How to Write 庠 (xiáng) — Meaning “Ancient school”

Picture a school building (广) where students learn beside a sheep (羊), since the word for sheep sounds similar to 'yang' (young) — young learners at an ancient school. The image of a school with a sheep mascot can help you recall the meaning of 庠 as 'ancient school'.

Write the radical 广 first: dot, then left-falling stroke, then the inside 羊: dot, dot, horizontal, horizontal, horizontal, vertical. A common mistake is making the 广 too narrow or misplacing the vertical stroke of 羊; keep the shelter wide enough to cover the sheep component.

庠 has 羊 (sheep) inside, while 庇 has 比 (two people) inside and means 'shelter' or 'protect'. 㢆 is a rare character; it looks similar but has a different right component and is not used in modern Chinese. Focus on the inner element to distinguish them.

Today 庠 appears mainly in historical or literary contexts, such as in the compound 庠序 (xiáng xù), which refers to ancient state schools of the Zhou dynasty. It is not used for modern schools but carries cultural weight when discussing China's early education system.

Common words containing 庠 include: 庠序 (xiáng xù) — Ancient school; education system; 入庠 (rù xiáng) — to enter school (ancient term); 庠生 (xiáng shēng) — Student of an ancient school.