article, criticize

品 is composed of three 口 (mouth). The number three represents multitude, while 口 indicates a preference or liking for things. Therefore, 品 conveys the idea of the different preferences of many people, and extends to the meaning of various kinds or categories. In addition, because people’s preferences differ, they compare and evaluate them against one another. From this, 品 also came to mean judging quality or distinguishing superiority and inferiority.