统筹
tǒngchóu · HSK 7
plan as a whole
🧮📋 统 = unify + 筹 = plan/counting-rods: unify all the planning into one whole
统 means to unify or integrate; 筹 originally meant the bamboo counting rods used for reckoning, hence to plan or strategize. Together: to coordinate and plan everything as a single integrated whole rather than piece by piece.
筹 — bamboo radical 竹 + 壽 (longevity, phonetic)
Originally written with the bamboo radical over 壽, 筹 depicted small bamboo sticks used as counting tallies or chips in ancient China. From this concrete sense of 'counting rod' it extended to mean 'to count, plan, or scheme,' as seen in modern words like 筹划 (plan) and 筹码 (chip, bargaining counter).