享

The core literal sense was “to offer food in ritual,” which extended metaphorically to “enjoy, receive, partake.”

Ancient form 亯 (U+4EAF)

The original character for both 享 and 亨 was 亯.

Later they diverged into:

享 — “to offer; to enjoy”

亨 — “smooth progress; success; to cook food”

Both preserve the original semantic field of food and ritual offerings.

The mainstream explanation Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「享，獻也。从亯。」

“享 means ‘to present offerings.’ Derived from 亯.”

亯 itself is interpreted as:

- a vessel for cooking or offering food, often with a lid

- heat rising from cooked food

- a ritual container placed before the ancestral shrine

Thus 享 — to cook and present food → to offer → to be offered to → to enjoy, to receive.

Alternative interpretations:

1) Tōdō Akiyasu (藤堂明保):

亯 is a depiction of an outer rampart or enclosure, and 享/亨 derive from 郭’s ancestral forms.

2) Modern analysis (상형자전):

亯 depicts sacrificial vessels placed in an ancestral temple (宗廟).

Thus 享 originally meant “to present offerings in the ancestral shrine”.

Phonetic/semantic confusion:

Many characters with similar forms do not derive from 享 but from unrelated phonetic components:

淳, 敦, 惇 → from 𦎫

椁, 郭 → from 𩫏

These are historically distinct despite modern graphical similarity.

Semantic development:

To offer food / sacrificial offerings — earliest meaning in oracle/bronze forms.

To enjoy; to receive — “enjoy blessings,” “receive benefits,” etc.

To partake in — to share in a feast or benefit.

To prosper; to go smoothly — overlap with 亨 in divination texts.

Ceremonial usage — to receive sacrificial offerings (spirits/ancestors).

Modern usage — everyday words in Chinese (享受, 共享, etc.)

In Korean, 享(향) appears primarily in formal, literary, philosophical, and administrative vocabulary, centered on enjoyment, receiving, and sharing.

Enjoyment / receiving:

享受 (향수) — 누리다; 즐기다; to enjoy; to take pleasure in

享有 (향유) — 소유하고 누림; to possess and enjoy

享樂 (향락) — 즐김; 쾌락; pleasure; enjoyment

Sharing / distributing:

共享 (공향) — 함께 나누어 누림; to share; co-enjoy

分享 (분향) — 나누어 받음; to share the enjoyment; divide benefits

享報 (향보) — 보답을 받음; to receive recompense

Ritual / ancestral usage:

奉享 (봉향) — 제물을 바쳐 모심; to offer in ritual

享祀 (향사) — 제사를 지냄; ritual offering

享薦 (향천) — 제물을 올림; present offerings

These are widely used in Korean literature, scholarly works, and Sino-Korean ritual terminology.

享 vs. 亨:

享 — enjoy, receive, offer

亨 — prosper, smooth, unhindered

Originally the same graph (亯), later specialized.

In ritual texts such as《禮記》(Book of Rites), 《周禮》(Zhou Li), 享 refers to:

- offering to ancestors

- receiving divine blessings

- correct ceremonial performance.

Classical citations:

《詩經·小雅·魚藻》 (The Book of Songs)

「有酒湑滌，萬壽無疆，子孫保之，享之。」

“With wine poured and purified, may you have unending years; may descendants protect and receive (enjoy) it.”

《禮記·郊特牲》 (The Book of Rites)

「享之以禮。」

“Offer it (to the spirits) with proper ritual.”

《孟子·梁惠王上》 (Mencius)

「賢者而後樂此，不賢則不享。」

“Only the virtuous may enjoy this; the unvirtuous cannot partake” — 享 = enjoy, partake.

《楚辭·九思》 (Chu Ci)

「享祀不怠。」

“Let offerings and sacrifices not be neglected.”

《後漢書·祭祀志》 (Book of the Later Han Dynasty)

「神明降福，民庶享之。」

“The spirits bestow blessings, and the people enjoy (receive) them.”

These citations demonstrate both ritual/ancestral offering and enjoyment/receiving.