The classifier Ge(个)is the most commonly used classifier in modern Chinese,and one of the only two generic classifiers in the history of Chinese classifiers.Wang Yinzhi pointed out that Ge(个)is originally a simplified form of the character Jie(介),and all Ge(个)characters in the pre-Qin literature are Jie(介).Hong Cheng followed this view and points out that Ge(个)was later used as a classifier because of the meaning of"separate"connotated in Jie(介),and this view later became the mainstream in the academic.This paper challenges this point of view.That is,Ge(个)and Jie(介)are not the same word;they were only misused in some literatures due to their similarities in figure;and the etymology of the classifier Ge(个)is not the Jie(介)that connotates the meaning"separate".This paper then proposes another etymology of the classifier Ge(个):the original meaning of Ge(个)denotes an arrow,often used as a counting tool"chip",which was then extended as a general classifier,sharing a similar evolutionary path with the classifier Mei(枚).
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