政党
zhèngdǎng · HSK 6
political party
🏛️ zheng (govern) + dang (party) = the gang that governs
政 means government or politics, 党 means party or faction. Together they form political party. Think: the dang gang running the zheng government.
党 — top 龸 (尚 shàng phonetic) + 儿 (legs/person)
Simplified from 黨, originally written with 黑 (black) below 尚 (esteem), suggesting a darkened or shadowy faction. The simplified form replaces 黑 with 儿 (person/legs), keeping 尚 as the phonetic. Meaning shifted from 'clique' to neutral 'party' or 'association'.