No, this article is not about the noise a cow makes while grazing. What I’m referring to is the Chinese character of “Moo” in Korean, or “Bu”, “Takeshi”, “Mononofu” in Japanese, and finally “Wǔ” in Chinese. This is the same character that appears in such words/phrases such as “Moo Duk Kwan” (Martial Virtue Institute), “Budo” (Way of the Warrior) , and “Wǔshù” (Martial Arts). As you can see from these examples, this character has deep ties with not just the martial arts, but with warfare and conflict in general, and it has had this connotation for centuries if not millenia. This is not the same character as “Moo Shim” (No Mind), and there are many other homonyms that it can be mistaken for if one does not have the proper context.
武 has come to describe not just a trained warrior, but also the content of one’s character. It is often used to describe someone as brave, courageous, and even heroic. Tales of great feats or indomitable spirit are commonly associated with the use of 武 , from the legendary story of The Three Kingdoms in China, the many accounts of samurai and lords during the Sengoku Era in Japan, and to the exploits of Admiral Yi Sun-Shin during the Imjin War.
The character for “Moo” is 武, and is made up of two characters: 戈 and 止. The first character, 戈, is “Gwa/Kwa” in Korean, “Ka” or “Hoko” in Japanese, and “Gē” in Chinese. The meaning for this character is “spear”, specifically the kind used by the ancient Chinese/Japanese by taking a double-edged blade and placing it upon a shaft.
The second character, 止, is “Ji” in Korean, “Shi” or “Tomeru” in Japanese, and “Zhǐ” in Chinese. The meaning for this character is “to stop”. On initial glance this may seem strange, as why would one “stop” with a “spear”? According to sinologists this character actually represented foot steps, and implied someone moving forward. It wasn’t until much later that the character became more associated with its current definition of “to stop”.
So in the end, what does “Moo” (武) mean? It is “someone who moves forward with spear in hand”. A warrior, sure, but not one who merely stands still waiting for the enemy to come to them. It is one who faces challenges head on and leaves a trail behind for those to follow. What challenges do you face every day, and what legacy do you want to leave behind?
References
Shiragawa, Shizuka Jitou (字統) 2017
