We chose this rare character for our name. Here’s why.

The China Vegan Society’s name is 华茻会. Instead of 素, the Chinese character most commonly used for “vegan” or “vegetarian”, we decided to use the character 茻.

Pronounced “mǎng”, this ancient character is rarely used in modern contexts. Most Chinese people don’t even know it! But like all Chinese characters, it is based on a visual representation of an actual object. If you look closely, you may be able to guess what it means.

Can you figure it out?

Is it four forks?

Guess again.

Four cacti?

Getting warmer…

Four trees?

So close!

Four plants sprouting?

Now you’re talking!

The dictionary definition of 茻 is “densely growing plants”. This character represents the world we want to see: filled with sprouting plants, vibrant and green.

Each of the four 屮 that make up 茻 represents a sprouting plant. In ancient Chinese, there are four characters composed entirely from 屮:

屮 (chè): plants sprouting

艸 (cǎo): grass

芔 (huì): a general term for plants

茻 (mǎng): densely growing plants

We see these four characters as representing the spectrum of plant-based lifestyles, from a less plant-based lifestyle (屮) to 100% plant-based or vegan (茻). Our mission is to move more people toward 茻 on this spectrum.

屮艸芔茻

What do you see when you look at these characters?