CJK Unified Ideograph-7B74

It names bamboo tools and their extended historical meanings. In the jiá branch, it means chopsticks or grasping. In the cè branch, it means a small winnowing basket or the thin bamboo divination stalks used for an omen. The same branch also covers a horsewhip, a writing strip, and a plan or stratagem.

Its history is an evolution of uses, not a one-off invention. Taiwan's dictionary says 筴 is not entered in Shuowen Jiezi, the early dictionary presented in 121 CE. A study of Yinqueshan slips from the Han period identifies 筴 in a military text as a popular variant of 策, while classical sources preserve the tool and ritual senses. The defensible story is bamboo equipment and divination, followed by overlap with 策.

Is 筴 the same as 策?

It overlaps with 策, but it is not a universal replacement. Taiwan's dictionary lists 筴 as a variant of 策, yet also records its jiá reading and object meanings. Use 策 for ordinary modern plan or policy compounds; keep 筴 when a source, name, quotation, or specialist spelling calls for it.

The Japanese meaning of 筴 follows the same split: kyō for chopsticks or grasping, saku for divination sticks or plans. That helps decode a Japanese dictionary entry, but does not make 筴 a casual-message character.