TLS - 漢學文典

Taxonomy of meanings for 干:　　

干 gān (OC: kaan MC: kɑn) 古寒切平廣韻：【求也犯也觸也亦姓左傳宋有干犨又漢複姓何氏姓苑漢有干已衍爲京兆尹古寒切十六】
- SEEK
  - vtoNgo after, seek, do everything to obtain
  - vtoNPab{S}aim for S 干其上 "seek their advancement"
  - vtoNN=humseek the aquaintance of, seek to meet
  - psychological: object own action>
    INTEND
    - vt+V[0]intend to V
    - resultative: object person>
      VISIT
    - to create through own effort>
      ESTABLISH
  - abstract, psychological: resultative>
    WIN TRUST
    - vtoNconativeseek good relations with, seek advantages from
  - physical: resultative>
    TOUCH
    - vtoNaffect; reach up to; touch
    - abstract>
      STIMULATE
      - mutual>INTERACT
        
        negatively>DISTURB
        
        object person>OFFEND
        
        vtoNviolate; go against the wishes of; interfere with
        
        vtoNfigurativeinterfere with, oppose; concern
        
        systematic>WORK
        
        vtoNwork on, work for LY 干祿
        
        agents>GROUP
        
        causative: cause to interact in group>GOVERN
        
        abstract>RELATE
- BROOK
- SHORE
- SHIELD
  - nlarge shield to cover whole body
  - nfigurativebe a shield>defence
- STATES
  - NPprancient state conquered by Wu, the name of this state being used in literary contexts to refer to Wu in the phrase 干越
- ARISTOCRATS OF SHANG
干ｇａｎ４《集韻》居案切，去翰見。元部。
- =矸
- =邗
干ａｎ４《集韻》魚旰切，去翰疑。元部。
- =豻
  DOG

gān
ACT
- vtoNcommit an act of, doCH

Additional information about 干

說文解字: 【干】，犯也。从反入、从一。凡干之屬皆从干。【古寒切】

Criteria

WORK

1. The current general term for work is gōng 工 (ant. xiū 休 "rest"), but the word refers specifically to skilled work.

2. Shì 事 (ant. xián 閒 "be at leisure") refers primarily to an official or regular working effort made on behalf of and in the service of an employer or a ruler.

3. Zuò 作 (ant. xí 息 "take a rest from work") refers to manual work.

4. Chǎn 產 refers to the pursuance of a traditional family trade.

5. Yè 業 refers to the pursuance of one's own professional career or one's career as a skilled artisan, farmer etc..

6. Wù 務 refers to work imposed on one because of one's public employment.

7. Shēng 生 can occasionally come to refer to something like one's daily work.

8. Zhì 治 is mostly used verbally and refers to putting a coherent organised effort into something or work at something.

9. Gān 干 is only used verbally and refers to the concerted effort or working towards an end.
WEAPON

1. The general term for weapons and the military political realm which dominates this semantic field is wǔ 武 (ant. wén 文 "civil affairs") which refers to any military force or weaponry of any kind, defensive or offensive, and the word is very often abstract in meaning, referring to the abstract matters of military policy.

2. Bīng 兵 refers to warfare as a military practice rather than as a political means to achieve ends, and it is significant that the word has no obvious antonym.

3. Gān gē 干戈 is a current expression for weapons of war in general.
SEEK

1. The current general word for trying to find or get something is qiú 求.

2. Suǒ 索 refers to an attempt to get hold of what is hard to find or trying to escape.

3. Sōu 搜 refers to the conduct of a searching campaign of some size, typically for a person.

4. Gān 干 refers to the abstract pursuit of aims in life.

5. Móu 牟 refers to concerted action to insure the supply of necessities or conveniences, both concrete and abstract.

6. Zhēng 爭 is to make a strenuous competitive effort to get something.

NB: Xún 尋 is apparently post-Buddhist.
BEAUTIFUL

[ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

[ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

[ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

[[COMMON/RARE]]

[ELEVATED/VULGAR]

[GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

[HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

[POETIC/PROSAIC]

1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

[GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

[ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

[ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

[ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

[HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

[ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

[ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

[NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

[GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

[ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

[ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

<div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div> </div><div>吳蓬，東方審美詞彙集萃，上海文藝出版社，2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃：富有生机之突起。 苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。 沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。 冲：调成和淡之意向。 饬：整顿。 粗：大而不笨者。 淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。 醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。 绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。 澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。 淡：与浓艳相对。 宕：放荡不拘。 跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。 端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。 敦：很实在的，结实的厚。 繁：众而密，有生气。 方：与平正同义。 丰：饱满而充足。 风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。 飞：大幅度的流动。 刚：属于阳性的，有正力的，与柔软相对。</div><div>高：俯视一切的、超然得不一般。 工：规矩，不潦草。 孤：自我独立。 古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。 骨：内在的架子。 犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。 瑰：不单调的美。 乖：不和顺。 憨：近于拙朴而敦实。 酣：厚润四溢。 豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。 宏：大而有气度。 厚：有沉积的饱和。 华：明亮而艳丽。 环：长久圆融之境。 荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。 豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。 恢：宽广有余。 浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。 简：经过一番整修的减少。 娇：美得可爱。 警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。 </div><div>劲：能察觉的力。 精：很到位。 隽：精致而具内涵之美。 娟：秀而婉丽。 崛：高起而突出。 俊：人材杰曲之美。 峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。 空：有灵气之空白。 枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。 宽：大度而畅朗。 旷：广阔而空灵。 辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。 朗：明亮而豁然。 琅：圆而光润。 伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。 冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。 炼：精到而有功力。 淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。 流：明显的动感。 迈：阔而放的超势。 莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。 袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。 茂：有生气的繁密。 媚：柔美之趣。 宓：安而静。 明：清晰有亮度。 凝：浓重而不流动。 懦：毫无火气之柔软。 平：一般的，接近于稳。 朴：原始状态，形象较准。 嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。 奇：不一般。 气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。 清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。 峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露 尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。 遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。 虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。 意：诚实谨慎。 儒：代表文人之书卷气。 洒：散落无拘束。 赡：富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚：审美中之骚字，可引伸为风骚至风流感。 韶：美丽有光泽。 涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。 深：不是浮面的。 神：精与气合。高端的。 生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。 肆：任意放纵。 松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。 瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。 疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。 肃：有立即静穆下来之势。 率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。 邃：深远而悠久。 阅：通达之意。 给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。 天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。 恬：安静而坦然。 挺：直而有生气。 婉：柔和而曲折。 温：是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍：往往与"峨"合用，是高大厚实之趣。 洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。 犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。 熙：光明，和乐。 细：指细而不纤。 娴：文静而雅致。 闲：一种高雅的自由。 萧：疏少有致。 潇：散朗而润泽。 馨：很醇厚的香气。 篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。 雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。 秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。 虚：表象空，但并非真空。 雅：文气而不俗。 妍：鲜美而柔性。 严：认真，不马虎。 淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。 野：超脱、不规范。 冶：经过一番精致修饰。 逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。 莹：透明而幽亮。 雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。 幽：静而深。 腴：肥润而饱和。 郁：厚积而有生气。 纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。 遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。 渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。 圆：接近于饱满润滑。 蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。 韵：一种余味不尽之趣。 恣：放纵的，无拘束的。 滋：湿润感。 自：出于本性的流露。 质：本体的，实在的。 纵：放逸无拘之状。 拙：接近朴，形不准。 庄：端正之貌。 卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。 </div><div> </div>
WIN TRUST

1. The current general word for winning the trust and the confidence of a superior is dé 得 / 德.

2. Qǔ 取 refers to gaining the allegiance of or gaining the trust of someone.

3. Gān 干 and the rarer yāo 要 refers to seeking the allegiance of or advantages from, or good relations with superiors.

4. Huái 懷 refers to seeking the allegiance of and cultivating good relations with inferiors or subjects.
SHIELD

1. Prior to the Warring States period, common general word for the shield was gān 干. It is known already from oracle bone inscriptions. In Warring States times, the word was gradually replaced by shǔn 盾. In Han times, according to FANG YAN, the term was still in use from the Hangu pass to the east, and shǔn 盾 was common in the area from the pass to the West. Shields predating Warring States period are known bad; from the Shang period there is a shield made of the leather on wooden construction, of approximately oblong shape, and painted with a picture of the tiger.

2. Shǔn 盾 refers to the shield generally, and this word became common in the Warring States period (but it occurs already in the Western Zhou bronze inscriptions and in SHIJING). Shields dating from the Warring States and Han periods are usually made of lacquered leather or wood, and are decorated with abstract and pictorial musters. Most common are pieces with rounded upper edge, but there are also oval or oblong exemplars.

3. Fā 瞂 is according to FANG YAN another word for shǔn 盾.

4. Lǔ 櫓 refers to the large shield perhaps covering the whole body; these mentioned in HF are made of rhinoceros leather.

NB: Pái 牌 is a word for a shield which came to use in Song times only.
WARFARE

1. The current general word for warfare is bīng 兵.

2. Róng 戎 refers to military service or military action.

3. Gān gē 干戈 (ant. yù bó 玉帛 "jade and silk") is a periphrastic way of referring to military affairs.

4. Wǔ 武 "military affairs" (ant. wén 文 "civil affairs") refers not so much to battles and military action, but to the administration of military affairs in general.
OFFEND

1. The current most general word for offending against what one is obliged to act in accordance with or going against a current is probably nì 逆 (ant. shùn 順 "follow and obey"), which refers to any action which goes against something.

2. Fàn 犯 (ant. cǒng 從 "follow obediently") refers as a derogatory term to a deliberate and active breaking of a rule.

3. Gān 干 and gān 奸 are rare words referring specifically to culpable breach of the law.

4. 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.

5. Fú 拂 refers to something grating against sensibilities or creating a conflict.

6. Fáng 妨 adds to the failure of compliance the nuance of interference with what one fails to comply with.

7. Kuī 虧 adds to the failure of compliance the nuance of inflicting harm or damage on what one fails to comply with.

8. Shāng 傷, hài 害, and bài 敗 add to the failure of compliance the element of ruining what one has failed to comply with exactly by this failure of compliance; but hài 害 has developed a special related meaning of offending logically against something, i.e. being incompatible with it.

Word relations

Object: (SEEK)祿/SALARY The general word for apanages, emoluments or salaries received by any person of high status is lù 祿.
Assoc: (SHIELD)戚/AXE Qī 戚 is a somewhat smaller variety of the yuè 鉞. [CEREMONIAL], [ELEVATED], [SPECIFIC]
Synon: (OFFEND)犯/OFFEND Fàn 犯 (ant. cǒng 從 "follow obediently") refers as a derogatory term to a deliberate and active breaking of a rule.