The Swirling Waters of Confusion: Part 1
Friday, May 9th, 2008
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When I came upon the compound 混沌 (konton: confusion, chaos, disorder), I couldn’t fathom why this word had taken on so much water (
). I wondered whether the moisture had anything to do with the “swirling waters of confusion” to which English speakers refer. As it turns out, yes! Check out some of the meanings of these kanji (the second of which happens to be rare):
混: confused
沌: swirling water, to be blocked, primeval chaos
Primeval chaos?! Burbling bodies of water must have terrified some early people!
Henshall says that 混 originally referred to water rushing and swirling with no fixed course, as in a flood. Then “confused waters” came to mean “confused” in a broader sense. He also says the 昆 inside 混 means “multitude” and acts phonetically here to express “to spin, swirl.” The element 昆 even lends its own idea of confusion, because people in a crowd mill around chaotically.
Swirling Waters
Photo credit: eatzycath
If this sounds entirely negative, never fear. The kanji 混 also means “to mix.” This associated meaning came about because impure elements often find their way into the swirling waters of confusion. This idea of “mixing” is not inherently negative. Just consider these appealing mixes:
雨混じりの雪 (ame majiri no yuki: snow mingled with rain) rain + to mix + snow
混合酒 (kongōshu: cocktail, mixed drink, blended liquor)
to mix + to join + alcohol
Actually, the idea of being in snow, rain, or a mixture of the two (which I suppose is sleet or some such) isn’t terribly appealing. But the poetic phrasing, “snow mingled with rain” …. I don’t know. It does something for me. So would a mixed drink right about now! Hey, speaking of mixing, the two compounds almost blend in that Rupert Holmes song: “If you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain ….”
In the two expressions above, you may have noticed that each instance of 混 has a different yomi: ma(jiri), then KON. In fact, 混 has a host of kun-yomi, all similar. And that’s not all. To find some real yomi chaos (something everyone needs!), check out the next link.
Whatever the yomi, 混 allows for some wonderful mishmashes, such as this one:
虚実混交 (kyojitsu-konkō: mishmash of truth and untruth; mixture of fact and fiction) untruth + truth + to mix + to mix
This reminds me of Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness.” It also reminds me that we’ve seen the first two kanji in past blogs (hence the links).
As to the last two kanji, 混交 (konkō: mixture, mixing up, jumbling together, to mix + to mix), this word also appears inside other four-kanji compounds:
玉石混交 (gyokuseki-konkō: mixture of the good and bad; jumble of wheat and tares) gems + stones + mixture (last 2 chars.)
Again, the first kanji takes us back to an early blog—in fact, my very first one for JPod!
雅俗混交 (gazoku-konkō: mixture of culture and vulgarism; mixture of literary and colloquial (language))
refined + folk custom + mixture (last 2 chars.)神仏混淆 (shinbutsu-konkō: synthesis of Buddhism and Shintoism) god + Buddhism + mixture (last 2 chars.)
Wait, the fourth kanji is 淆, rather than 交. But 混淆 says konkō and means “mixture.” Moreover, 淆 has the kun-yomi of ma(jiru) and the on-yomi of KŌ, contains water, and means “mixed together, turbid.” So this rare character seems to be a doppelganger for the watery 混 (ma(jiru)) on the one hand and for 交 (KŌ, ma(jiru)) on the other. In keeping with the mixing-it-up theme of today’s blog, the various “mix” kanji have intermingled in this one character!
Also of note: Given the definition of this four-kanji compound, the breakdown suggests that 神 is not an equal-opportunity god but rather is more affiliated with Shintoism than Buddhism. Indeed, Halpern confirms that 神 can mean “Shinto deity.” If you meet me round the corner (that is, at the next link), I can share some examples of this.
Otherwise, I’ll meet you at the Verbal Logic Quiz!
Posted by Eve Kushner in Kanji Curiosity |
May 10th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Eve,
A particularly nice blog. I like the photos and the stories of how one kanji leads to another — the interconnectedness of the whole system. As I read along, I kinda thought you might be getting ready to include “konketsu.”
As for photos, what’s the chance you can start to tack on a smiling photo of YOU!? (Right up next to “JapanesePod101.com Blog.̶
That would be a fine addition to your informative blog.
Lonnie Wiig
May 10th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Thanks so much, Lonnie.
Funny about “konketsu” (mixed race): I feel partial to that word for reasons I can’t explain. I think it’s because when I finally had a chance to meet a language partner from Japan (after a year of intense correspondence), he used the word (to describe Nagasaki, which he said had lots of mixed-race people, much to my surprise). Somehow my warm feelings about that meeting spilled over into warm feelings about the word “konketsu.” That’s pretty irrational, but then most of my feelings about kanji are!
Anyway, I had planned to use “konketsu” in next week’s blog, but I’m still not sure. As I look at my notes for that blog, I can’t recall exactly what I was planning to do with “konketsu”!
And as to the photo of me, well, thanks for assuming that might be a positive thing! I did include lots of pics of myself in my April 12 blog, on this page:
http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?page_id=1199
I think that’ll have to suffice, because after all, the blog is supposed to be about kanji, which is so much more interesting and attractive than a person could ever be!
May 10th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Dear (Photogenic) Eve,
Here is my reply.
I spend a lot of time in a variety of schools. Sometimes I work in schools where the teachers are brave enough to put up photos of themselves when they were the same approximate age as their students. It comes down to “relationships.” Good interhuman relationships promote all kinds of desirable educational outcomes.
My take on JapanesePod101.com is that, when all is said and done, this blog is “educational.” You are a “teacher.” I think of Dr. Phil as a teacher. I think of Oprah as a teacher. It is nice to be able to connect their teachings with an actual face. Don’t you think that some of your fellow bloggers and bloggees would like to know what you look like? (Kind of like how op ed columnists such as Ellen Goodman include their photo with each column.) What do other readers of JapanesePod101.com have to say? Wouldn’t you like to see what the indefatigable kanjiphile Eve looks like?
LW
May 11th, 2008 at 7:07 am
Hmm, well, I’ve lived up to this point without having my face voted on, and I was kind of hoping that that trend would continue.
I know what you mean about the value of seeing the author’s face; when I read a book and feel a strong connection to the material or voice, I find myself flipping to the author’s photo again and again.
At the same time, one of the really nice things about being a writer is the ability to disappear. We can hide behind our material, pushing the topic out under the spotlight while we recede into the comfort of the background. At least that used to be the case. Now writers are supposed to be media-savvy and should know how to sell their wares on TV shows or in other publicity events. I’m sure some writers enjoy that. But others of us are drawn to writing precisely because we’re shy, awkward types who would prefer not to have people staring at us! Count me among that crowd!
May 11th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Eve,
Your swirling water photos and 混 (kon) discussion immediately brought to mind this photo which I took last weekend while biking and camping in the mountains not far from Tokyo. My partner and I were totally confused by this bubbling spot in the middle of a mountain lake. (We still have no idea what was going on here.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kegrant/2472390355/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Speaking of the Japanese countryside, here is something we encountered a lot of on our trip:
混凝土 こんくりいと konkuriito
(Yes, concrete. Does this qualify as ate-ji?)
May 11th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Kelly–always great to hear from you!
Wow, that photo is something else. My guess would be the Loch Ness Monster, but then I suppose he doesn’t leave perfect circles like that, does he?! Or maybe it’s one of those bubbling devices used in a swimming pool!
The mountainside is also striking: a crazy patchwork of dark and light green.
And then, is the docked boat supposed to look like a swan???
And … I just followed the links and got to see your Flickr photostream–what fun!
As to the kanji question (right, back to kanji!), yes, I would have to call that ateji, but it’s certainly a close call! It’s a brilliant choice of kanji based on meaning:
混 (KON: mix; blend)
凝 (GYO-, ko(ru): to congeal, stiff)
土 (TO: ground)
The meanings fit, and the 1st and 3rd sounds match. The kun-yomi of the 2nd kanji comes really close … but isn’t quite there. And since it’s all so close to the English “concrete,” I’m going to have to pronounce it ateji. But mine needn’t be the final opinion on the matter. Anyone?
May 12th, 2008 at 3:17 am
To Kelly-san and Eve-san,
There are two separate issues brought up by Kelly-san and I am writing about them separately. The first one: I am as intrigued as you are! Where is this lake?
Is this bubbling happening in a continuous fashion? If so, it shouldn’t be Nessie. If the bubbling is powered by a pump of some kind sitting at the bottom of the lake, it certainly is consuming a lot of electricity and they should stop it right away in view of the suppression of carbon emission.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Eve, thank you for your comments. I, too, thought that was a pretty good kanji writing of concrete.
Hiroshi, to answer your questions…
The bubbling continued for the 10 to 15 minutes that we watched it. Some bubbles were bigger than others, but it was pretty steady.
The lake is Sagami-ko in western Kanagawa prefecture. Likewise, the town in the background is Sagamiko. Since I was on the unpopulated side of the lake, there was no one around to pose my question to.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Kelly-san (and of course those interested), I was going to write that I will keep trying to find out what it is, but the answer for the bubbling question was easy to find. Googled 相模湖 (Sagamiko) and the Wikipedia had the answer: there are four filters, each costing 60 million yen, installed to suppress the growth of algae, and that is what causes the turbulence. They ARE using an enormous amount of electricity!
I visited the lake in ‘87 but your photo didn’t look familiar to me, because I was only on the busier side of the lake with a lot of souvenir shops. I hope to visit there again to see the bubbling for myself.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Thanks for solving the mystery. That is a lot of money and electricity! I wonder why the government is so set on preventing the growth of algae. This situation brings to mind Alex Kerr’s _Dogs and Demons_.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I found another really cool pic of swirling water. Check it out:
www.flickr.com/photos/7470653@N08/1444856935/
April 8th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Hello !! ^_^
I am Piter Kokoniz. Only want to tell, that your posts are really interesting
And want to ask you: what was the reason for you to start this blog?
Sorry for my bad englis
Tnx!
Piter Kokoniz, from Latvia