pain, clear

楚 is composed of 林(forest) and 疋. 疋 is the picture of a left leg, so the original meaning of 楚 is ‘several stems of trees’, also means punishment cane, then extends to the meaning of pain and suffer, since a cane is a stem without leaves and branches, 楚 is also used to describe something distinct and clear. On the other hand, south of China is warm and humid, 楚 is also used to represent the southern part of China, which is the area of Hunan(湖南) and Hubei(湖北) at present.