试释“申”字本义为“用手牵引绳索”——兼释“神”“電”等字

On Explanation of the Chinese Word " 申 " : "Pulling the Rope by Hand" :Also on Chinese Words " 申 ", " 神 " and " 電 "

学者多认为"申"字甲骨文"■"、古文"■",其字形像雷电屈伸的形状。对照"申"字的常用意义,可以发现,以往对于"申"字字形的解释,多少都有一些牵强。通过对于相关文献的再梳理,可以判断"申"字本义为"用手牵引绳索","申"字的常用意义都与它的本义相关。"申"字"神""電"的意义,也是从"牵引"的意义发展而来。而汉人把"申"字误释为"重"或"身",是受到了五行学说的影响,并非出自"申"字本义。

Most scholars agree that"■"(the oracle bone script of the word"申")and"■"(the ancient style of the word"申")both look like the shape of lightning.But the former explanation of the word"申"may be wrong.The original meaning of"申"should be"pulling the rope by hand",which leads to the common meaning of the word."申"also can be explained as"神"(god)or"電"(lightning).Unlike the old explanation,the meaning"god"or"lighting"of"申"is developed from the meaning"pulling the rope by hand".The old explanations of"申"like"重"(double)or"身"(human body),affected by the Five-element Theory,have no relations with the original meaning of the word.