How did 象【しょう】 ( ≈かたち、 すがた、ようす) and 象【ぞう】 (どうぶつ) get to be written with the same kanji?


How did each term come to be represented by the same kanji 「象」?

I assume there's no connection between both meanings beyond sharing the same
kanji because they look so different to me, but I'm not sure. Maybe their
meanings are somehow connected in a way I can't figure out?

よろしくお願いします！




To start off, the _kanji_ 「象」is uncontroversially derived from a picture of an
elephant, directly referring to the word「[象]{ぞう}」.

`[商](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty)  
[甲](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone_script)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/FNbhH.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/FNbhH.png)  
[前](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference)3・31.3  
[合集10222](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=10222&jgwfl=)``[西周](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou)  
[金](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yS4C8.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yS4C8.png)  
師湯父鼎  
[集成2780](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=2780&jgwfl=)``[秦](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty)  
[簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/J6f6Z.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/J6f6Z.png)  
為吏之道17  
[睡虎地秦簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts)``今  
[楷](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oIYSH.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oIYSH.png)  
  
`

In Ancient China, people would frequently run into a problem: _there weren't
enough unique characters to express all the different spoken words!_ When
running into this problem, people did one of the following:

  1. Create a brand new character;
  2. Modify an existing character (which also creates a new character);
  3. Repurpose an existing character for some (but not all) of its aspects, ignoring its other aspects.

Employing method (3) and specifically utilising a character's _sound_ aspect,
while ignoring the character's _meaning_ aspect, is known as [_rebus
borrowing_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification#Rebus_\(phonetic_loan\)_characters).
This leads on to two groups of unrelated words represented by the
character「象」([Baxter-Sagart
OC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Baxter%E2%80%93Sagart_\(2014\)):
**/*s-[d]aŋʔ/** ):

  1. _Elephant_ 「[象]{ぞう}」
  2. _Image, appearance, phenomenon_ 「[象]{しょう}」. Some (probable) cognates: 
    * 「[像]{ぞう}」( **/*s.[d]aŋʔ/** ; _form, image_ )
    * 「[相]{そう‎}」( **/*[s]aŋ/** ; _to observe_ > _appearance_ )

* * *

「[象]{ぞう}」and「[象]{しょう}」have different pronunciations in Japanese because the
word for _elephant_ was imported from Chinese at a different time than the
word for _image/appearance/phenomenon_. Chinese itself largely did not make
this distinction.




To start off, the _kanji_ 「象」is uncontroversially derived from a picture of an
elephant, directly referring to the word「[象]{ぞう}」.

`[商](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty)  
[甲](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone_script)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/FNbhH.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/FNbhH.png)  
[前](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference)3・31.3  
[合集10222](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=10222&jgwfl=)``[西周](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou)  
[金](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yS4C8.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yS4C8.png)  
師湯父鼎  
[集成2780](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=2780&jgwfl=)``[秦](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty)  
[簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/J6f6Z.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/J6f6Z.png)  
為吏之道17  
[睡虎地秦簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts)``今  
[楷](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script)  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oIYSH.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oIYSH.png)  
  
`

In Ancient China, people would frequently run into a problem: _there weren't
enough unique characters to express all the different spoken words!_ When
running into this problem, people did one of the following:

  1. Create a brand new character;
  2. Modify an existing character (which also creates a new character);
  3. Repurpose an existing character for some (but not all) of its aspects, ignoring its other aspects.

Employing method (3) and specifically utilising a character's _sound_ aspect,
while ignoring the character's _meaning_ aspect, is known as [_rebus
borrowing_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification#Rebus_\(phonetic_loan\)_characters).
This leads on to two groups of unrelated words represented by the
character「象」([Baxter-Sagart
OC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Baxter%E2%80%93Sagart_\(2014\)):
**/*s-[d]aŋʔ/** ):

  1. _Elephant_ 「[象]{ぞう}」
  2. _Image, appearance, phenomenon_ 「[象]{しょう}」. Some (probable) cognates: 
    * 「[像]{ぞう}」( **/*s.[d]aŋʔ/** ; _form, image_ )
    * 「[相]{そう‎}」( **/*[s]aŋ/** ; _to observe_ > _appearance_ )

* * *

「[象]{ぞう}」and「[象]{しょう}」have different pronunciations in Japanese because the
word for _elephant_ was imported from Chinese at a different time than the
word for _image/appearance/phenomenon_. Chinese itself largely did not make
this distinction.

