乞
匹
乾 - Drought
Drought - morning - Beg -
At dawn a pale sun lifts over cracked fields (morning); a lone villager kneels, palm out and empty bowl in hand (Beg), holding a whisper-thin pile of katsuobushi - dried bonito flakes used in Japanese cooking - as their last offering to the sky.
An elder raises two cups and shouts “乾杯! (kan-pai)” - the sharp “kan!” clinks hollow in dry air while a small trigram ☰ painted on the shrine reminds everyone this is the sky’s verdict (Qián = Heaven).
Picture laundry stiff as cardboard on a line, the brittle rasp of shaved bonito, and that single pleading figure at sunrise - morning + Beg = 乾 (Drought) - a sticky image you won’t forget.
