风气
fēngqì · HSK 7
mores
🌬️ 风 wind + 气 air/spirit = the prevailing 'wind' of a society's spirit
风 (wind) plus 气 (air, vital energy, mood) literally compounds to 'wind-spirit' — the atmospheric mood of a community. English 'climate' (as in 'political climate') works the same way: a shared weather of attitudes.
风 — 几 (table) + 虫 (insect)
Originally written 鳳 (phoenix), later simplified. The traditional form 風 contains 虫 (insect), reflecting an old belief that wind brought insects or that creatures stirred with the wind. The modern simplified 风 keeps 几 as an outer frame around 㐅.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.