明 | míng

In Mandarin Chinese, 明 (Pinyin: míng 🔊) is a word of many meanings. As an adjective, it stands for “bright”, “brilliant”, “light”, “clear”, “transparent”, “apparent”, “open”, “acute”, “sharp”, “keen”, “intelligent”, “perceptive” and, less obviously, “next” or “following”. As a noun, it can mean “vision”, “sight” or “light”, as well as “tomorrow”. As a verb, it can mean “to understand”, “to know”, “to make known” or “to show”. As you can clearly see, these many senses are related and linked to the concept of light. Also, 明 may refer to the Ming dynasty, 明朝 (1368—1644), also referred to as “Great Ming”, 大明 (Dàmíng).

Does the character 明 look familiar to you? Of course it does: it’s a combination of our old friends 日 “sun” and 月 “moon”. According to Wiktionary, 明 could be interpreted as “the sun just rising and the moon not yet set — dawn” or, alternatively, as “two bright celestial bodies — bright”. Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

Originally, 月 moon + 向 (ventilation hole) → bright moonlight streaming through an open window, and manifesting the hidden → brightness; light. Extended meanings from the idea of the light of dawn (signaling the end of one day and the start of the next) include spend/pass (the night); be visible; the next/following (day/week/year); begin; end; and dawn. Disclose and confide are extended senses of “open” (open up to), as are clarity; evident and obvious. Be conversant with is via the idea of illumination, here with respect to a particular subject matter.

Elsewhere, Howell consistently refers to 明 as “manifest the hidden”.

Compounds of 明 include

• 明 + 明 = 明明 (míngmíng 🔊): obviously, plainly, clearly
• 明 + 白 = 明白 (míngbai, míngbái): clear, obvious, evident; open, explicit, frank; sensible, reasonable
• 明 + 人 = 明人 (míngrén): honest and upright person
• 明 + 天 = 明天 (míngtiān 🔊): tomorrow; near future
• 天 + 明 = 天明 (tiānmíng): to break (of dawn)
• 明 + 星 = 明星 (míngxīng 🔊): celebrity, star
• 明 + 日 = 明日 (míngrì): tomorrow; (literary, figurative) future
• 明 + 月 = 明月 (míngyuè): bright moon; next month
• 月 + 明 = 月明 (yuèmíng): moonlight

It’s haiku time!

木をつみて 夜の明やすき 小窓かな 子規 ki o tsumite yo no akeyasuki komado kana the tree cut, dawn breaks early at my little window Shiki (Translated by Janine Beichman)

窓明て 蝶を見送る 野原哉 一茶 mado akete chō wo mi-okuru no hara kana opening the window I see the butterfly off... into the field Issa (Translated by David G. Lanoue)

More photos related to bright stuff, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.

息 | xī | xí

In Mandarin Chinese, 息 (Pinyin: xī 🔊 or xí 🔊) is a word of many meanings. As a verb, it can stand for “to breathe”, “to sigh”, “to blow”; “to stop”, “to cease”, “to rest”, “to calm down”; “to grow”, “to develop”. As a noun, it can mean “breath”, “life”, “(one’s) child”, “news”, “message”, “interest” or “dividends”.

According to Wiktionary, 息 is an ideogrammic compound of 自 “nose” and 心, “heart-mind”, meaning “to breathe (life) through one’s nose”. Likewise, Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

As per 自 (nose) + 心 heart/emotions → breathe through the nostrils in rhythm with the beating of the heart → breath → live → give birth; increase. Also, stop; rest (← stops and starts of steady breathing); interest (← increase); son (← give birth).

It’s curious how the logical extension of “breath” leads to the almost opposite meanings of “growth” (to breath is to live, to live is to grow and give birth) and “rest” (cf. English “take a breather”). I find it very Yin-Yang-y: in order to keep living, you need to take a rest!

Like other hanzi containing 心 in the lower part (e.g. 思, 想, 念, 意), 息 reminds me of a sailship. It’s resting but perfectly ready to go.

Compounds of 息 include

• 息 + 男 = 息男 (xīnán, xínán): (one’s) son
• 息 + 女 = 息女 (xīnǚ, xínǚ): (one’s) daughter
• 息 + 怒 = 息怒 (xīnù, xínù): to calm down; to not be angry
• 息 + 息 + 相 + 关 = 息息相关 (xīxīxiāngguān, xíxíxiāngguān): to be closely linked
• 休 + 息 = 休息 (xiūxi 🔊, xiūxí): to rest; to take a break
• 太 + 息 = 太息 (tàixī, tàixí): to sigh
• 子 + 息 = 子息 (zǐxī, zǐxí): son; the next generation; (monetary) interest
• 气 + 息 = 气息 (qìxí, qìxí): breath; smell, odour, flavour; style, appeal; spirit
• 安 + 息 = 安息 (ānxī 🔊, ānxí): to rest; to rest in peace
• 出 + 息 = 出息 (chūxi 🔊): prospects, promise, future
• 月 + 息 = 月息 (yuèxī, yuèxí): monthly interest

In Japanese, 息, in its “breath” meaning, is pronounced iki (いき). Here’s a poem by John White (1924—2021) called The Breath in the Flute (笛の息), from the book of the same name.

The breath in the flute is the sound of life stirring springtime and sadness John White 笛の息 いのち動く音 春と悲しみ Fue no iki inochi ugoku oto haru to kanashimi

More photos related to rest, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.