取经
qǔ jīng · HSK 7
to learn by studying another's experience
📜 取 fetch + 经 scriptures = fetch the scriptures; idiom for picking up know-how from others
From the legend of the monk Xuanzang trekking to India to fetch Buddhist sutras (the Journey to the West tale). Today it means to study how someone else does things and bring their methods back home.
取 — ear 耳 + hand 又
取 originally depicted a hand (又) grasping an ear (耳), referencing the ancient practice of soldiers cutting off enemies' left ears as proof of kills to claim rewards. The meaning broadened from 'seize/take by force' to the general sense of 'take, get, obtain' used today.
经 — silk radical 纟 + 巠 (underground stream)
Originally written 經, combining the silk radical 糸 with 巠, depicting vertical threads on a loom. The core meaning was 'warp threads,' which extended to 'pass through,' 'classic text,' and 'manage.' The phonetic 巠 also suggests the sound.