rule, synthesize
綜 centers on bringing separate threads or elements together into a unified whole: ruling or governing by weaving order, and synthesizing parts into a coherent result.
綜 combines 糸 (thread) with 宗, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of gathering or ancestral order, suggesting threads brought together systematically.
The left side is thread 糸, and the right side 宗 looks like an organized ancestral hall. Imagine weaving threads into a structured fabric, ruling the pattern and synthesizing the whole.
For ソウ, picture a master weaver sewing threads together: sew -> ソウ, and the threads are ruled into a synthesized cloth.
becoming complicated; becoming involved; being intricate; becoming entangled; becoming jumbled; becoming mixed up
warp controller (on a loom)
heddle; heald; part of a loom, a wire or cord with an eye, through which the warp threads are threaded
synthesis of varied arts
Shugei Shuchiin School (ca 829CE)