县
xiàn · HSK 4
county
🏛️ county seat; old form 縣 showed a head 首 hung from a tree — districts 'hung' from capital
Originally 縣 depicted a severed head hung up, later borrowed for administrative 'hanging' districts dependent on the center. Modern 县 keeps the sense of a county subordinate to a higher authority.
县 — top 県 (head) + 系 (thread/suspend)
Originally depicted a head 県 hung by a cord 系, meaning 'to hang' or 'suspend'. This sense was later taken over by 縣/悬, while 县 came to mean an administrative district — a region 'attached' or subordinate to a larger jurisdiction.