Are Japanese and Chinese a little confusing!?

Recently, I studied the vocabulary word “蛇足.” Originally, the four-character idiom “画蛇添足” comes from the source text “Strategies of the Warring States,” and from a story about the ancient state of Chu*, which anyone in China can understand, but when I first heard it, I didn’t understand it. That is because there are actually many words in Japanese and Chinese that share kanji, but their spellings are slightly different, and there are also many words that use the same kanji but have different meanings. For example, the word “勉強” means “to learn” or “to study” in Japanese, but in Chinese it means “to force oneself to do ~” or “to endure.” 

(By the way, in Chinese the meaning of “勉強” is simply expressed by the word “学習.”)

About Chu clothing

Since I brought up the state of Chu, let me introduce the characteristics of clothing in ancient Chu.

Dragons and phoenixes are sacred beasts that Chinese people have believed in for thousands of years, and they were also used on clothing as auspicious motifs.

In particular, phoenix motifs were used in large quantities on Chu clothing.

The photo below is a reconstruction based on artifacts discovered at the Mashan ruins in Jiangling, Hubei Province.

The painting technique may seem inferior to modern standards, but I think it has a charm that is unique to that era. By combining this kind of classical pattern with modern Western clothing, it may be possible to create an original design. I’ll also include as a reference the clothing worn by characters in dramas set in the state of Chu.

Looking at the photos, they give a very luxurious and flashy impression.

It looks very hot...

However, if you wore clothing like this, you can’t help but pity how unbearable summer must have been...!

I have no idea how they spent the summer so comfortably!

If there had been Sapp cool lining, Shine Cool, or Outlast, which can absorb excess heat, in that era, I think they surely would have been able to stay comfortable...

Finally

That’s all for today’s share, thank you.

*1 Chu was a kingdom that existed in China throughout the Zhou dynasty, the Spring and Autumn period, and the Warring States period (11th century BC - 223 BC). Thinkers such as Confucius and Laozi, whom everyone knows, also appeared during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Incidentally, the name “Spring and Autumn period” is taken from Confucius’s book “Spring and Autumn.”