Taxonomy of meanings for 師:  

  • shī (OC: sril MC: ʃɯi) 疏夷切 平 廣韻:【師範也衆也亦官名大戴禮曰昔者周成王幼在繦褓之中太公爲太師也又姓晉有師曠又漢複姓十二氏左傳衞大夫褚師圃馬師頡鄭有郷校子産云是吾師也其後以校師爲氏陳悼太子偃師其後以王父字爲氏扶風傳有范師利蔓丗本云鄭有子師僕殷時掌樂有太師摯少師陽宋有樂人師延丗掌樂職後有宋大夫師延冝風俗通云有牧師氏春秋釋例楚有師祁黎後漢末有南陽師宜宫善篆䟽夷切六 】
    • TEACHER
      • n[post-N]our master; my master
      • nteacher; master; leading specialist
      • nadVreference=objectas a teacher
      • npost-Na master of the N kind/school etc.
      • npost-Naba master of the art of Nab
      • npost=Nprteacher Npr
      • npost-N人師,民師 teacher, guiding authority; sometimes specifically: music master
      • vtoNattitudinaltake on as a teacher; treat as a teacher; revere as one's teacher
      • vtoNattitudinaltake as your guide (your own mind/attitudes/prejudices etc)
      • n(post-N)the teacher of the contextually determinate NCH
      • n(post-N)the teacher of the contextually determinate NCH
      • n[post-N]one's teacher; one's own teacherLZ
      • n(adN)teacher's contextually determinate feature NLZ
      • grammaticalised, polite> YOU
        • n[post-npro1.][post=npro2]you, the master
    • attitudinal: treat as> EMULATE
      • vtoNemulate
      • be guided by> CONFORM
        • vtoNregularly agree with (in a docile way as with a teacher's words) and be guided by NCH
        • consequent action> SUPPORT
          • nabactmilitary support
        • intellectual:like a master> STUDY
          • vt+prep+Ntreat as one's teacher> learn from
          • vtoNtreat as a teacher, take as a guiding authority; imitate as teacher
          • vtoNfigurativelearn from (history etc)
          • vtoNN=nonhulearn from something
      • generally> SPECIALIST
        • npost-Nspecialist of N
        • specifically> MUSICIAN
          • n+Nprtitlemusic-master 師曠,師涓
          • nmusic master
        • military leader> OFFICER
            • general> CROWD
              • ncrowd
              • organised> ARMY
                • n-Nan army or section of an army (of so-and-so many men or of such-and-such a place)
                • n(post-N)the army of the contextually determinate N; army; OBI: military camp, encampment. Troops, armed force, division of the armed forces, regular armed forces; (obsolescent after Qin) HF 1.2: (several hundred thousand) organised armed personnel (should probably be npost-N)
                • nabautonymarmy
                • nadV師行to move with an army; to travel like marching with army ??
                • nccarmy 二師 "the two armies"
                • vtoNmarshall (an army division)
                • npost-V{NUM}army as a counted unit
                • n=Nprarmy Npr
                • ncollectivearmy; section of an army; the members of the army (traditionally 2500 men)
                • n[post-N]one's (own) army, the army of the subject of the clause in which the word occurs (Note that this use is particularly common in object position: n[post-N.]post-Vt
                • npost-NprNpr=statethe army of NprCH
                • abstract> WARFARE
                  • viactengage in formal warfare
                  • nabwar; warfareDS
                • object> GARRISON
                    • place where army encamps temporarily> CAMP
                      • ngarrison; temporal camp
                      • place of the main army> CAPITAL
                        • nmain garrison; capital 京師
                        • general: settlement with military presence> CITY
                          • ncity
              • action, military> LEAD
                • viuse military force, deploy an army
                • specific> ATTACK
                  • nabactmilitary campaign
                  • viactdeploy one's troops, lead one's troops into the field; field an army; take the field
                  • encamp> DWELL
                    • vt+prep+Ndeploy one's troops for aggressive purposes at, encamp at
        • =獅 LION

          Additional information about 師

          說文解字: 【師】,二千五百人爲師。从帀、从𠂤,𠂤四帀眾意也。 〔小徐本作「從𠂤、帀,四帀眾意也。」〕 【疎夷切】 【𠦵】,古文師。

            Criteria
          • MUSICIAN

            1. The current word for female musical entertainers is nǚ yuè 女樂.

            2. Shī 師 (also expanded to refers to yuè shī 樂師 ) refers to a male music master whose competence is supposed to be practical as well as theoretical.

            3. Gǔ gōng 瞽工 is a colloquial word for a musician.

          • BLIND

            [[CONGERIES]]

            1. Gǔ 瞽 is the standard word for blindness (not necessarily congenital) where a person has eyeballs, but where the eyesight is impaired, some say typically by the eye-lids leaving only a small opening. The word also has figurative meanings.

            2. Máng 盲 (ant. míng 明 "endowed with clear sight") became the standard word for blindness, but the word can apparently also refer specifically to colour-blindness in pre-Han times.

            3. Méng 矇 / 蒙 refers specifically to blindness as a result of glaucoma, but is also current in generalised meanings referring to reduced vision.

            4. Sǒu 瞍 refers ocasionally to blindness which is the result of atrophy or lack of eyeballs (as prototypically in the case of Music Master Kuàng 師曠 ), and this is an ancient elevated word to use.

            5. Miǎo 眇 refers to blindness on one eye because of near-sightnedness or strabismus; and in post-Han times the word came to refer to blindness in both eyes.

            6. Xuàn 眩 refers to non-congenital blindness, but the word is very often used metaphorically in the sense of "blinded, dazzled".

            NB: Xiá 瞎 is post-Buddhist, SANGUO.

          • CHINESE LANGUAGE

            1. guānhuà 官話 "Mandarin" is obsolete, and its traditional antonym was xiāngyǔ 鄉語 "local speech".

            From Míng Dynasty times, this was a current word for the common vernacular language used by administrative staff of any kind throughout China.

            DC: 明何良俊《四友齋叢說 ‧ 史十一》: " 雅宜不喜作鄉語,每發口必官話。 "

            2. báihuà 白話 "plain speech, vernacular" (as opposed to wényán 文言 )

            This is a modern word referring to an easily accessible written version of the Chinese language. In classical contexts or early vernacular contexts the expression always seems to refer to "empty talk" rather than the vernacular language.

            3. guóyǔ 國語 "national language" (ant. wàiyǔ 外語 ) (pre-1950ies and Taiwan)

            A word that continues to be in increasing common use even in Mainland China today, and which is standard in places like Malaysia or Singapore, as well as in Taiwan.

            4. zhōngguóyǔ 中國語 "language of China" (ant. wàiguóyǔ 外國語 )

            Current Japanese way of writing the Japanese word for the Chinese language, but the expression has a long history in China, the first attested use being in Yáng Xióng's Model Sayings of the first century BC.

            5. pǔtōnghuà 普通話 "common language" (Mainland China) (ant. dìfāngyǔ 地方語, fāngyán 方言 "dialect (not in the ancient meaning)")

            This is a very common modern expression which corresponds to Greek koinē, and the word is always used in counterdistinction to (often mutually incomprehensible) dialects. The word has a rather political flair.

            6. Hànyǔ 漢語 "language of the Hàn people" (should include all dialects, but is often used otherwise)

            This is the most current word for the Chinese language as opposed to other 族語 "national languages". The word is very current in the Buddhist Tripitaka, but it is also attested elsewhere 庾信《奉和法筵應詔》: " 佛影胡人記,經文漢語翻。 ". The term is also attested in 世說新語.

            7. Zhōngguóhuà 中國話 "Chinese speech" (includes all dialects)

            This word is always used in counterdistinction to foreign languages. It has become current in international contexts in nineteenth century novels.

            8. Zhōngwén 中文 "Chinese (typically written) language" (ant. wàiwén 外文, often icludes speech: 會說中文 )

            This word is already attested in the medieval 搜神記, where it refers to the written language. In Modern Standard Chinese this is a very common way of referring to Chinese as opposed to foreign languages, and as a subject in school curricula.

            9. Huáyǔ 華語 "Chinese talk" (used mainly in Singapore, Hong Kong etc.)

            This word has a long history in Buddhist texts, and it is also already attested in 劉知幾《史通 ‧ 言語》: "... 必諱彼夷音,變成華語.

            10. Hànyīn 漢音 "Han-Chinese sounds" refers to the Chinese language in a poetic style. Sanskrit is currently referred to as 梵音.

            HD sub verbo 漢文: 2. 漢語;漢字。南朝梁僧祐《梵漢譯經音義同异記》: " 或善梵義而不了漢音,或明漢文而不曉梵意。 "

            HD: 2. 指漢語。南朝宋朱廣之《咨顧道士<夷夏論>》: " 想茲漢音,流入彼國。 "

            老子漢人也。

            新修科分六學僧傳 R133_p0714a04(02)║

            胡蕃國也。土地不同。則言音亦異。當其化胡成佛之際。為作漢音耶。作蕃音耶。苟以漢音。則蕃國有所不解。以蕃音。則此經之至。宜須翻譯。

            11. Hàn yán 漢言 "Hàn language, language of the Hàn Dynasty> Chinese" (ant. 胡言 or 胡語 ) is a historico-ethnographic term.

            This remained a very common way of referring to the Chinese language long after the Hàn Dynasty, as is clear from the Buddhist Tripitaka. (424 occurrences in CBETA.)

            T25n1512_p0835b29(05)║

            胡言般若波羅蜜。

            漢言智慧彼岸也

            T48n2023_p1095c25(00)║

            志曰。

            佛者。 Buddha

            漢言覺也。 is "the enlightened" in Hàn language"

            將以覺悟群生也。 He will bring enlightenment to the sentient beings.

            12. Wényán 文言 "literary Chinese" (ant. báihuà 白話 "plain vernacular") today refers to a modernised version of traditional classical Chinese, as used for example in letters. But in the Buddhist Tripitaka, for example, the phrase regularly refers to ornate Chinese, ornate formulations. Neither traditionally nor in modern times is 文言 used in counterdistinction to foreign languages: the contrast is with other varieties of Chinese.

            DC: 4. 別於白話的古漢語書面語。蔡元培《在國語傳習所的演說》: " 文言上還有例句,如 ' 爾無我詐,我無爾虞 ' 等。 "

            13. wényánwén 文言文 "literary Chinese writing" (ant. báihuàwén 白話文 ) refers to classical Chinese as it continues to be used in the introductions to books and in formal letter-writing.

            This is a twentieth century word, as far as I can see.

            14. báihuà-wén 白話文 "plain talk writing" (ant. wényánwén 文言文 ) is a term with a strong stylistic nuance.

            This is a twentieth century word.

            15. tōngyòngyǔ 通用語 "general use language".

            This is a twentieth century neologism designed to replace 普通話. The term has never achieved broad use.

            16. dàzhòngyǔ 大眾語 "mass language" is obsolete today.

            This is a politicised ideological concept stressing the universal use and popularity of the Chinese language as advocated by language politicians. It is a twentieth century political neologism.

            17. guówén 國文 "state writing" refers in a formal way to written Chinese.

            This is a twentieth century term mainly used in connection with educational politics.

            HD: 許地山《東野先生》: “ 這不是國文教科書底一課麼? ”

            18. Hàn wén 漢文 (obsolete, current in Buddhist texts) "Hàn (typically written) language"

            HD: 2. 漢語;漢字。南朝梁僧祐《梵漢譯經音義同异記》: " 或善梵義而不了漢音,或明漢文而不曉梵意。 "

            19. Zhōngguó wénzì 中國文字 "the Chinese (written) language"

            T49n2036_p0477a06(03)║ 

            中國文字未通。蓋不可知也。

            R110_p0542b01(05)║

            偈語原必有韻譯以中國文字。則無可協。

            R110_p0542b09(00)║

            流入東土後。以中國文字經為尊稱。故亦稱經。

            20. Huá yán 華言 is an obsolete traditional term for Chinese that comes over 1200 times in Taisho Tripitaka.

            R150_p0541a 13(00)║

            剌麻者。乃西域之尊稱。

            譯華言為無上二字。

            R149_p0695a 12(00)║

            梵語阿修羅。亦云阿素洛。

            又云阿須倫。

            華言非天。

            R149_p0718b05(03)║

            梵語袈裟華言壞色衣。

            21. dōngtǔ Huáxiàyán 東土華夏言 "Chinese language in the eastern regions" is an ad hoc periphrastic expression which one might insist was never lexicalised, but it is perhaps worth recording just as well, if only in order to

            R059_p0119b04(00)║

            梵語。西天梵國語也。

            華言。東土華夏言也。

            譯者翻也。

            謂翻梵天之語。轉成漢地之言也。

            22. Hàn'ér yányǔ 漢兒言語 "Hàn language" is a term that is current in Korean textbooks of colloquial Chinese, like the famous 老乞大 : “ 你是高麗人,卻怎麼漢兒言語說的好。 ” See also the article in 太田辰夫《漢語史通考 · 關於漢兒言語》

            23. Jìn wén 晉文 (obsolete, current in Buddhist texts) "Jìn (typically written) language" is fairly rare, but clear examples are easily found:

            T50n2059_p0326c12(02)║

            還歸中夏。

            自燉煌至長安。

            沿路傳譯寫為晉文。

            24. Jìn yán 晉言 (obsolete, current in Buddhist texts) "Language of the Jìn" is common indeed, but many examples can be read technically as "in Jìn this translates as". Not however in this example:

            於龜茲國金華祠。

            T14n0434_p0105ā6(01)║ 

            演出此經。譯梵音為晉言。

            T33n1693_p0001ā7(01)║

            斯經似安世高譯。為晉言也。 (punctuation probably wrong!)

            25. Jìn yǔ 晉語 (obsolete, current in Buddhist texts) "Speech of the Jìn"

            T50n2059_p0329ā2(00)║

            手執梵文口宣晉語。

            T55n2145_p0072b24(03)║

            先誦本文。

            然後乃譯為晉語。

            26. Jìn yīn 晉音 "Jìn Dynasty speech"

            T14n0434_p0105á1(00)║

            沙門慧海者。通龜茲語。

            善解晉音。

            林復命使譯龜茲語為晉音。

            T50n2060_p0634á6(02)║

            外國語云阿耨菩提。

            晉音翻之無上大道。

            27. Qín yán 秦言 "Qín language> Chinese" is the standard way of providing Chinese translations for Sanskrit words in the Buddhist Tripitaka. (No less than 1132 examples in CBETA, but mostly formulaic, as in the following examples.)

            答曰。摩訶秦言大。 "maha is "big"in Chinese"

            T25n1509_p0383á2(03)║

            今問摩訶薩義。摩訶者秦言大。

            28. Qín yǔ 秦語 "Speech of the Qín > Chinese"

            In the Buddhist Tripitaka, this is a very formal term for Chinese, not very common. (Only 22 occurrences in CBETA)

            T26n1543_p0771b02(08)║

            梵本十五千七十二首盧 ( 四十八萬二千五百四言 ) 。

            秦語十九萬五千二百五十言。

            T51n2068_p0053c09(05)║

            什自手執胡經。

            口譯秦語曲從方言而趣不乖本。

            T51n2068_p0054á9(07)║

            什自執梵本口譯秦語。

            T55n2145_p0072b07(28)║

            胡本十五千七十二首盧 ( 四十八萬二千三百四言 ) 秦語十九萬五千二百五十言

            T55n2145_p0073c09(02)║

            胡本一萬一千七百五十二首盧長五字也。

            凡三十七萬六千六十四言也。

            秦語為十六五千九百七十五字。

            29. Táng wén 唐文 (obsolete, current in Buddhist texts) "Táng (typically written) language"

            This is the standard way of referring to the written Chinese language in Buddhist texts of the Táng dynasty.

            R130_p0664b06(02)║

            以華言唐文刻釋氏經典

            T39n1797_p0803b21(10)║

            不得梵文依唐文得意亦同。

            T48n2025_p1160a24(08)║

            唐文多對偶當盡翻譯。

            T50n2060_p0614c17(05)║

            有天竺三藏大齎梵本擬譯唐文。

            R024_p0177a16(02)║ 

            語精梵言。

            雖亦兼美唐文。

            乍來恐未盡善。

            30. Táng yán 唐言 (obsolete, current in Buddhist texts) "Language of the Táng".

            1523 occurrences in CBETA. Occasionally, one wonders whether this does refer to Táng time Chinese whereas Hànyīn 漢音 does not:

            T20n1177Ap0724c02(01)║

            遂將得舊翻譯唐言漢音經本在寺。

            31. Táng yǔ 唐語 (obsolete, current in Buddhist texts) "Speech of the Táng"

            A fairly rare way of referring to the Chinese language in Táng Buddhist texts. (Only 18 occurrences in CBETA)

            R014_p0563a14(02)║

            印度罽賓皆未詳唐語。

            R036_p0985a16(18)║    

            又多兩重怗文當知初依梵文後釋唐語

            T30n1579_p0283c07(05)║

            三藏法師玄奘。

            敬執梵文譯為唐語。

            32. Táng yīn 唐音 "Táng speech" is a regular expression for Táng Dynasty Chinese in the Buddhist Tripitaka.

            R036_p0584b13600)

            梵語本是兩名唐音無以甄別

            R066_p0717b08(01)║

            此偈乃是梵語訛言。

            傳者將為唐音正字。

            33. Tánghuà 唐話 "Táng talk" is a current Cantonese term for Chinese, and the famous intellectual 許地山 writes: 他說的雖是唐話,但是語格和腔調全是不對的。 But in this phrase, I am instructed by my teacher and friend Jiǎng Shàoyú, Táng refers not to the dynasty but to 唐山.

            34. Dà Táng yǔ 大唐語 "Speech of the Great Táng Dynasty" is rarely attested, but the word does exist:

            R150_p1055b17(00)║

            若僧雖是新羅人。却會大唐語。 Monk Ruò was a person from Xīnluó, but he spoke the language of the Great Táng Dynasty.

            35. Hàn 漢 is an abbreviation for Hànyǔ 漢語 currently used in Buddhist translation theory, but the word is not in itself a term for the Chinese language outside such technical contexts.

            T21n1293_p0378c15(02)║ 

            翻梵為漢 Translate the Sanskrit into Chinese.

            R068_p0353b05(05)║

            梵是天竺之言。

            漢是此土之語。

            R133_p0623b09(07)║

            序以條列梵漢旨義。

            R005_p0007b03(02)║

            翻譯之家自有規准。 The specialists in translation have their own standards.

            若名梵漢共有。 If a term exists both in Sanskrit and in Chinese

            則敵對而翻。 than they just match the terms up in translation.

            36. Táng 唐 "language of the Táng Dynsasty.

            梵唐

            T54n2133Ap1196b12(02)║ 

            一曰義淨撰梵語千字文。

            或名梵唐千字文。

            T55n2176_p1118a01(00)║ 

            梵唐對譯阿彌陀經一卷 ( 仁 )

            This is the same as 梵唐語:

            T55n2176_p1118b20(00)║ 

            梵唐語對註譯大佛頂真言一卷

            T55n2176_p1119c19(18)║

            梵唐對譯法花二十八品

            T55n2176_p1120a05(00)║ 

            梵唐對譯金剛般若經二卷

            T55n2176_p1131a06(00)║ 

            梵唐文字一卷

            37. Jìn 晉 "the language of the Jìn Dynasty.

            The term is rarely used to refer directly to the language, unlike the common Táng 唐. But examples do exist:

            T55n2157_p0795c08(08)║

            既學兼梵晉故譯義精允。

            38. nèidìhuà 內地話 refers to the language spoken on the Mainland, and the word is mostly used on Taiwan. This term represents an outsider's view on the Chinese language. (2.9 million hits in Google! This important word was brought to my attention by Jens Østergaard Petersen.)

            39. shénzhōu yǔ 神州語 "the language of our divine land" is quaint, nationalistically sentimental, and a rare way of referring to the Chinese language.

            beijing.kijiji.cn/á1221463.html:

            心中一暖,想到他居然會說神州語,正要說些甚麼,但一開口,嘴部動作牽動喉嚨,...

            40. zúyǔ 族語 "the national language (of the Chinese) is a borderline case because the term refers to national languages in general, and only by extension to Chinese in particular.

            42. Hàn dì zhī yán 漢地之言 "language of the Ha4n territory" is a marginal periphrastic expression which one should probably not regard as a lexicalised item. One could study such periphrastic expressions separately from the lexicalised vocabulary.

            R059_p0119b06(06)║

            謂翻梵天之語。轉成漢地之言也。

            [43. jīngpiànzi 京片子 "Chinese as spoken in Peking" is a borderline case because it does refer to Peking speech, but not insofar as it is the standard for the whole of China. Colloquial examples of this sort could be multiplied...]

          • CHINA

            睡虎地秦墓竹簡 1978: 226 臣邦人不安秦主而欲去夏者, 勿許. 何謂夏 ? 欲去親屬是謂夏.

            The words for China have this in common that they do NOT designate any one state. 中國 "the central states" is implicitly plural when it does not refer to the capital city. 諸夏 the various Xià (states)" is explicitly plural. The standard Imperium Romanum has no counterpart in Chinese until very late, unless one admits 天下 "all under Heaven" as a designation for the empire. But 天下 does not define any bounded empire. It remains to be seen exactly when a standard term for China was took shape. Compare the problems of finding a term for the Chinese language.

            Based on 顧頡剛 & 王樹民, “ 夏 ” 和 “ 中國 ”— 祖國古代的稱號, Zhongguo lishi dili luncong, Vol. 1 (Xi'an, 1981), 6-22).

            In the Shu and Shi sections relating to the early Zhou, 區夏 (= 夏區 ), 有夏 and 時夏 (= 是夏 ) refers to the place in which the Zhou established their capital after their conquest of Shang, in contradistinction to Zhou 掇 homeland in the West ( 西土 ) and the close Zhou allies ( 一二邦 ). The Zhou referred to their own domain as 烠 he central city-state � ( 中國 ). Since 中國 in this usage refers to the territory directly governed by the Zhou, it is singular and used in exchange with 京師 and in contradistinction with 四方 and 四國. Other states also referred to their capital regions as 啎什縕 (thus Wu in GY 19.09.01/618); a (perhaps late) variant of this word is 啎尹塹 (Yugong).

            After becoming strong, the states enfeoffed by Zhou asserted the community with the 周 by commencing to refer to themselves as 堔 L �, leading to the plural designation 埣悎 L �, used in contrast with designations like 啈 i 狄�. The distinction between the two groups was viewed as cultural, and its precise reference shifted over time, originally excluding states (like 楚 ) from the community of 諸夏 but later including them, or including them in the beginning, whilst later excluding them (like 秦 ). Some of the non- 諸夏 states were viewed as subservient to 諸夏 states, others as their enemies. The membership of 楚 to the 諸夏 circle was always insecure; it was, so to speak, was"always on probation.

            The 東夏 made up a subdivision of the 諸夏, including states such a 齊 and 魯.

            In parallel with the 堔 L � appellations arose the 埽寊 appellations, 埽寊 on its own and 埣捄寊, and, the two words may well be cognate, the common 埽堮 L �.

            In the Warring States period the cultural distinction gave way to a geographical distinction, and the 中國 states were now the state occupying the Central Plain

          • CAPITAL CITY

            1. Guó 國 is a current word for the capital from early Zhou times onwards, but in the course of time the capital came to stand as representative of the (city-) state, and the word came to be used for the state rather than the capital. (Note that even the names of ancient Chinese states currently refer not to the state as such but to the capital.).

            2. Dū 都 typically refers to a conurbation which serves as an administrative centre below the level of a capital, but the meaning of the word does often include the capital and it is occasionally used to refer specifically to the capital.

            3. Jīng 京 refers to the capital in Han times and seems short for jīng shī 京師 which refers to the permanent seat of central government and of the encampment of the central army.

            4. Yì 邑 is an archaic term for a capital current in Western Zhou times and obsolete in that meaning afterwards, when the word came to mean settlement at an administrative level below the dū 都.

          • ARMY

            [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

            [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

            [IMPERSONAL/PERSONIFIED]

            [MOBILE/STATIONARY]

            [LARGE/SMALL]

            1. Bīng 兵 "armed force" focusses on the weapons ready for use and may refer to any military grouping.

            [GENERAL]

            2. Jūn 軍 is a complete army as a unit, from Spring and Autumn times onwards, normally attached to an army camp. Complete parts of an army are always jūn 軍, rarely shī 師. Hence the expressions sān jūn 三軍, zhōng jūn 中軍, shàng jūn 上軍, xià jūn 下軍. An army is counted by the number of jūn 軍 in it, where each jūn 軍 is said to be 10 000 men, at least in the Qi system. Systems have varied in different states. For detals of the early history see the monograph by KOLB.

            [IMPERSONAL], [LARGE], [OFFICIAL]

            3. Shī 師 refers generally to troops a military force on a campaign, not necessarily a complete army. ZUO Ding 4.1.6 commentators quantify an armed force as consisting of 2500 men, in one exceptional context. One often speaks of 三軍之師, never of 三師之軍. One asks for troops 請/乞師, and not for jūn 軍 which would be asking for the whole army of a friendly state. The troops of another state one uses are always shī 師 (e.g. 衛人以燕師伐鄭 ), one's own troops can be described as jūn 軍 or shī 師 almost indifferently. One offers food to the enemy shī 師, not to their jūn 軍. (HF 23.27:01) There are ruì shī 銳師 "crack troops" but no ruì jūn 銳軍 "crack army". Similarly, 楚師之良. The shī 師 may be said to hear about something 師聞之, not the jūn 軍.

            [GENERAL], [MOBILE], [PERSONIFIED!]

            4. Lu# 旅 is an archaic word for armed forces in any combatant or non-combatant function, and in ZUO Ding 4.1.6 it is quantified to consist of 500 men, and.

            [ARCHAIC], [SMALL]

            5. Duì 隊 is common in Han texts for a division in the army, the size of this division could vary, but did not exceed the hundreds. SEE ALSO BATALLION

            [SMALL]

          • STUDY

            1. The dominant word is xué 學 (ant. jiào 教 "train teach")which refers to the acquisition of existing knowledge or virtues, typically under another person. Often, the word retains a tinge of immitation.

            2. Shī 師 and cóng 從 refer to deciding to study under someone and treating him as one's teacher.

            3. Kǎo 考 refers to an investigation of a subject in a "scientific" spirit with the aim of finding the truth about something.

            4. Jiū 究 and yán 研 refers to an in-depth study of a subject, typically involving a fair amount of reflection.

            5. Zhì 治 and gōng 攻 refer to the systematic and specialised study, typically of a certain text.

            6. Xí 習 refers to rehearsing and application in practice of what one has learnt, through repetition of text and/or through enactment in practice.

          • LION

            1. The standard word for a lion is shī 獅, usually written 師, or 獅子/師子.

          • TEACHER

            1. The current general word for a (revered) teacher of one's choice is shī 師.

            2. Zǐ 子 and fū zǐ 夫子 can be used to refer to the teacher within a given school by the adherents of that school.

            3. Fù 傅 refers to a hired or formally employed tutor.

            Word relations
          • Conv: (TEACHER)學/STUDENT
          • Object: (TEACHER)事/SERVE The current general word for serving another is shì 事 (ant. shǐ 使 "deploy").
          • Object: (TEACHER)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.
          • Epithet: (ARMY)銳/SHARP Ruì 銳 refers to sharpness as pointedness, and typically a sign of excellence.
          • Contrast: (TEACHER)傅/TEACHER
          • Assoc: (ARMY)旅/ARMY Lu# 旅 is an archaic word for armed forces in any combatant or non-combatant function, and in ZUO Ding 4.1.6 it is quantified to consist of 500 men, and . [ARCHAIC], [SMALL]
          • Assoc: (ARMY)軍/ARMY Jūn 軍 is a complete army as a unit, from Spring and Autumn times onwards, normally attached to an army camp. Complete parts of an army are always jūn 軍, rarely shī 師. Hence the expressions sān jūn 三軍, zhōng jūn 中軍, shàng jūn 上軍, xià jūn 下軍. An army is counted by the number of jūn 軍 in it, where each jūn 軍 is said to be 10 000 men, at least in the Qi system. Systems have varied in different states. For detals of the early history see the monograph by KOLB. [IMPERSONAL], [LARGE], [OFFICIAL]
          • Synon: (ARMY)軍/ARMY Jūn 軍 is a complete army as a unit, from Spring and Autumn times onwards, normally attached to an army camp. Complete parts of an army are always jūn 軍, rarely shī 師. Hence the expressions sān jūn 三軍, zhōng jūn 中軍, shàng jūn 上軍, xià jūn 下軍. An army is counted by the number of jūn 軍 in it, where each jūn 軍 is said to be 10 000 men, at least in the Qi system. Systems have varied in different states. For detals of the early history see the monograph by KOLB. [IMPERSONAL], [LARGE], [OFFICIAL]
          • Oppos: (TEACHER)弟子/STUDENT Dì zǐ 弟子 refers rather intimately to disciples of a master as the object of his affection.3