carve, peel, publish

刊 is composed of 干 (shield, intervene) and the radical 刀 (knife). 干 depicts a shield placed on a rack, which would be engraved with patterns for decoration or intimidation. Thus, 刊 means to carve or cut away. Before the invention of paper and pens, ancient people would express their thoughts by carving characters onto bamboo slips or wooden tablets with a knife, so 刊 also extended to mean publishing or disseminating.