儒家
rújiā · HSK 7
Confucian school
📜 儒 = Confucian scholar + 家 = school/family-of-thought, so the school of Ru
家 marks a school of thought (as in 道家 Daoism, 法家 Legalism). 儒 originally meant a learned scholar or ritual specialist, so 儒家 is literally the scholars' school: the tradition founded on Confucius.
家 — roof 宀 + pig 豕
Originally a pictograph of a pig under a roof, since domesticated pigs were kept in or under the home in ancient China. Over time the meaning broadened from 'household' to 'family,' and by extension 'home' or a specialist (as in 专家, 'expert').