My friend Eric Abrahamsen, founder of Paper Republic, has a new article on the International Herald Tribune blog about guǎn 管:

Originally meaning “pipe” or “flute” — the feathery bit at the top is the bamboo radical, indicating a section of bamboo culm — guǎn later evolved into a verb meaning “to manage” or “to be in charge of.” If I were given only one word to capture Chinese society, guǎn would be it.

It’s a fun and informative article, and reminded me of the line of Xi Chuan’s I translated, 我管不住我的心, which I translated as “I can’t control my heart.”