In a primarily agricultural society, sunset signifies the end of the day, leading to the metaphor ‘going west’ to represent death
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenZoey ZhangPublished: 6:14pm, 12 Aug 2026In traditional Chinese culture, the cardinal directions – east, west, south, and north – represent more than mere points on a compass; they reveal how ancient societies comprehended life, death, and human nature.
The Shuowen Jiezi, the earliest surviving dictionary of China compiled during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), explains the four cardinal directions in relation to the movement of the sun.
The east, or dong in Chinese, the direction of the sunrise, signifies spring, hope, and prestige. The Book of Rites delineates a ritual order where hosts occupy the east and guests the west, a practice mirrored in the households of ancient elites.
This association persists in modern Chinese: a landlord is literally referred to as “house east,” a shareholder as “stock east,” and the term zuo dong – to host a meal – means “to act as the east.”
In contrast, the west, or xi, symbolises endings and demise.
