Doubt, Suspect

Interesting Fact

An ancient Chinese story behind the expression 杯中の蛇影 (はいちゅうのだえい) tells of a man who saw what looked like a snake in his cup of wine. He drank it anyway and became seriously worried that he had swallowed a snake. Later, his friend showed him that the “snake” was actually the reflection of a bow hanging on the wall. Once he understood what he had seen, his illness disappeared. The story became a famous metaphor for how doubt and fear can make an ordinary thing seem terrifying.