http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000149395

then, in 陶淵明集　卷一　贈長沙公族祖:

遙遙三湘﹒滔滔九江﹒山川阻逺﹒行李時通

"行李" here meant travellers (旅客)

afterward, in 宋書　卷九十八, by 沈約:

道賢至西城為守兵所殺﹒行李蔽擁﹒日月莫照

in this text, "行李" would be interpreted as (corpses of) soliders, and /or belongings.

道賢 (the name of general) was defeated, the corpses of soldiers, and their belongings were in large quantity, that shadowed the shine of sun & moon.

last, in 周書　卷二十, by 令狐德棻

州境南接襄陽﹒西通岷蜀﹒物産所出﹒多諸珍異﹒時既與梁通好﹒行李徃來﹒公私贈遺﹒一無所受

"行李" in this one should be treated as goods / products, not any humans.

quite near to the current meaning as luggage.

have fun :)