革

1. Material: Tanned leather or animal hides (specifically skin that has been processed, scraped, and cured).

2. Processual: To strip away, peel, or remove the outer layer.

3. Abstract: A decisive break with a previous state; fundamental change, replacement, or reform.

• Noun: Leather goods; structural reform, revolution, or total overhaul.
• Verb: To undergo fundamental transformation; to shed an old identity or system; to replace an obsolete order.

• 革 (gé) vs. 改 (gǎi): 改 typically implies correction, amendment, or the alteration of specific details to fix a fault. 革 implies a structural overhaul—the removal of the old to make way for the new.
• 革 (gé) vs. 變 (biàn): 變 is a general term for change, mutation, or fluctuation. 革 is purposeful and decisive; it is an intentional breaking with the past.

In systemic or political contexts (notably in the Yi Jing), the term denotes "timely replacement." The legitimacy of such action generally rests on two conditions: that the existing order has become obsolete or exhausted, and that the new order possesses the capacity to gain trust.

• Register: Translating simply as "change" may erase the term's inherent decisiveness. Depending on context, consider reform, revolution, overhaul, or renewal.
• Literal vs. Metaphorical: In descriptions of clothing, armor, or craftsmanship, verify if the term is used literally (leather) before applying a metaphorical reading of transformation.