Taxonomy of meanings for 升:　　

Additional information about 升

說文解字: 【升】，十龠也。从斗。亦象形。 【識蒸切】

Criteria
• RISE
  

  1. The most current general word for rising or raising oneself up, or rising to an upright position of any kind is qǐ 起 (ant. jiàng 降 "go down").

  2. Shēng 升 (ant. xià 下 "go down") refers specifically to the rising of something to a higher level, and these levels can be but do not have to be the ranks of a hierarchy.

  3. Jìn 進 (ant. tuì 退 "be demoted") refers specifically to the rising in the ranks of a hierarchy.

  4. Jìn 晉 is a very formal term referring to the rising of something in the ranks of a hierarchy.

• DESCEND
  

  1. The current word for descending is jiàng 降 (ant. shēng 升 "ascend", dēng 登 "ascend").

  2. Xià 下 (ant. shàng 上 "ascend") sometimes refers colourlessly to something moving downwards.

• ASCEND
  

  [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

  [[BASIC/DERIVED]]

  [DIFFICULT/EASY]

  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

  [+FIG/LITERAL]

  1. Shēng 升 (ant. jiàng 降 "descend") is perhaps the most general word dedicated to the meaning of "going up", and the word often has a literary, dignified flavour.

  [GENERAL]; [[BASIC]], [[CURRENT]]

  2. Shàng 上 (ant. xià 下 "descend"), on the basis of the general meaning "above", comes to refer to the moving to the position on top of or above something else, and the word has no elevated literary flavour.

  [GENERAL]; [[CURRENT]], [[DERIVED]]

  3. Dēng 登 refers to one entering a vehicle or moving onto a higher surface of any kind, typically (but not always) in a dignified manner.

  [ELEVATED!]; [[CURRENT+]]

  4 Pān 攀 refers to an arduous movement across difficult terrain to a higher position, supporting oneself by objects that one can hold on to as one is moving upwards.

  [DIFFICULT+], [LITERAL]; [[BASIC]], [[CURRENT]]

  5. Yuán 緣 refers to an often arduous movement in difficult "terrain" and guided by certain features of that terrain.

  [DIFFICULT]; [[DERIVED]]

  6. Chéng 乘 refers to the mounting of a vehicle, specifically.

  [SPECIFIC]; [[CURRENT]]

  7. Jī 躋 refers to ascending a burial mound as part of ritual.

  [ARCHAIC], [SPECIFIC]; [[RARE]]

  8. Zhì 陟 "poetic: scale a mountain" (ant. jiàng 降 "descend") is a rare archaising words with highly restricted usage.

  [ARCHAIC], [SPECIFIC]; [[RARE]]

  9. Jí 即 (ant.* xùn 遜 "resign a ruler's position", or perhaps also shàn 禪 "resign the throne") is always metaphorically "ascend (the throne)".

  [SPECIFIC]; [[CURRENT]], [[DERIVED]]

• CUP
  

  1. Bēi 杯 in Warring States and Han times referred to a shallow oval bowl with two ears used for wine, soup, broth etc.; it was made of lacquered wood, bronze, earthenware, jade, silver, and even glass. According to HUANG (1995: 951 - 952), the term was in that period also used for the deep beaker on a foot to drink wine from, which is known from archaeological finds; in textual evidence, there is no firm proof of it, but as regards the shape of the vessel which could only be used for drinking, it is highly probable.

  2. Shāng 觴 is in late Warring States and Han times general term for a wine cup. It can often refer to bēi 杯. HUANG 1995: 955 - 956.

  3. Y3ǔ shāng 羽觴 (?? in HANYU DACIDIAN as hù shāng: see vol. 9, pp. 641) is mentioned as a wine cup in the texts of the late Warring States and Han periods; perhaps another term for bēi 杯 with two ears.

  4. Zhī 卮　refers to the round cylindrical wine cup made of wood, lacquare, bronze, silver, or pottery:

  5. Zhǎn 醆 / 盞 is in Han times rare term for small bēi 杯 (mentioned in FANGYAN).

  6. Zhuó 酌 is a general term for a wine cup.

  7. Jué 爵 is the term for Shang and Western Zhou bronze tripod with long spout to drink wine from, which was used on ceremonial occasions. Shape of the character read now as jué 爵 in the oracle bone and bronze inscriptions obviously refers to this kind of cup. There are also pottery vessels of this shape known from the Shang period. In late Western Zhou times, this type of vessel came out of use. Jué 爵 mentioned in the Eastern Zhou and Han texts can refer to each type of wine cup; according to Han sources jué 爵 should have room for one shēng 升 of wine[??? it seems to me that jué 爵 in the Eastern Zhou sometimes refers to the certain amount of wine drunk at once rather than to the concrete wine vessel???.

  8. Jiǎ 斝 is generally used as a term for a bronze vessel with three legs and round opening which was used to heat and serve wine. This type of vessel was common in the Shang and Western Zhou periods and came out of use in the late Western Zhou. Attribution of the name to this kind of vessel is not certain, but probable. In the Eastern Zhou and Han texts, jiǎ 斝 refers to the wine vessel, the content of which should be greater than in the case of jué 爵. [???The word seems to be rather rare in the Eastern Zhou and Han, and it occurs (except one mention in ZUO] in texts like YILI, SHUOWEN, as well as in commentaries; it cannot be thus excluded that its usage is some kind of archaization.

  9. Sǎn 散 refers to the same kind of vessel as jiǎ 斝.

  10. Jiǎo 角 occurs rarely in the Eastern Zhou and Han texts, and it should refer to some kind of cup made originally of an animal horn or resembling it in a shape. Identification of this vessel remains uncertain, although there are horn-like vessels known from the Shang down to the Han. In archaeology, jiǎo 角 is used for the bronze wine tripod similar in a shape to jué 爵 but with two identical spouts on the opposite sides of an opening; this vessel was in use from the Shang down to the Western Zhou period.

  11. Gū 觚 in the Eastern Zhou and Han texts refers to some kind of vessel with edges. Its identification is uncertain. In archeology, the term is used for the trumpet-like bronze cup which is known from the Shang and Western Zhou periods. There are also lacquered and pottery vessels of this type.

  12. Gōng or guāng 觥 in SHIJING obviously refers to the drinking cup made of the rhinoceros horn or shaped like it. Later, it can be used for a large cup. In archaeology, the term traditionally refers to the large animal-like shaped bronze vessel known from the Shang and Western Zhou periods; but this attribution is probably mistaken.

  13. Kē 搕 is a kind of (probably ordinary) cup to drink from referred to in ZUO.

Word relations
• Ant: (RISE)降/FALL1 Attribution
• Assoc: (RISE)進/RISE Jìn 進 (ant. tuì 退 "be demoted") refers specifically to the rising in the ranks of a hierarchy.
• Relat: (ASCEND)車 / 車/VEHICLE The current general term for a vehicle is chē 車, a term which also refers even more generally to all contraptions with wheels