ANSWER: a sleeping silkworm
In the Chinese novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Kuan Yu (관우 關羽), one of the three main characters, was described as having "the eyebrows of a sleeping silkworm" (臥蠶眉 와잠미). The Chinese character 臥 (와) means "to lie down," "to rest," or "to sleep," 蠶 (잠) means "silkworm," and 眉 (미) means "eyebrows."
So, here is my real question: "Are the eyebrows of a sleeping silkworm different from those of one that is awake?"
ANSWER: I don't think so. I suspect that 臥蠶 (와잠) meant something besides just "a sleeping silkworm."
My Korean-English dictionary defines 아미 (蛾眉) as "eyebrows of a beautiful woman," "arched eyebrows," or "shapely eyebrows," but the Sino-Korean word literally means "moth (蛾) eyebrows (眉)" and refers to the eyebrows of a silkworm moth or a silk moth.
So, instead of just meaning "a sleeping silkworm," could 臥蠶 (와잠) have been the Chinese name for "a silk moth"?
 |
| From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary |
 |
| A silk moth |
Why not simply eyebrows (眉) [like] laying (臥) silkworm (蠶)?
ReplyDeleteSo his eyebrows would look like a silkworm laid above each eye? Those would be some thick eyebrows, but you might be right.
Delete