本文由古文字分析爭字本義，以明其字形演變的脈絡。... 《說文》以降謂「从爭青聲」的理解，恐非爭字的原意。

The essay discusses the original meaning of the ancient character "爭", and traces the transformation of its spelling over time. The word "爭"in oracle bone inscriptions means 耕; it consists of three pictographic parts to create the image of a hand holding tools to cultivate soils and to dig well. In Chou bronze inscriptions "爭"is spelled as"靜", which includes a phonetic part (生聲). 靜 should therefore be interpreted as 「爭生聲」, but not, as in the cases of 《說文》 and later understandings, 「爭青聲」.