Taxonomy of meanings for 敘:　　

Additional information about 敘

說文解字:

Criteria
• EXPLAIN
  

  1. The current general word for a discursive "analytical" explanation of something that is not sufficiently clear in itself is shuō 說.

  2. Yán 言 refers to the explicit articulation of something, and the emphasis often is on the initiative taken to undertake this explanation.

  3. Chén 陳 refers to the laying out of something clearly so as to make it accessible to an overview and a clear understanding of the contents of what is laid out, and the social context is typically that of an inferior laying something out for superiors.

  4. Míng 明 is to throw intellectual light on something by any means, including illustration as well as historical explanation or definition.

  5. Yù 喻 / 諭 refers to making clear to others what is very clear to oneself, and the means is often comparsion or illustration, yù 諭 tending to be used for making something clear through words in later texts, and yù 喻 for explanation by comparison or metaphor.

  6. Jiě 解 refers primarily to the unravelling of something that would appear convoluted and non-transparent without the effort of intellectual unravelling.

  7. Shì 釋 is late and refers to explanation with special reference to individual difficult points.

  8. Shù 述 refers to laying out for others what oneself or others have done or said in the past.

  9. Xù 敘 refers to laying out something in an orderly manner, often in conversation with equals and in a confidential context, and the word became current in Han times.