Literary notes about Shin (AI summary)
The term “shin” appears in literature with varied and sometimes surprising nuances. In many works, it is employed as a literal reference to a part of the leg, emphasizing physical vulnerability or mishaps, as seen when a character’s injury is noted or humorously mentioned (e.g., [1], [2], [3]). Meanwhile, “Shin” also emerges as a proper noun, designating individuals or military elements in narratives, most notably in the works of Tolstoy, where names like Captain Túshin become integral to the unfolding drama ([4], [5], [6]). Additionally, the word assumes a doctrinal significance in texts dealing with religious traditions, where it names particular Buddhist sects or tenets concerned with faith and morality ([7], [8], [9]). This multiplicity of uses demonstrates the word’s adaptability, functioning both as a physical descriptor and as a culturally loaded symbol within diverse literary traditions.
- Yes,’ he went on, going down on his knees to look, ‘you’ve cut your shin, sure enough.
— from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - Then he meditatively scratched his left shin with his right boot, while the awkward silence continued.
— from Roughing It by Mark Twain - He stood, gazing stupidly across at White Fang, the raw, red shin-bone between them.
— from White Fang by Jack London - Prince Bagratión and Túshin looked with equal intentness at Bolkónski, who spoke with suppressed agitation.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - “Túshin, Túshin, don’t you remember, who gave you a lift at Schön Grabern?
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - At the foot of the hill, a pale hussar cadet, supporting one hand with the other, came up to Túshin and asked for a seat.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - Tsuji, Renj[=o] Akamatsu, and Zé-jun Kobayashi of the J[=o]-d[=o], Zen, Shin, and Nichiren sects, respectively.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - Yet, besides being called the Shin Shu, it is also spoken of as the J[=o]-d[=o] Shin Shu or the True Sect of the Pure Land.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - Yet, lest the gate might seem too broad, the Shin teachers insist that morality is as important as faith, and indeed the proof of it.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis
