施, to execute (= to carry out)(RSH 875) = banner + scorpion
This army communicates with a series of coded banners: a banner with a Scorpion pictures means Start. So, if you see a scorpion banner, that means "execute the orders"!

(actually not a story from me. This was in the Anki file I've downloaded from a user of this forum, but I forgot whom!)

察 "scrutinize" (RSH911) = house + offer sacrifice
The tax inspector scrutinises your documents very carefully - in your mind you offer a sacrifice to the good gods (or arrange a yogi to do it for you) if he just doesn't find out about your second house in Majorca.

NB:
-I use "yogi, again in meditation doing yoga, sitting with crossed legs" as primitive meaning for 又 (again, RSH633)
- I differenciate two distinct primitive meanings for 示 (show, RSH900): the standard form (示) is an altar to "positive gods, or white stuff, or big". The second form means on the contrary an altar to "bad gods, or agressive, with sacrifice, or decaying civilisation, black magic, small stuff or fake religion, etc.). Here are the good gods. So it can't be a human sacrifice!

(adapted from a story that was in the Anki Deck of a user of this forum)

将 (RSH244) : turtle + evening + glue = (General (military rank)
The turtle is a general, looking satisfied at the evening moon, that he has glued, so the night is longer, which gives him military advantage.

Hey, XiaoYu, thanks a lot, I used your stories for 施 and 将, they work great!

Meanwhile, I have borrowed two books on "Etymology of Chinese Characters" from the UNSW library, they proved to be a good source for me. It helps me to learn, what people were thinking when they "invented" the characters. Also I like the fact, that etymology sometimes gives me more meaningfull stories than some purely random mnemonics.

happy to hear that, thanks for feedback!

Anyone want to share their story for 幹 Always get stuck on this one.

施: I thought of someone executing a scorpion with a banner... yes, I know, as Heisig says, not that kind of executing, but it does help in the remembering.

I know two websites concerning hanzi etymology.
Maybe they are a good inspiration source for mnemos:

example: 施

Only for german speakers:
http://taeglich.chinesisch-trainer.de/in...%BD&go=%3E

Rick Harbaugh's webpage:
http://zhongwen.com/
(Click on 'Dictionary')

We really need a Reviewing the Hanzi website~~o(>_<)o ~~

竟: I always associate sound with speakers, so the most unexpected thing I could think of was my speakers growing human legs and running around the room. That story has proven to be one of the most vivid, despite the fact that I was expecting to have trouble with that character.

I'm really struggling with RTH 676: 漫, overflow (water + mandala / drawn out). Any ideas / suggestions?

In terms of 漫, I picture a mandala drawn in chalk-powder on the floor, and then I see water OVERFLOWING from nearby, and it flows over the mandala and makes a big mess of it. What a pity - it was an awesome mandala!

ChristopherB Wrote:Anyone want to share their story for 幹 Always get stuck on this one.

"The trunk of an australian clothesline absorbs all the mist around it, so as to keep the clothes as dry as possible. Advanced versions also have umbrellas, clear ones though, which allow the sun to still penetrate them, but prevents mist from coming from atop."
Is what I have in my anki deck, but let me clarify because that probably makes no sense.


So heisigs "clothesline" [干]= Australian clothes line. So I picture a truly outlandish Australian outback style clothesline made of a big fat tree trunk. There's an umbrella ontop to prevent rain from coming and wetting all your clothes, and the trunk is made from special material which absorbs all moisture and mist. It ain't great but it works for me.
I used to always confuse this for the RTKian 胴, but now I know both readings, I use them as aids

GregSegments Wrote:In terms of 漫, I picture a mandala drawn in chalk-powder on the floor, and then I see water OVERFLOWING from nearby, and it flows over the mandala and makes a big mess of it. What a pity - it was an awesome mandala!

That was really helpful, and much better than anything I'd come up with for that character!

Thank you so much!

Becoming good at visualisations is definitely a skill you need to learn for successful Heisig, and there were a few tricks I learned along the way.

In fact, I wrote a lengthy blog article about this, called "Tips & Tricks for Heisig Visualisations" on my "Mandarin Segments" blog (link appears in my koohii profile).

GregSegments: Ahhh! That was your article, then. I read it and found it to be quite affirming: without thinking directly about it, I found I had naturally adopted most of the techniques you outlined while working my way to the point that I had (character 700 or so). I have been overcomplicating some of my stories, though, so your suggestions to keep things simple were a good reminder as to the importance of that (as with some characters, I have struggled to remember which of the concepts in my story are elements of the character).

Overall, a great article: thanks for sharing it. I wish I had read it way back when I first began coming up with my own stories, which at first I found laborious but later found more rewarding and effective than using Heisig's stories as they were personal.

Thanks vorpal, pleased you enjoyed it. The good news is now that you have the skill, you have it. Good luck with the next 10,000 characters :-)