东
dōng · HSK 1
east
🌅 sun 日 rising behind a tree 木 = east, where dawn breaks
The character 东 (simplified from 東) shows the sun 日 caught in the branches of a tree 木 — the direction where the sun comes up at dawn. Same root as 东方 (the East) and 东京 (Tokyo, 'eastern capital').
东 — sun 日 behind tree 木
Traditionally explained as the sun 日 rising behind a tree 木, pointing to the direction of sunrise — east. Modern paleography suggests the original graph depicted a bundle tied at both ends, and the 'sun-in-tree' reading is a later folk etymology, though it remains the standard mnemonic.