董事长
dǒngshìzhǎng · HSK 7
board chair
🪑👔 dong-shi-zhang sounds like DONG the gavel, SURE the CHAIRMAN agrees
董 = supervise, 事 = affairs, 长 = chief. The one who oversees board affairs. A gavel dong, and the chair says sure — thats your dong-shi-zhang, the board chairman.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.