surname Chu; abbr. for Hubei 湖北省[Hu2 bei3 Sheng3] and Hunan 湖南省[Hu2 na
Phonosemantic compound. 林 represents the meaning and 疋 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bush". The meaning later shifted to "distinct" and "clear".
《說文》：“楚，叢木。一名荊也。从林，疋聲。”
bush