govern, manage

治 is composed of the radical 水 (water) and 台 (plarform). 水 is a pictograph of a river, while 台 conveys the idea of entrusting or instructing someone else to do something on one’s behalf. Therefore, 治 conveys the idea of entrusting others to dredge waterways and eliminate flood disasters. In ancient times, the economy was primarily based on agriculture, and water conservancy was an extremely important state affair. From this, 治 came to broadly mean all forms of management and administration.