U+540E "后" CJK Unified Ideograph-# Unicode Character
U+540E "后" CJK Unified Ideograph-# is a Chinese character primarily meaning "queen," "empress," or "after" in terms of time or sequence, with a rich history rooted in ancient Chinese script. It is a common logogram used in modern Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean written languages, often appearing in compound words such as "後" (hou, meaning behind or later) in traditional contexts, though the simplified form "后" serves both the meanings of "sovereign consort" and "after" in contemporary Chinese. The character consists of the radical for "mouth" and the component for "person," visually conveying the idea of a ruler or a position held behind the throne. Its usage spans historical titles like "皇太后" (empress dowager) to modern terms like "然后" (afterwards), making it a versatile and culturally significant symbol in East Asian writing systems.