Taxonomy of meanings for 君:　　

Additional information about 君

說文解字: 【君】，尊也。从尹，發號，故从口。 〔小徐本「發號」上有「口」。〕 【舉云切】 【】、古文象君坐形。

Criteria
• YOU
  

  1. The current general second person pronouns are rǔ 汝 in informal contexts, and in polite contexts zǐ 子.

  2. The current informal pronoun is rǔ 汝, and this word is commonly used in imperatives.

  <div>3. Ěr 爾 is another informal second person pronoun, and the word is not generally used in imperatives.</div><div><br></div><div>4. Ruò 若 is a poetic/archaising second person pronoun that went out of current use in Tang (待考）times. </div><div><br></div><div>5. Jūn 君 addresses superiors as well as equals formally, and politely.</div><div><br></div><div>6. Qīng 卿 is probably stylistically colloquial and addresses inferiors informally.</div><div><br></div><div>7. Dà wáng 大王 is the polite formal address to any king, small or powerful. </div><div><br></div><div>8. Wú zǐ 吾子, extremely common in the Zuozhuan, is respectful and honorific, but in a communicativ and sometimes even intimate mode: ·鄭玄注："吾子，相貌之辞。<br></div><br>

• VULGAR
  

  1. The most general current word for ordinariness or vulgarity is sú 俗 (ant. yǎ 雅 "elegant"), and the basic parameter of judging something as sú 俗 is relative status in the hierarchy.

  2. Jiàn 賤 (ant. shàn 善 "good" and also, along different lines guì 貴 "noble") refers 1. to noble status and 2. very negatively to a person or a piece of behaviour as not conforming to any demands set by nobility of purpose or status. Lòu 陋 (ant. huá 華 "elaborate and cultivated") refers to vulgarity as a negative feature of places (streets) or behaviour.

  3. Bǐ 鄙 (ant. chóng 崇 "elevated") refers to rusticity and lack cultural polish typical of a person from outlying regions, a country bumpkin.

  4. Yě 野 (ant. wén 文 "properly educacted, civilised") refers to true country style without necessarily strong negative connotations, but with clear overtones of condescension.

  5. Zhòng 眾 (ant. zhuō 卓 "outstanding") refers to what is characteristically linked to the hoi polloi, the ordinary people at large.

  6. Pǐ fū 匹夫 and bù yī 布衣 (ant. jūn zǐ 君子 "gentleman") refer specifically to males of the lower classes or males without public employment.

  7. Pǐ fù 匹婦 refers specifically to the wife of a person without public employment.

• FATHER
  

  1. The completely dominant word is fù 父

  2. Kǎo 考 refers to the deceased father, but can also come to refer to a living father in SHU.

  3. Wēng 翁 "old man" is occasionally used, from Han times onwards, to refer periphrastically to one's aged father.

  4. Xiān jūn 先君 is standardly used by a ruler for his deceased father.

• GOVERN
  

  1. The general word for governing, administering or ordering things is zhì 治, old reading chí.

  2. Wéi 為, yǒu 有, yòng 用, lín 臨, lì 蒞, lǐ 理 are polite ways of referring to the government by a legitimate ruler.

  3. Nán miàn 南面, tīng zhèng 聽政, and the late jiàn zuò 踐祚 "ascend the throne and hold control" are polite ways of referring to the occupation of ruler's position by a legitimate incumbent.

  4. Zhèng 政 refers to the basically bureaucratic administration of a state, practical implementation of governmental measures.

  5. Shù 術 refers to the "philosophical" and political art of statecraft.

  6. Xiǎng 享 refers to government of a state as a privilege enjoyed by the legitimate ruler.

  7. Wàng 王 is the proper government of a state by its legitimate ruler, and term often has "idealising" nuances.

  8. Jūn 君 refers to de-facto government by a ruler without any idealising or approving nuances being implied.

  9. Zhuān 專 refers to the (often illegal or not entirely law-based) monopolising of power, and the word often has negative connotations.

  10. Xiàng 相 refers to senior roles in government bureaucracy other than those of the ruler.

  11. Sī 司 refers to administration on a scale below that of a state.

  12. Shǐ 使 refers to leadership, typically of the people.

  13. Mù 牧 refers to government as a paternalistic responsibility of the ruler.

• GOOD
  

  1. The general term for positive appraisal of human capacities of any kind is shàn 善 (ant. è 惡 "bad").

  2. Rén 仁 (ant. cán 殘 "unfeeling") refers to kind-heartedness as an attitude directed towards moral behaviour. See BENEVOLENCE

  3. Lián 廉 (ant. tān 貪 "greedy for bribery gifts") refers to moral probity and impeccability.

  4. Zhí 直 (ant. qǔ 曲 "devious") refers to moral straightforwardness and uprightness.

  5. Zhōng 衷 (ant. xié 邪 "wicked") refers to devoted uprightness of character. See also EARNEST

  6. Qīng 清 (ant. zhuó 濁 "defiled and corrupt") can be used to refer to moral purity.

  7. Shú 淑 is a highly poetic word referring to admirable moral qualities in general, typically in women.

  8. Jūn zǐ 君子 (ant. xiǎo rén 小人 "petty man") refers to high moral qualities and capacities, especially in men.

  <div>9. Zāng 臧 (pí 否 "good-for-nothing") is an archaic neutral unemotional objective term for goodness.</div><div><br></div><div>10. Rén yì 仁義, when it is not simply listing benevolence and righteousness, commonly refers quite generally (by synecdoche) to moral goodness or the moral virtues LIKE benevolence and righteousness and not in fact to just two of the virtues.<br></div><br>

• ARTISAN
  

  1. The current general word for a worker or craftsman is jiàng 匠 (ant. shì 士 "freeman; scholar").

  2. Yōng 庸 (ant. jūn zǐ 君子 "gentleman") refers to any menial worker.

  3. Yì 役 (ant. zhǔ 主 "person in charge") refers specifically to a corvee labourer. See CORVEE LABOURER

  4. Táo 陶 "potter", páo 庖 "cook", yě 冶 "founder" are current specific terms.

  5. Zhū 侏 and rú 儒 are specific terms referring to the clowns or court entertainers. See CLOWN

• PEOPLE
  

  1. The dominant current general word for the people is mín 民 (ant. jūn 君 "ruler"), and this term refers inclusively to all the people particularly insofar as they are ruled by a ruler or belong to a state (xiǎo mín 小民 are the ordinary people). [ 夫民之為言也暝也，萌之為言也（肓）〔盲〕也，故惟上之所扶而以之，民無不化也。故曰：「民萌。」民萌哉！ ( 直言其意而為之名也 ) Xinshu 9

  2. Bǎi xìng 百姓 (ant. jūn zhǔ 君主 "ruler") typically refers to the registered senior families in a state who are under the control of the ruler and contribute taxes as well as military service to him; but from earliest times this term was occasionally used to refer generally to the populace at large.

  3. Rén 人 (ant. wáng 王 "king") is sometimes used generically for those people who were taken to have a political voice, as in Yīn rén 殷人 "the people of Yīn".

  4. Méng 氓 / 萌 (ant.* shì mín 士民 "citizens") refers specifically to the common people belonging to the lower echelons of society.

  5. Zhòng 眾, shù 庶 and the rarer and more rarified words 蒸 and lí 黎 refer to the masses of the people under the aspect of their numerousness.

  6. Qián shǒu 黔首 "black-headed people" is the current word for the people especially promoted by the Qin dynasty.

  7. Shì mín 士民 refers to senior registered citizens with a certain political influence; but the term can also be used collectively to refer to the freemen/gentleman shì 士 on the one hand, and the common people mín 民 on the other.

  8. Guó rén 國人 refers not to the people in a state, but specifically to the senior citizens in the capital.

  9. Mín rén 民人 is a very current way of referring to the people without suggesting any low or high status.

  10. Shù rén 庶人 is the technical term for the non-office-holding commoners in a country.

• RULER
  

  1. The current general word for a person in charge of or senior to others is zhǔ 主 (ant. pú 僕 "servant").

  2. Jūn 君 (ant. chén 臣 "minister") refers specifically to someone who is politically or administratively in charge of others as a ruler.

  3. Wáng 王 (contrast bà 霸 "hegemon basing his role on power rather than moral authority") refers specifically to someone who is enfeoffed as a formal ruler of what counts as a state in ancient China.

  4. Gōng 公 has many related meaning, but when following after the name of a state the word refers specifically to the ruler of an enfeoffed kingdom under the Son of Heaven who belongs to the royal lineage. After personal names, or used absolutely, the word may generally refer to to rulers of any rank and might be fastidiously translated as "his lordship".

  5. Hóu 侯 refers specifically to someone who is enfeoffed with a kingdom (or by Han times a minor administrative area) by the Son of Heaven as a hereditary feudal lord.

  6. Bà 霸 (contr. wáng 王 "regular king"), sometimes also written 伯 refers to a person who is in actual control of an area and specifically to one who acts as the leader of the feudal lords, and the term is sometimes used pejoratively for a "tyrant" caring for his own interests rather than those of his subordinates.

  7. Lìng 令 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a xiàn 縣 by order of a king.

  8. Shǒu 守 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a jùn 郡 by order of the emperor.

  9. Mù 牧 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a zhōu 州 by order of the emperor in Eastern Han times.

  10. Shàng 上 can refer to any governing authority or ruler, but by Han times the word became a standard polite way of referring to the Han emperor.

  11. Chán-yú 單于 refers specifically to the ruler of the Xiōngnú 匈奴. Cf. the Tang term kēhān 可汗 "Khan".

  12. Háo 豪 refers to a person of power but without formally recognised bureaucratic status.

  13. Kuí 魁 refers to a powerful popular leader unrecognised by government.

• OFFICER
  

  1. Jūn zǐ 君子 (xiǎo rén 小人 "soldier of lower rank") refers generically to the higher grades in the army.

  2. Kuí 魁 is a powerful personality who happens, on account of his power, to obtain military command over an army.

  3. Sīmǎ 司馬 refers to a very senior military official in the bureaucracy of the capital of a state.

  4. tài wèi 太尉 corresponds roughly to the Minister of Defense in the Qin and Han bureaucracy.

  5. Dū weì 都尉 is a senior military official in the Han bureaucracy.

  NB: For official military titles see XXX.

• COMMONER
  

  1. Pǐ fū 匹夫 (ant. jūn zǐ 君子 "gentleman; freeman") and the rarer xì rén 細人 is a purely sociological term referring to a person without public office.

  2. Xiǎo rén 小人 (ant. jūn zǐ 君子 ) is a term of moral or personal appraisal and refers to a person of minor worth or of no moral merit.

• GENTLEMAN
  

  1. The current general term for a person of a certain social standing is shì 士 and this word often connotes specifically a certain level of education, particularly literacy. See INTELLECTUAL.

  2. Jūn zǐ 君子 can focus either on nobility of birth and social status. See alsounder GOOD the meaning "man of excellent character".

  3. Rú 儒 (opp. 墨 "Mohist"), literally "weakling", typically referred Late Warring States times to classicists, often from broadly Confucian circles.

  4. Xián 賢 (ant. 不肖 "person of inferior worth and talent") adds to the notion of an intellectual of some education that of special talent, and sometimes also of moral worth. See TALENT.

  5. Zhé 哲 emphasises advanced intellectual talents.

  6. Jiā 家 focusses on basic professionalism or expertise, but the term is rare in pre-Han times.

  7. Shēng 生 simply refers to literates.

• MOUNTAINS
  

  8. Qí shān 岐山 is located in the northeast of the modern Qishan district, Shaanxi province. It was also called Tiān zhǔ shān 天柱山 Fēnghuángduī4 風凰堆. Ancient Zhou centers were located close to this mountain. For this reason, Qí shān 岐山 is mentioned already in the Shijing.

  9. Qíliánshān 祁連山 is another name for Tiānshān 天山. This mountain range is located in the southern and western part of the modern Xinjiang. It is divided into two groups - the northern in the central Xinjiang, and the southern in the southern Xinjiang. The former is identical with the modern Tiānshān 天山, the latter includes modern Kūnlúnshān 昆侖山, A3ěrjīnshān 阿爾金, and Qíliánshān 祁連山.These mountains are already mentioned in the Shiji, Xiongnu liezhuan.

  10. D4àyǔlíng 大庾岭 refers to the mountains on the borders of the modern Jiangxi and Guangdong.

  11. Yīnshān 陰山 refers to the mountains in the central part of the modern Inner Mongolia. Mentioned already in the Shiji.

  12. Qínlíng 秦岭 is a mountain range dividing the northern and southern parts of China. It is also a water-shed dividing the drainage areas of the Weì 渭, Huái 淮, and Hàn 漢 rivers. It spreads from the borders of the Qinghai and Gansu to the central part of Henan. This range includes important mountains, such as Mínshān 岷山, Huàshān 華山, and Sǒngshān 嵩山. Qínlíng 秦岭 in the narrow sense refers to the part of the range in the modern Shaanxi.

  13. Yānshān 燕山 refers to the mountains on the northern edge of the Hebei plains.

  14. Wǔyíshān 武夷山 is the name of the mountains on the borders of the modern Jiangxi and Fujian provinces. The earliest references I have found are post-Han.

  15. Taìhéngshān 太行山 refers to the mountain range on the borders of the modern Henan, Shanxi, and Hebei. In the south, it reaches to the Huanghe. The name already occurs in the texts of the Warring States period [YUGONG chapter in the SHANGSHU].

  16. Kūnlúnshān 昆侖山 is the name of the mountains on the borders of the modern Xinjiang and Tibet. It runs from the east to the west in the length of 2500 km. It is already referred to in the texts of the Warring states and Han periods [SHANHAIJING, HUAINANZI, MU TIANZI ZHUAN].

  17. Tiānshān 天山 are mountains in the central part of the modern Xinjiang. The name already occurs in the SHANHAIJING and HANSHU.

  18. Jǐuzǐshān 九子山 is an ancient name of the Jiǔhuáshān 九華山 in the modern Qingyang county of the Anhui province. The latter name was in use since the Tang.

  19. Dàbāshān 大巴山 refers to the mountains on the borders of the modern Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Hubei.

  20. Yàndàngshān 雁蕩山 are the mountains in the southeastern part of the modern Zhejiang province.

  21. Wūshān 巫山 is located on the borders of the modern Sichuan and Hubei. The Changjiang flows through its central part, creating famous Three gorges.

  22. Jūnshān 君山 is the mountain in the center of the Dongting lake, modern Hunan province. Also called Dòngtíngshān 洞庭山.

  23. Běimáng 北邙 is the mountain range in the modern Henan. Also called Mángshān 芒山, Běishān 北山.It runs from Sanmenxia in the West to the bank of the Yīluò river in the East. Since the Eastern Han, princes and high officers were buried on its slopes north to the Luoyang.

  24. Běigùshān 北固山 is the mountain in the northeastern part of the modern city of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province.

  25. Wúshān 吳山 is name of the three important mountains.

  a. In the north of the Pinglu county, Shanxi province. According to HOUHANSHU, on the peak of it, there there was located the city of Yǔ 麌.

  b. To the south-east of the Xihu lake in the Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province. In the Chunqiu period, it was the western border of the state of Wú, hence the name.

  c. In the southwestern part of the Long county, Shaanxi province. According to ERYA, it was one of the Five sacred mountains, 五岳.

  26. Dìngjūnshān 定軍山 is located in the southeatern part of the modern Mian county, Shaanxi province. In 219 A.D., near these mountains, army of Liu Bei defeated one of the Cao Caos generals.

  27. Fúniúshān 伏牛山 is ancient name for the Jīnshān 金山, northwest to the modern city of Zhenjiang in the Jiangsu province. The latter name came to be used in the Tang. Also called Huófú 獲箙, Fúyù 浮玉 mountains.　

  28. Jiāoshān 焦山 is located to the northeast of the modern city of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province.

  29. Tài sh1an 泰山 is the most important of the Five sacred mountains. It was also called Dōngyuè 東岳, Daìzōng 岱宗, Daìshān 岱山, Daìyuè 岱岳, Taìyuè 泰岳. It is located in the central part of the modern Shandong province. The mountain range runs from the eastern margin of the Dōngpíng 東平 lake in the northwestern direction to the modern Linbo city. It is about 200 km long. Since antiquity, Chinese rulers sacrificed on the Tài sh1an. The earliest evidence is in SHIJING.

  30. Huàshān 華山 is the westernmost of the Five sacred peaks, henceforth it was also called Xīyuè 西岳. It is located in the southern part of the modern Yin county, Shaanxi province. Its height is 1997 m.

  31. Héng shān �琱 sis the northernmost of the Five sacred peaks, henceforth it was also called Běiyuè 北岳.From the Han to the Ming, the sacred Héng shān �琱 swas located in the northwestern part of the modern Quyang county of the Hebei province.

  32. Héng shān 衡山 is the southernmost of the Five sacred mountains, and is also called Nányuè 南岳. It is located in the modern Hengshan county in the Hunan province, and is 1290 m high, and several hundred km long. It is refered to already in SHANGSHU, SHUN DIAN.　

  33. Sōng shān 嵩山 is the central of the Five sacred peaks, and it was also called Sōngyuè 嵩岳. It belongs to the Fúniúshān 伏牛山 mountain range, and is located in the modern Dengfeng county in the Henan province. It is already mentioned in the SHIJING.

  34. Niúzhǔshān 牛渚山 is the name of the mountains on the bank of the Changjiang in the northwestern part of the modern Dangtu county, Anhui province.

  35. Bāgōngshān 八公山 are the mountains in the western part of the modern city of Huainan, Anhui province. It is located west of the Féishuǐ 淝水, and south of the Huáishǔi 淮水. In 383 A.D. famous battle of Feishui took place close to this mountain.

  36. Jiǔyíshān 九疑山, also called Cāngyǔshān 蒼木吾山, are the mountains in the modern Ningyuan county in the Hunan province. According to the Shiji, the sage emperor Shun died and was buried there.

  37. Chìchéngshān 赤城山 are the mountains in the northwestern part of the modern Tiantai, Zhejiang province. First mentioned in the Jin dynasty.

  38. Lúshān 盧山 are the mountains in the southern part of the modern Jiujiang town, Jiangxi province. Also called Kuāngshān 匡山, Kuānglú 匡盧, Nánzhàng4shān 南障山. The name is already mentioned in the Han times. It is said that both Emperor Yu and First emperor climbed the mountains when travelling to the South.

  39. Sh3ouyángshān 首陽山 are the mountains in the southern part of the modern Yongji county, Shanxi province. According to the tradition (for the first time mentioned in the LUNYU), it was in these mountains, where Boyi and Shuqi lived in hermitage. The mountains are already referred to in the SHIJING.

  40. E2méishān 峨嵋山 is the name of the mountains in the southwestern part of the modern Emei county, Sichuan province. It is already mentioned in the HUAYANG GUOZHI of the Jin dynasty. It belongs to the four famous mountains of buddhism.

  41. Qīngchéngshān 青城山 are the mountains in the southwestern part of the modern Guan county, Sichuan province. According to the tradition, it was there where in the Han times Zhang Daoling practiced dao.

  42. Luófúshān 羅浮山 are the mountains on the north bank of the Dōngjiāng 東江 river in the modern Guangdong province. According to the tradition, during the Eastern Jin dynasty, Ge Hong practiced dao there.

• SOLDIER
  

  1. There is no current general word for a soldier of any rank, and the collective term for soldiers is jūn 軍 "army". See ARMY

  2. Zú 卒 and the archaic tú 徒 refer to an ordinary infantry soldier, and these footsoldiers never ride chariots.

  3. Jiǎ 甲 refers to armoured soldiers riding in carriages.

  4. Jì 騎 refers to cavalry (Han dynasty).

  5. Nǔ 弩 refers to crossbowmen.

  6. Yì 役 refers to a conscript soldier.

  7. Xiǎo rén 小人 (jūn zǐ 君子 "soldier of a higher grade") refers generically to the lower grades in the army.

  8. Shì 士 refers to officers riding chariots in battle.

  NB: Bīng 兵 "soldier" may turn out to be post-Han. I have not yet found a clear example where the word refers to a soldier.

Word relations
• Inconsist: (RULER)愚/STUPID The dominant word is yú 愚 (ant. zhì 智 "clever; wise"), and the word refers to intellectual obtuseness as well as practical ineptitude. 1 Attribution
• Object: (RULER)事/SERVE The current general word for serving another is shì 事 (ant. shǐ 使 "deploy"). 5 Attributions
• Object: (RULER)劫/ATTACK2 Attributions
• Object: (GOVERN)人/OTHER Rén 人 refers indefinitely to other persons, in the singular (someone else) or in the plural (other people), but never as "the other person" or as "the other people." 2 Attributions
• Object: (RULER)尊/RESPECT Zūn 尊 (ant. bǐ 鄙 "consider as not worthy of any veneration or respect") refers to public respect for someone in a very exalted social, cultural, religious and/or political position, and the degree of public respect is much greater that that in jìng 敬 and reaches into the past to ancestors. 1 Attribution
• Object: (RULER)弒/MURDER Shì 弒 refers to assassination of a ruler, and always with negative connotations (the justified killing of a ruler would still be shā 殺). 4 Attributions
• Object: (RULER)置/ESTABLISH Cuò 錯/措 and zhì 置 (ant. feì 廢 "remove from its proper place") refer to putting something solidly and firmly in its proper place. 1 Attribution
• Object: (RULER)誘/CHEAT1 Attribution
• Epithet: (RULER)令/COMMAND The standard current word for a command is lìng 令, and the content (not the words) of the command is typically in the sentence that follows. We do not find: 令曰, and it is significant that lìng 令 also regularly means "to cause to". 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (RULER)賢/EXCELLENT1 Attribution
• Epithet: (RULER)明/INTELLIGENT Míng 明 (ant. àn 闇 "obfuscated in one's mind"), taking its analogy from sharpness of vision, typically refers to clarity of insight at all levels. 7 Attributions
• Epithet: (RULER)人/HUMAN The dominant term is rén 人 which refers to any human. 2 Attributions
• Epithet: (RULER)人/OTHER Rén 人 refers indefinitely to other persons, in the singular (someone else) or in the plural (other people), but never as "the other person" or as "the other people." 3 Attributions
• Epithet: (RULER)暴/CRUEL Bào 暴 refers to a propensity towards public violence by those in authority, viewed as a character defect. See VIOLENT 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (RULER)主/RULER The current general word for a person in charge of others are zhǔ 主 (ant. pú 僕 "servant"). 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (RULER)子/SON The current way of referring to a son is by the word zǐ 子 "child" which regularly denotes a son. See CHILD. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (RULER)亂/REVOLT Luàn 亂 (ant. zhì 治 "regularly political government") refers to a major political upheaval designed to topple the reigning government. 1 Attribution
• Synon: (RULER)主/RULER The current general word for a person in charge of others are zhǔ 主 (ant. pú 僕 "servant").
• Oppos: (RULER)臣/MINISTER The general word for a government minister at any level and of any kind is chén 臣, generically rén chén 人臣. 8 Attributions
• Oppos: (YOU)臣/EGO1 Attribution
• Oppos: (RULER)群臣/MINISTER1 Attribution
• Oppos: (RULER)民/PEOPLE The dominant current general word for the people is mín 民 (ant. jūn 君 "ruler"), and this term refers to the people particularly insofar as they are ruled by a ruler or belong to a state. 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (RULER)側室/RELATIVES1 Attribution
• Oppos: (YOU)我/EGO Wǒ 我 is contrastive and emphatic by Warring States times (in OBI it was not yet in opposition to wú 吾 and was the standard unmarked pronoun during earlier stages of the language). The word freely occurs in subject, mofifying, and object position and often has an idiomatic meaning like "I for my part" and the formal slightly depersonalised "our party". NB: The word also serves as an impersonal pronoun meaning "one", German man, French on. 2 Attributions
• Oppos: (RULER)身/SELF Shēn 身 typically refers to the subject in a contrastive way, and the word is often hard to distinguish from the nominal concept of a person. Adverbially, the word is different from PERSONALLY in that it does not connote distinction in the agent. 1 Attribution