What is the etymology of 迷信?


I was curious to see that the word for "superstition", 迷信{めいしん} contains a
character meaning lost, perplexed, or astray. Given that Japan and China both
have a history of religious belief, I found the character choice odd.

I couldn't find the etymology on Wiktionary, does anyone know where it comes
from?




> I was curious to see that the word for "superstition", 迷信{めいしん} contains a
> character meaning lost, perplexed, or astray. Given that Japan and China
> both have a history of religious belief, I found the character choice odd.

Superstition, be it as the English term _"superstition"_ or as the Chinese
term
[[迷信]{míxìn}](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=1&wdqb=%E8%BF%B7%E4%BF%A1)
or the borrowed Japanese term [迷信]{meishin} generally refers to a belief that
isn't grounded so much in any cohesive, structured religion or spirituality,
but instead is viewed negatively as ad hoc and often incorrect. Thus, the
Chinese term arose as literally
[[迷]{mí}](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=1&wdqb=%E8%BF%B7)
("crazy, lost, confused") +
[[信]{xìn}](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=1&wdqb=%E4%BF%A1)
("belief").

Note that this is distinct from religious belief or faith, which are referred
to variously as [[信念]{shinnen}, [信仰]{shinkō}, or [信教]{shinkyō} (among other
possibilities)](https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=religious%20belief). These
other terms do not include the 迷 kanji.

> I couldn't find the etymology on Wiktionary, does anyone know where it comes
> from?

Looking more specifically at your question of "where does it come from", I
note that the [Kokugo Dai Jiten
entry](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%BF%B7%E4%BF%A1-141107#E7.B2.BE.E9.81.B8.E7.89.88.20.E6.97.A5.E6.9C.AC.E5.9B.BD.E8.AA.9E.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E5.85.B8)
lists an earliest Japanese citation as 1889.

There are some two-character _on'yomi_ terms in Japanese that were coined or
reworked in Japanese and a re-borrowed into Chinese, as happened with the
terms 社会 and 自由 (where both have modern meanings that are originally Japanese
reworkings of older senses). However, most originate from Chinese.

While I cannot currently find any explicit Chinese source that lists a date of
appearance for this term, I do see in the Wiktionary entry that it has
Chinese-derived descendants in Korean and Vietnamese. The Japanese coinages or
reworkings, where known, are listed as the parents of any Korean, Vietnamese,
or Chinese (re-)borrowings, so it appears that 迷信 as a word arose in Chinese.

