In ancient Chinese, the pictograph for "Mind" is simply a picture of the heart, because the thinking mind is not distinguished from the feeling heart. Thus, the character translates as "heart-mind." Similarly, "to think" is constructed of a heart beneath a skull (seen from the top, complete with a traditional pigtail.
"To feel" is constructed of two characters: the "heart-mind" I just mentioned, and another pictograph that means "the blue-green color of landscape," an amazing idea of color that includes both the green of plantlife and the blue of mountains-and-sky. Thus, "heart-mind in the presence of landscape-color" or "the landscape-color of heart-mind" is the literal meaning of "to feel." Feeling is therefore tied to the perception of landscape beauty.
From "Hunger Mountain" by David Hinton
Photo: Indian Paintbrush at Mount Rainier; Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 24, 2012
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