Taxonomy of meanings for 孝:　　

Additional information about 孝

說文解字: 【孝】， 善 事父母者。从老省、从子。子承老也。 〔小徐本無「也」。下有「老省亦聲」四字。〕 【呼敎切】

Criteria
• LOVE
  

  1. The clearly dominant word referring to love is ài 愛 (ant. hèn 恨 "dislike"; rarely zēng 憎 "dislike"; and wù 惡 "hate"), and this word refers both to the feelings of love and to the expression of love in loving care for another person as well as in sexual relations. (Occasionally, the word may refer to the emotional preference that a small child feels for its parents. For this meaning see PREFER.)

  2. Cí 慈 (ant. xiōng 凶 "vicious") refers to loving care, prototypically by mothers for minors or their offspring. When the word refers to ordinary love, it always connotes a high degree of intensity of the caring emotion.

  3. Tì 悌 refers to love between brothers, particularly the love one owes one's eldest brother, and the word is rarely extended to mean brotherly as opposed to erotic or commiserating love.

  4. Xiào 孝 refers to loving respect for one's parents and ancestors in attitude and action, and is a major traditional virtue.

  5. Chǒng 寵 refers to enjoying the attentions and/or affections of a superior.

  6. Xìng 幸 "give sexual favours to (a subject)" and xìng yú 幸於 "enjoy the sexual favours of (a ruler) refer to love sexually expressed.

  7. Bì 嬖 refers to the enjoying of favourite status with a superior, and the term often connotes sexual relations, occasionally even of the homosexual kind.

  8. Mù 慕 prototypically refers to loving devotion of a distant kind, but the word is also used in a more generalised way to refer to affection.

  9. Hào 好 refers to love as a matter of a strong and habitual emotional preference for something. (See PREFER)

• BENEVOLENCE
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [[CURRENT/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/FAMILIAR]

  [ETHICAL/FACTUAL]

  [EMOTIONAL/UNEMOTIONAL]

  [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

  [PRACTICAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL]

  1. Rén 仁 (ant. cán 殘 "cruel" and perhaps ant.* rěn 忍 "be callous, unfeeling") which refers to kind-heartedness and deep human sensibility as a constitutive feature of man as a moral being, is the standard word since Confucius.

  [ETHICAL], [HIGH-DEGREE]

  2. Cí 慈 (ant. rěn 忍 "callous, unfeeling") is primarily the intimate emotional concern of mothers/parents for their children, and by extension such concern of a fatherly ruler for his people. (See LOVE)

  [EMOTIONAL], [PRACTICAL]

  3. Xiào 孝 refers to caring love for one's parents and one's ancestors. SEE LOVE.

  4. Huì 惠 "kind generosity" (ant. sè 嗇 "stinginess") is kind-heartedness in generous action of various kinds and displayed towards inferiors. See GENEROUS

  [PRACTICAL]

  5. Shàn 善 "goodness in action" (ant. è 惡 "wicked") belongs more properly into the group GOOD, but the word does come to refer to altruistic moral concern for others and thus relates to the present group.

  [ETHICAL], [GRADED], [MARGINAL]; [[RARE]]

  6. Mín 旻 refers in a ritual elevated manner to the beneficence and compassion of Heaven and of the sky (in CC).

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HIGH-DEGREE]; [[RARE]]

• VIRTUE
  

  1. The current general term for salient features and principles of charismatic moral potency, integrity and generosity is dé 德, when used as a term of ethical evalutation.

  2. Other general terms for subjectively construed general moral commendation include měi 美 "point of moral distinction" (ant. è 惡 "point of moral decrepitude"), and occasionally gāo 高 "elevated points, elevated spirit" (ant. jiàn 賤 "point of vulgar decrepitude"). NB that shàn 善 "excellent" is not used as a general term of positive moral appreciation in pre-Buddhist texts.

  3. The most current dé 德 "virtues" recognised in pre-Buddhist China are rén 仁 "kind-heartedness", yì 義 "rectitude", lǐ 禮 "propriety", zhì 智 "wisdom", and xìn 信 "good faith".

  4. Further important virtues are xiào 孝 "filial piety", zhōng 忠 "loyal diligence", tì 悌 / 弟 "brotherly affection", lián 廉 "impeccable probity", jié 節 "moderation", and perhaps yǒng 勇 "the courage of one's moral convictions". ( 說苑 : 百行 (xìng) 孝為先 )

  5. Zhōng yōng 中庸 "the mean in action" may be mentioned as a a central Confucian virtue, jiān ài 兼愛 "unIversal love" as a Mohist virtue, wú wéi 無為 "unobtrusive action" as a non-moralistic Taoist virtue.

Word relations
• Conv: (LOVE)慈/LOVE Cí 慈 (ant. rěn 忍 "callous, unfeeling") is primarily the intimate emotional concern of mothers/parents for their children, and by extension such concern of a fatherly ruler for his people. [EMOTIONAL], [PRACTICAL] 3 Attributions
• Inconsist: (LOVE)違/OFFEND Wéi 違 (ant. xún 循 "follow") and the rarer lí 離 as well as fēi 非 are neutral terms referring to a failure to comply with something. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (LOVE)子/CHILD The commonest word for a child is zǐ 子"son; child; rarely: baby". 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (VIRTUE)弟/VIRTUE Further important virtues are xiào 孝"filial piety", zhōng 忠 "loyal diligence", tì 悌/弟 "brotherly affection", lián 廉 "impeccable probity", jié 節 "moderation", and perhaps yǒng 勇 "the courage of one's moral convictions". 7 Attributions
• Assoc: (VIRTUE)敬/RESPECT The current general word for respectful attitudes and actions is jìng 敬 (ant. màn 慢 "fail to show proper respect for"). 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (LOVE)謹/DILIGENT The current word for (typically respectful) meticulous and almost fastidious diligence is jǐn 謹 (ant. màn 慢 "be neglectful"). 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (LOVE)慈/LOVE Cí 慈 (ant. rěn 忍 "callous, unfeeling") is primarily the intimate emotional concern of mothers/parents for their children, and by extension such concern of a fatherly ruler for his people. [EMOTIONAL], [PRACTICAL] 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (LOVE)慈/LOVE Cí 慈 (ant. rěn 忍 "callous, unfeeling") is primarily the intimate emotional concern of mothers/parents for their children, and by extension such concern of a fatherly ruler for his people. [EMOTIONAL], [PRACTICAL] 1 Attribution