TL;DR: Minh 明 is written today with Nhật 日 (Sun) and Nguyệt 月 (Moon) and means bright, illuminating. The Shuowen Jiezi records the ancient form 朙 composed of Nguyệt and 囧 (a bright window), while the Great Treatise in the I Ching states "nhật nguyệt tương thôi nhi minh sinh yên," meaning Sun and Moon push each other and light is born. Reading Minh as a symbol of yin and yang meeting is a later philosophical interpretation, not the Shuowen's explanation.
What does the character Minh 明 mean and what components is it made of?
Minh 明 means bright, illuminating, clear. According to the Shuowen Jiezi, the Nhật 日 radical is explained as "thực dã, thái dương chi tinh bất khuy," meaning a full entity, the essence of the Sun without deficiency[1]. The Nguyệt 月 radical is explained as "khuyết dã, đại âm chi tinh," meaning a gap, the essence of the Great Yin[1]. The character 明 as written today is made of these two components.
We must distinguish two forms of Minh in the history of writing. The first is 明, with Nhật 日 on the left and Nguyệt 月 on the right, which is the official form today. The second is 朙, with Nguyệt 月 on the left and 囧 on the right. The Shuowen Jiezi records the entry 朙 under the 朙 radical: "chiếu dã, tòng nguyệt tòng 囧," meaning to illuminate, following Nguyệt and following 囧[1]. The 囧 radical is explained as "song dũ lệ lâu khai minh, tượng hình," meaning a latticed window through which light enters, a pictographic character[1].
Thus the form 朙 recorded in the Shuowen evokes moonlight shining through a window; reading 明 as Sun and Moon shining together rests on the form used today, and the Shuowen does not explain it that way. Both forms revolve around the idea of light coming from celestial bodies.
Why is Minh composed of Nhật and Nguyệt?
The Shuowen does not say why 明 is written with Sun and Moon; the common reading rests on the fact that both celestial bodies are sources of light the ancients could observe. The Great Treatise (繫辭下) records: "nhật vãng tắc nguyệt lai, nguyệt vãng tắc nhật lai, nhật nguyệt tương thôi nhi minh sinh yên," meaning when the Sun goes the Moon comes, when the Moon goes the Sun comes, Sun and Moon push each other and light is born[3]. The passage belongs to the part of the Great Treatise (繫辭下) that comments on the line 「憧憧往來」 of the Hàm (Xian) hexagram.
In the first part of the Great Treatise (繫辭上), chapter VI, it says: "âm dương chi nghĩa phối nhật nguyệt," meaning the meaning of yin and yang pairs with Sun and Moon[2]. This shows that in I Ching thought, the Sun represents Yang, the Moon represents Yin, and the interaction between the two celestial bodies is the most concrete expression of the yin yang law.
Chapter V of the Great Treatise defines: "nhất âm nhất dương chi vị đạo," meaning one Yin and one Yang is called the Way[2].
Reading 明 alongside these lines, later readers often take the Sun as Yang, the Moon as Yin, and light as the point where the two meet. That is a later philosophical reading, not the Shuowen's explanation of how the character is built.
In which sun and moon idioms does Minh appear?
In the Shuowen Jiezi, many characters under the Nhật radical carry meanings related to light and illumination, such as 昭 (chiêu, meaning "nhật minh dã," the Sun is bright)[1], 晤 (ngộ, meaning "minh dã," bright)[1], 曉 (hiểu, meaning "minh dã," bright)[1], 昕 (hân, meaning "đán minh, nhật tương xuất dã," early morning, the Sun about to rise)[1], 昉 (phảng, meaning "minh dã," bright)[1], 晟 (thịnh, meaning "minh dã," bright)[1]. These entries show that the Shuowen often glosses characters of the Sun radical with the word "minh" itself.
Some familiar idioms and phrases containing Minh or related to Sun and Moon:
| Idiom / Phrase | Han Characters | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Quang minh chính đại | 光明正大 | Bright, upright, honorable |
| Minh mục | 明目 | Bright eyes, clear sight |
| Thông minh | 聰明 | Sharp ears and keen eyes, wise |
| Minh bạch | 明白 | Clear, unambiguous |
| Thiên minh | 天明 | Sky brightens, or Heaven's judgment |
| Văn minh | 文明 | Radiance of culture, civilization |
Notably, the character 昌 (xương) in the Shuowen Jiezi is explained as "mỹ ngôn dã, tòng nhật tòng viết, nhất viết nhật quang dã," meaning beautiful words, following Nhật and following Viết, one theory says it is sunlight[1]. This shows the ancients linked light with good speech, clarity with language.
How are yin yang and sun moon understood in the I Ching?
The Great Treatise (繫辭上) opens with: "thiên tôn địa ti, càn khôn định hĩ," meaning Heaven is high, Earth is low, Càn and Khôn are positioned[2]. Then this chapter writes: "thị cố cương nhu tương ma, bát quái tương đãng, cổ chi dĩ lôi đình, nhuận chi dĩ phong vũ, nhật nguyệt vận hành, nhất hàn nhất thử," meaning hard and soft rub each other, the eight trigrams move, stirred by thunder and lightning, moistened by wind and rain, Sun and Moon operate, one cold one hot[2]. Thus, the operation of Sun and Moon is one of the direct expressions of change.
Chapter XI of the Great Treatise (繫辭上) writes: "huyền tượng trước minh mạc đại hồ nhật nguyệt," meaning among suspended images of brightness, none is greater than Sun and Moon[2].
Chapter I of the Great Treatise (繫辭下) writes: "thiên địa chi đạo, trinh quan dã; nhật nguyệt chi đạo, trinh minh dã," meaning the Way of Heaven and Earth is to be correct and so be seen, the Way of Sun and Moon is to be correct and so give light[3]. The word "minh" here refers to the brightness of Sun and Moon, opposed to darkness. In the I Ching system, Sun and Moon are not just two celestial bodies but two operating principles of the universe.
What is special about Minh in personal and place names?
Minh and characters under the Nhật radical are often used in personal names with the wish to bring brightness and wisdom. In the Shuowen Jiezi, 昶 (sưởng) is explained as "nhật trường dã," meaning a long day[1]; 晄 (hoảng) is explained as "minh dã," meaning bright[1]. These characters all carry positive meanings and often appear in courtesy names and pseudonyms of the ancients.
In Vietnamese and Chinese folk belief, names containing Minh are often given by parents wishing their children to be wise, knowledgeable, and live transparently. This is a belief about the meaning of names, not a claim about the personality or fate of the person bearing that name.
Among place names, Minh appears in Minh Hải (a former province in the Mekong Delta, now part of Cà Mau province) and Minh Hóa (a former district of the former Quảng Bình province, now in Quảng Trị province).
How does Minh influence Vietnamese culture?
Minh in Vietnamese is widely used in many fields, from politics (minh bạch, minh chứng), law (minh oan, minh định), to education (thông minh, minh triết) and daily life (minh mẫn, minh tinh). These senses all revolve around the meaning "to illuminate" that the Shuowen gives for 朙[1].
In Eastern philosophy, Minh is tied to concepts such as "minh đức" (bright virtue) and "minh triết" (wise understanding).
Chapter XII of the Great Treatise (繫辭上) writes: "thần nhi minh chi, tồn hồ kỳ nhân," meaning to make divine and bright, that lies in the person[2].
Gợi ý của Nhật Nguyệt
Gợi ý của Nhật Nguyệt: When studying Minh, readers can start from two directions. First is the philological direction, consulting the Shuowen Jiezi to understand the character's structure and original meaning. Second is the philosophical direction, reading the Great Treatise to see how Minh is used in the yin yang thought system. These two directions complement each other: philology shows which components the character was made from, while philosophy shows how later readers placed the character within yin yang thought. In daily life, understanding the original meaning of Minh can help learners of Han characters and lovers of Eastern culture recognize the continuous thread between language and thought, between the written word and how the ancients viewed the universe.
