green caterpillar, Szechwan
蜀 centers on a specific kind of caterpillar and, by extension, the ancient Chinese region of Szechwan, likely named after the silkworm or caterpillar found there.
蜀 originally depicted a type of caterpillar or silkworm, with the top ⺫ representing the net-like cocoon and the lower part 虫 indicating an insect. The character later came to refer to the ancient state of Shu (Szechwan), possibly due to the region's association with silk production.
The top ⺫ looks like a net or cocoon, and the bottom contains 虫 (insect). Picture a green caterpillar wrapped in a silken net, representing both the caterpillar and the silk-producing region of Szechwan.
For ショク, imagine a caterpillar munching on leaves with a soft 'shock' sound as it eats: shock -> ショク, and the caterpillar is shocked by its own appetite.
Sichuan (province in China)
sorghum (Sorghum bicolor); Indian millet
insatiability
sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor var. saccharatum)
type of red brocade originally from the ancient Chinese country of Shu and passed on in Japan
Shu Han (kingdom in China during the Three Kingdoms era; 221-263); Shu
type of brocade
lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense); Johnsongrass; Egyptian millet
never being satisfied with what one gets, and always wanting more; giving someone an inch and having them take a mile; taking Gansu only to want Sichuan
sunset hibiscus (Hibiscus manihot)