上书 (shàng shū) — to submit a written petition or proposal (to a superior or authority)

Definition

上书 (shàng shū) means to formally submit a written petition or proposal to a superior authority — a fairly formal/literary verb. In modern Chinese it survives mostly in historical writing about presenting memorials to an emperor or court.

verb
to submit a written petition or proposal (to a superior or authority)

Examples

  • 上书，。
    Tā jué dìng shàng shū gěi huáng dì, tí chū gǎi gé yì jiàn.
    He decided to submit a petition to the emperor, proposing reforms.
  • 。
    Tā céng jīng gěi cháo tíng shàng guò yí cì shū.
    He once submitted a petition to the imperial court.
  • 上书，。
    Jū mín xiàng shì zhǎng shàng shū, yāo qiú gǎi shàn shè qū huán jìng.
    Residents submitted a written request to the mayor, asking to improve the community environment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上shàngsubmit
书shūdocument

上 conveys the act of presenting, while 书 refers to the written document; together they mean to submit such a document to a superior.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →

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