the East; the Orient; two-character surname Dongfang
东 · 5 strokes
Pictograph of a basket or a bag. The current meaning "east" is a phonetic loan. The simplified character 东 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 東.
方 · 4 strokes
Depicts the cutting edge (一) of a knife blade (刀). Similar in origin to 亡. Based on the original meaning "cutting edge". The meaning later expanded to "perimeter", "area", and "square".