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Meaning & History
A combination of the characters 杵 (chǔ, meaning “pestle”) and 臼 (jìu, meaning “mortar”). This was the name of several individuals during the Chinese Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 473 BCE). One was Duke Jing of Qi (齐景公), who ruled the state of Qi during Confucius’ lifetime, and another was Gongsun Chujiu (公孙杵臼), a retainer of the powerful Zhao clan in the state of Jin. Gongsun Chujiu is known for his role in the Orphan of Zhao story, where he sacrifices himself to protect the eponymous orphan after the Zhao are massacred by their enemy Tu’an Gu.