Taxonomy of meanings for 坐:　　

  • 坐 zuò (OC: sɡoolʔ MC: dzuɑ) 徂果切 上 廣韻：【釋名曰坐挫也骨節挫屈也徂果切二 】
    • KNEEL
      • vi-Vkneel/sit and V
      • vikneel on the floor, politely and decently, with one's back on one's heels
      • vtoNkneel on
      • vtoNcausativecause to kneel>cause to sit the traditional Chinese way
      • nabkneelingCH
      • viinchoativekneel downCH
      • viperfectiveget to kneel formally/sit rituallyCH
      • generalised> SIT
        • vadVwhile sitting and doing nothing; while sitting, during sitting (in meditation)
        • vi[0]imperativesit (i.e. kneel!) down!
        • vipost-Han: sit: 踞床而坐CHECK?????
        • viactsit (in mediation)
        • vt(oN)sit in the contextually determinate seat/place
        • vt+prep+Nsit in place N
        • vtoNcausativeto seat someone, cause to sit (facing a certain direction etc)
        • vtoNcausativecause oneself to sit (in a certain direction etc), seat oneself
        • vtoNinchoativesit down on
        • v[adN]nonreferentialsomeone sitting/kneelingCH
        • viact inchoativesit downCH
        • nabkneeling formallyTWH
      • generalised> DWELL
        • vtoNsit at a place > to live in/at; dwell in/at (this is a meaning common in vernacular texts of the Tang)
        • sitting down and thus effortlessly> EASY
          • vadVsitting down> effortlessly; without one having to do anything, without one doing anything
          • specifically> MEDITATE
            • viactsit in meditation
  • 坐 zuò (OC: sɡools MC: dzuɑ) 徂卧切 去 廣韻：【被罪又藏果切
    • SEAT
      • nseat on the floor, marked by a mattress or carpet (in the Chan BUDDH. context referring to the seat on an elevated platfrom in the Dharma-hall, used by the master for lectures )
      • vtoNcausativeassign a seat to; seat somebody
      • n(post-N)seat of honour of the contextually determinate NCH
    • sit in judgement> JUDGE
      • vtoNpassivebe condemned See PUNISH
      • negative> ACCUSE
        • vtoNpassivebe accused in court, be triedCH
        • vtoNmiddle voicebe held responsible for the crime of (a person); be held guilty (of a crime)
      • rare:abstract> RELY ON
        • vtoN.adVrelying onCH

    Additional information about 坐

    說文解字: 【𡋲(坐)】，止也。从土、从畱省。土，所止也，此與畱同意。 〔小徐本作「從畱省、從土，所止也。」〕 【徂臥切】 【坐】，古文坐。 〔小徐本「坐」下有「如此」二字。〕

      Criteria
    • KNEEL

      1. The current general word for kneeling down while resting one's body on one's heels in an orderly but relaxed position is zuò 坐 (lì 立 "stand up"), a term often innocently mistranslated as "to sit".

      2. Guì 跪 refers to the polite act of submission which involves kneeling down with one's torso protruding forward, ready to show respect and submission

      3. Bài 拜 refers to the action of guì 跪 with the addition of moving one's head towards the ground. See BOW.

      4. Jì 跽 and cháng guì4 長跪 kneel with one's torso erect, as a sign of seriousness.

      5. Qǐ 啟 is a poetic word for the polite act of submitting which involves kneeling down which is current in SHI.

    • SIT

      1. The current word for sitting is not properly zuò 坐 (see KNEEL) but probably jū 居 "sit down", which is a decorous thing to do, although it is not clear in which position, exactly, one ends up, and the suspicion is that one ends up, in fact, kneeling politely in the zuò 坐 fashion.

      2. Dūn 蹲 is to squat on the floor, sitting on one's behind, but keeping a certain decorous pose.

      3. Jù 踞 refers to squatting with one's legs spread to both sides, which was regarded as a very informal and impolite thing to do in public.

      4. Jí 集 refers to birds settling in a certain place, often but not always in a flock.

    • 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

    • SEAT

      1.. Wèi 位 focusses on the seat as an indicator of a person's status.

      2. Xí 席 refers specifically to the physical object, the mat, on which one sat in ancient China.

      3. Yán 筵 refers specifically to the mat placed immediately on the floor on which the xí 席 or "sitting mat" in turn was laid out.

      4. Zuò 坐 / 座 is used to refer to a seat as such, in a general way, but this usage is not very common.

      Word relations
    • Oppos: (SIT)侍/ACCOMPANY The general word for accompanying someone of superior status is probably shì 侍 refers to polite attendance upon a master or leader, typically while in residence, but occasionally also on journeys. See SERVE. >>STATIONARY, ASCENDING