Several parts combine into one character.

The traditional 經 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 糸 (silk thread) + 巠 (jīng, originally a pictograph of warp threads on a loom). The original meaning was concrete and textile-specific: the warp threads of a weaving loom — the longitudinal threads that hold the entire fabric together. From this single concrete image grew an extraordinary semantic spread: warp threads → the underlying structure → the way one passes through (along the threads) → experience (what one passes through) → classic / scripture (the foundational text that holds tradition together). The character documents how textile metaphors structured East Asian conceptions of learning and time. Japan simplified to 経, Mainland to 经.

Korean reading "gyeong." 經濟 (gyeongje, economy — modern term coined to translate "economy"; literally "managing the warp" of social resources), 經驗 (gyeongheom, experience — what one has passed through), 經書 (gyeongseo, classical scriptures — Confucian texts), 聖經 (Seonggyeong, Bible — Christian translation: "sacred scripture"), 佛經 (bulgyeong, Buddhist sutras), 經度 (gyeongdo, longitude — geographic warp lines on the globe), 神經 (singyeong, "spirit thread" = nerve — biological extension). One character does the work of economics, experience, religion, geography, and biology in Korean.

Mandarin jīng, 1st tone (simplified 经). 经济 (jīngjì, economy — top-frequency Mandarin word in modern news), 经验 (jīngyàn, experience), 经常 (jīngcháng, "regularly / often" — adverb), 经过 (jīngguò, "to pass through / by means of" — preposition), 经典 (jīngdiǎn, classic / scripture — used both religiously and culturally: 经典电影 classic films). 经 is among the most frequent characters in Mandarin.

Japanese has on-readings split semantically. ケイ (kei) for economic / scientific / experiential: 経済 (keizai, economy), 経験 (keiken, experience), 経営 (keiei, business management / running an enterprise — central Japanese MBA vocabulary). キョウ (kyō) for religious: 経典 (kyōten, scripture — Buddhist canon), お経 (okyō, Buddhist sutras chanted at funerals and memorial services). The kei / kyō split makes Japanese 経 a clear example of how on-readings preserve different historical periods of Chinese borrowing. Kun-reading へる (heru) — 経る (heru, "to pass / elapse" — used for time: 三年経った "three years passed").

Memory aid: silk warp threads (糸 + 巠) — the foundational threads that hold weaving / learning / traditions / time together.