Taxonomy of meanings for 攻:　　

  • 攻 gōng (OC: kooŋ MC: kuŋ) 古紅切 平 廣韻：【攻擊 】
    • ATTACK
      • nab.tactattack against N
      • vadNoffensive, attacking; given to attacking people 攻戰 "aggressive wars; aggressive warfare"
      • vt(oN)attack the contextually determinate N
      • vt[oN]launch an attack, undertake a military attack
      • vtoNlaunch an attack (which is not necessarily successful) against; direct attack; assault, personally attack (a person); sometimes used very generally: attack (an opponent, in any way) [The examples have to be distributed into the subcategories below.]
      • vtoNderivedattack morally; launch a strong verbal personal attack atainst 小子鳴鼓而攻之; 攻人之短
      • vtoNfigurativeattack intellectually, attack with words
      • vtoNN=humanattack
      • vtoNpassivebe attacked
      • vtoNreflexive.己attack (oneself)
      • vtoNreflexive.自attack (oneself)
      • vttoN1.+N2N2=placeattack N1 at N2
      • nabattack; offensive military actionDS
  • 攻 gōng (OC: kuuŋ MC: kuoŋ) 古冬切 平 廣韻：【治也作也擊也伐也古冬切二 】
    • CURE
      • vtoNtry to deal with effectively, attack (a disease or a weak point)
      • vt(oN)cure the contextually determinate NCH
    • EXCELLENT
      • vt+V[0]be good at V-ing as a result of serious study
    • GOVERN
      • vtoNHF 8.6.25: pursue one's political purposes, conduct government of
    • STUDY
      • WORK
        • vt+prep+Nwork hard at, direct one's attention at
        • vtoNto work on intensely, with a big effort; to work hard at

      Additional information about 攻

      說文解字:

        Criteria
      • DEFEND

        1. The standard general word for defending a community is wèi 衛 (ant. gōng 攻 "attack").

        2. The standard word for defending a place is shǒu 守 (ant. gōng 攻 "attack").

        3. Yù 禦 is to hinder attack effectively and successfully. See HINDER

        4. Fáng 防 refers to defending a concrete or abstract thing successfully.

        5. Hàn 扞 / 捍 is to try to resist an outside attack successfully.

        6. Bǎo 保 is to try to ensure the safety of one's place against a threat from outside.

        7. Shù 戍 put up a (not necessarily successful) military defense.

        8. Bèi 備 is to make defensive arrangements.

        9. Yù 豫 is to make defensive arrangements well ahead in time or in good time. [See also PREPARE][CA]

        10. Kàng 亢 typically refers to the mounting of a vigorous and energetic offensive defence against a violent attack.

      • CONTRARY

        1. The current word for being logically or practically opposed to something else is fǎn 反 (ant. tóng 同 "agree with, go along with").

        2. Guāi 乖 refers to any kind of practical contradiction or opposition, also opposition to what is current and acceptable. See WICKED

        2. Bèi 悖 (ant. xié 諧 "be in harmony with, be perfectly consistent with") refers quite abstractly to logical incoherence or inconsistency.

        3.Hài 害 (ant. yì 益 "further strengthen the point") is a term for logical inconsistency.

        4. Xiāng gōng 相攻 and bù xiāng róng 不相容 are technical terms referring to logical incompatibility.

        NB: Shuǐ huǒ 水火 is late post-Buddhist and refers vividly to a practical incompatibility.

      • ATTACK

        [ASCENDING/DESCENDING]

        [CIVIL/MILITARY]

        [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

        [COVERT/OVERT]

        [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

        [LARGE-SCALE/SMALL-SCALE]

        1. The general word for any attack is gōng 攻 (ant. shǒu 守 "defend"; success kè 克 ) which can be used in a general sense referring to all kinds of attack, although that word does also have the specific meaning of a pointed campaign against a certain locality. (Note 戰必勝，攻必克。 )

        [GENERAL]

        2. Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums.

        [DESCENDING], [MILITARY!], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]

        3. Qīn 侵 refers to a less formal attack, typically unannounced beforehand, and typically aimed at taking the enemy's territory.

        [COVERT!], [DEROGATORY], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

        4. Xí 襲 refers to a surreptitious attack, on the sly, without any self-righteous pomp.

        [COVERT+], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

        5. Zhēng 征 refers to a typically punitive campain of some size against a state, construed as being of lower status.

        [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE], [OVERT]

        6. Tǎo 討 refers to a an extended explicitly punitive campaign by someone who construes himself as being in moral authority and entitled to uphold rectitude and morality through warfare. (Also figurative as in 天討有罪 "Heaven punishes those who are guilty". See PUNISH)

        [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING+], [MILITARY], [OVERT]

        7. Wéi 圍 refers specifically to military attack by surrouding the enemy.

        [MILITARY], [OVERT], [SPECIFIC]

        8. Kòu 寇 refers derogatorily to a wanton enemy attack.

        [DEROGATORY+], [MILITARY]

      • CURE

        1. The general-use current word for curing patients of illnesses is zhì/chí 治.

        2. Chōu 瘳 refers to a cure taking effect, and this word is often used in nominalised ways.

        3. The result of successful therapy is standardly yù 愈 / 瘉, yǐ 已.

        4. Chú 除 refers to getting rid of the disease.

        5. Gōng 攻 is the standard word describing an attempt at curing a disease.

        6. Jiǔ 灸 is a specific ancient medical technique, that of cauterisation.

        7. Tán 彈 is to prick open with a needle.

        8. Zhēn 針 / 鍼 is needle therapy which is not necessarily to be identified with anything like acupuncture as we know it today.

        9. Yī 醫 focusses on the professional aspect of medical treatment as depending on trained specialisation.

      • 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.

      • WITHDRAW

        1. The current general word for withdrawing from somewhere is tuì 退 (ant. jìn 進 "move forwards"), and the withdrawal can be over a short or a long distance, often with the purpose of returning to one's point of departure.

        2. Què 卻 (ant. qián 前 "move forward") refers to backing off, often under pressure, and typically for a shorter distance, and usually the immediate purpose of the withdrawal is not that of returning to one's point of departure but to get out of a confrontation.

        3. Bà 罷 (ant. gōng 攻 "move forward to attack") refers to an army withdrawing its military forces.

        4. Bì 避 (ant. duì 對 "face up to") refers to a polite withdrawal from an honoured or regular position, typical a position facing someone in authority.

        5. Yin3 引 refers to the act of preparing and then commencing a formal military withdrawal.

        Jī jīn 擊金 and míng jīn 鳴金 "beating the bells for military withdrawal" (ant. jī gǔ 擊鼓 "beat the drums for a military attack") refers to giving a signal for withdrawal of troops.

        Word relations
      • Result: (ATTACK)取/WIN Qǔ 取 (ant. fù 負 "fail") refers to conquering a place so as to gain full control over it, and the word usually refers to a victory won easily.
      • Result: (ATTACK)拔/WIN Bá 拔 and jǔ 舉 refers to conquering a place without necessarily keeping full control over it.
      • Result: (ATTACK)勝/WIN The current general word for winning or gaining the upper hand in any way, including warfare, is shèng 勝 (ant. bài 敗 "be defeated").
      • Ant: (ATTACK)守/DEFEND The standard word for defending a place is shǒu 守 (ant. gōng 攻 "attack").
      • Contrast: (ATTACK)襲/ATTACK Xí 襲 refers to a surreptitious attack, on the sly, without any self-righteous pomp. [COVERT+], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]
      • Assoc: (ATTACK)擊/ATTACK
      • Assoc: (ATTACK)伐/ATTACK Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums. [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]
      • Synon: (ATTACK)伐/ATTACK Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums. [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]