不自由，毋宁死

• 不(no; not; negation)ASSOCIATIVE

A bird flying swiftly upward and never willing to return represents the meaning of swift and unyielding.

• 自(nose (pictographic) → self; body)ASSOCIATIVE

Ancient people pointed to their nose when saying "I," so the character for nose also means self.

• 田(rice field; seedling sprouting from field)ASSOCIATIVE

A sprouting seedling stretching up from the field evokes the meaning "from that comes forth, the origin or cause."

• 歹(bone; death)RADICAL
• 匕(body; corpse)ASSOCIATIVE

Broken bones and a person collapsed together form the image of death.