Taxonomy of meanings for 刑:　　

  • 刑 xíng (OC: ɡeeŋ MC: ɦeŋ) 戶經切 平 廣韻：【法也禮曰刑者侀也侀者成也一成而不可變故君子盡心焉説文剄也 】
    • (nominal)PUNISH
      • nobjectone condemned to physical punishment
      • nab.post-V{NUM}actpunishment; kind of punishment GY: 刑五而已 "There are only five kinds of punishments..."
      • nabactact of punishing; punishment (physical or otherwise)
      • nabconceptproper punishment
      • viactcarry out punishments
      • vtoNN=hum(punish by mutilation>) punish harshly, punish physically; mutilate
      • vtoNN=actpunish (a crime), typically by mutilation of the culprit
      • vtoNpassivebe punished by mutilation; get punished; get oneself punished
      • vtoNmiddle voicereceive corporal punishment, receive physical punishmentCH
      • monetary only>FINE
        • penal>LAW
        • corporal>MUTILATE
          • vtoNreflexive.自punish (oneself) through some kind of physical mutilation
          • specifically>CASTRATE
            • vtoNcastrate 自刑
            • vtoNreflexive.自castrate (oneself)
        • mortal>EXECUTE
          • nabactexecution
        • what one is punished for>CRIME
          • nabactcrime
          • exocentric: those guilty of a crime deserving mutilation>GUILT
            • v[adN]passivesomeone guilty of physical punishment through mutilation etc.
      • =形
      • =型 abstract>MODEL
        • vt+prep+Nactto be a good example (for somebody) loan for 型
        • vtoNmodel oneself after
        • nmodel; example
      • =鉶
      • =侀
    • xíngLAW
      • nabtextpenal law

    Additional information about 刑

    說文解字:

      Criteria
    • LAW

      1. The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.

      2. Lu �律 is far more specialised as a specific term referring to concrete and detailed regulations rather than a legal system as a whole, and the word is also syntactically much less flexible. Thus we have 先王之法 and not 先王之律.

      The complexities of legal terminology can be preliminarily summarised as follows:

      A. The rule may be explicit (chéng 程, diǎn 典, fǎ 法, hào 號, lu �律 ); or it may be primarily conventional (cháng 常, jì 紀, jīng 經, zhì 制 ).

      B. The rule may be conceived as temporary (lìng 令, dù 度, chéng 程, hào 號 ); or it may be conceived as permanent and unchangeable (cháng 常, diǎn 典, jì 紀, jīng 經 ); or it may be conceived as long-term but clearly changeable (fǎ 法, lu �律, xiàn 憲, zhāng 章, zhì 制 ).

      C. The rules may concern legal and economic administration (chéng 程, diǎn 典, dù 度, lu �律, xiàn 憲, zhāng 章, zhì 制, and occasionally fǎ 法 ); or they may concern prohibitions of criminal conduct (fǎ 法, pì 辟, xíng 刑 ); or they may be general moral guidelines on conduct (cháng 常, hào 號, lìng 令, jì 紀 ).

      D. The focus may be on the written documents containing the rules as such (diǎn 典, xiàn 憲, zhāng 章 ); or the focus may be on the content of the rules (cháng 常, chéng 程, dù 度, lìng 令, zhì 制 ); or the primary focus may be on oral promulgation of the rule (hào 號 ).

      E. The rules may be regarded as a collective system (cháng 常, jì 紀, jīng 經, zhì 制 ); or they may be conceived as individual legal prescriptions (all others).

    • PUNISH

      1. The general word for punishment is wú xíng 五刑, traditionally in SHU, LYUXING listed as "dà pí 大辟 "decapitation", yuè 刖 "mutilation of foot", yì 劓, gōng 宮 "castration", mò 墨 "branding". The list varied through time and is different in different sources.

      2. Xíng 刑 refers specifically to physical punishment.

      3. Fá 罰 refers to non-physical forms of punishment including typically fines. See FINE

      4. Yù 獄 can be used to refer to any kind of punitive action taken against criminals.

      5. Fǎ 法 can occasionally be used, mainly in early texts, to refer not to criminal law but to the application of such laws to criminals.

      6. Zuò 坐 refers to a condemned person being held responsible for a criminal act and being punished. See CONDEMN

      7. Tǎo 討 is a moralistic term referring to a momentous act of punishment in the name of justice, and the meaning often vascillates between ATTACK and PUNISH, when the reference is a punitive attack. See ATTACK

      Word relations
    • Ant: (PUNISH)德 / 得/GENEROUS Dé 德 and the rarer zé 澤 refer to graceful and spiritually inspiring munificence, typically from a person of supremely high status.
    • Ant: (PUNISH)惠/GENEROUS Probably the most general word for generosity is huì 惠 (ant. sè 嗇 "stingy, ungenerous"), and this refers to any kind of emotional as well as material munificence by a person of superior status.
    • Ant: (PUNISH)賞/REWARD The current general word for rewarding is shǎng 賞 (ant. fá 罰 "punish" and zhū 誅 "punish").
    • Object: (PUNISH)行/ACT The current general word for any deliberate action one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"). The nominal entries have the old reading xìng. [COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE]
    • Object: (PUNISH)被/SUFFER Beì 被 tends to refer to exposure to undesirable effects from the outside.
    • Object: (LAW)酷/CRUEL
    • Epithet: (PUNISH)嚴 / 嚴儼/SEVERE The current general commendatory term for severeness is yán 嚴 (ant. kuān 寬 "lax").
    • Epithet: (PUNISH)重/INTENSELY Zhòng 重 freely refers to an impressive intensity beyond expectation of both positive or negative qualities or actions.
    • Epithet: (PUNISH)峻/SEVERE Jù4n 峻 (ant. píng 平 "even-handed") refers dramatically to the savageness of punishments.
    • Epithet: (PUNISH)虐/CRUEL Nyè 虐 (ant. fǔ 撫 "take good care of, show proper concern for subordinates or subjects") refers to wanton cruelty in the exercise of political authority.
    • Contrast: (PUNISH)政/GOVERN Zhèng 政 refers to the basically bureaucratic administration of a state, practical implementation of governmental measures.
    • Contrast: (PUNISH)法/LAW The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.
    • Contrast: (PUNISH)罰/PUNISH Fá 罰 refers to non-physical forms of punishment including typically fines. See FINE
    • Contrast: (PUNISH)罰/PENALTY The general word for a fine is fá 罰, and the word refers to fines of any kind.
    • Contrast: (LAW)法/LAW The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.
    • Assoc: (PUNISH)戮 / 僇/EXECUTE
    • Assoc: (PUNISH)罰/PUNISH Fá 罰 refers to non-physical forms of punishment including typically fines. See FINE
    • Assoc: (LAW)典/LAW
    • Assoc: (LAW)法/LAW The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.