噬
to devour; to bite
Closest English meanings
to bite·to devour
The Calligrapher — Mǐ Fú 米芾
Song eccentric genius of dynamic, 'flying' running script.
Song calligrapher (1051–1107), master of running script — Song eccentric genius ('crazy Zhang, idiot Mi') whose running script alternates discipline with glee. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
The Zuo Zhuan records the adviser Shen Xu warning the ruler of Wey: act now, or "later you will bite your navel and not reach it" (噬脐莫及). The picture is grimly physical — a man straining toward his own belly button. From that chronicle the word passed into the language of strategy, where a hound or a vassal turns and 反噬, biting the hand that fed it.
Common words & phrases
- 吞噬 devour · engulf
- 噬脐 too late to regret
- 反噬 bite back · retaliate
Read the story behind the character
Typhoon coverage on the evening news shows black water 吞噬 whole ground floors in an instant. A tech columnist warns that an acquired startup may 反噬 its buyer once the founders walk. On a trading app a retail investor mutters 噬脐莫及 after selling too early — the regret is bodily, the navel forever out of reach.
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