According to the book Explaining Simple and Analyzing Compound Characters (Shuowen Jiezi) written by Xu Shen (d. 147 AD in the Eastern Han Dynasty), the traditional Chinese character Dang, meaning “party” or “gang,” consists of two radicals that correspond to “promote or advocate” and “dark or black” respectively. Putting the two radicals together, the character means “promoting darkness.” “Party” or “party member” (which can also be interpreted as “gang” or “gang member”) carries a derogatory meaning. Confucius said, “A nobleman is proud but not aggressive, sociable but not partisan.”......

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