About
The character 蜃 is a phono-semantic compound combining the 虫 ('insect/creature') radical at the bottom, which broadly indicates an animal (such as a mollusk or reptile), and 辰 (chén) on top as the phonetic. Historically, it referred to a giant mythical clam or marine bivalve. In folklore, this clam was said to exhale huge clouds of breath that materialized into illusory cities and landscapes over the sea. This belief produced the compound 海市蜃楼 (hǎishìshènlóu, 'sea city clam tower'), the standard Chinese term for a mirage.
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