戎

The glyph operates in two primary registers:

1. Military and Martial: Concrete weaponry and military equipment (often as a collective array), the conduct of war or management of an army, and things associated with campaign life (e.g., 戎馬 "war horses," often used metonymically for military service).

2. Ethnic/Political: A proper name for the non-Huaxia peoples of the west and northwest; in later contexts, a general term for "barbarians" or outsiders defined by their military threat.

Functions as a noun (arms; the Rong people) or a modifier meaning "military," "martial," or "pertaining to the Rong."

• vs. 兵 (bīng): While both relate to the military, 兵 is broader, encompassing soldiers and the army as a whole. 戎 leans more toward the hardware of war or foreign forces.
• vs. 狄 (dí): In early texts, these are distinct groups (Rong to the west, Di to the north), though they are frequently paired as 戎狄 for northern and western non-Huaxia peoples.

Fanqie reading: 如融; Tang-period reading: *njiung.

If the glyph appears in lists of cardinal directions or peripheral regions, it is likely designating a people or region rather than weaponry.