Taxonomy of meanings for 木:　　

Additional information about 木

說文解字: 【木】，冒也。冒地而生，東方之行。从屮、下象其根。凡木之屬皆从木。 【徐鍇曰：屮者，木始甲，拆萬物，皆始於微，故木从屮。】 【莫卜切】

Criteria
• TIMBER
  

  1. The current general word for timber is cái 材.

  2. Mù 木 is frequently used adjectivally to designate something as made of timber.

• BEAM
  

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [GENERAL-USE/TECHNICAL-TERM]

  1. The current general term for a beam is liáng 梁, but specifically this refers to the north-south orientated rafters.

  [GENERAL!]

  2. Dòng 棟 refers to the ridge-pole of the roof, oriented usually in the east-western direction. It is also general term for the east-western beams in a roof construction. [HUANG 1995: 1044]

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  3. Jí 極 refers to the beam at the top of the roof which is only visible from inside the house, and is thus a specific term for dòng 棟 in its specific meaning.

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  4. Luán 欒 refers to a bent piece of wood on the top of a pillar. [HANYU DACIDIAN: vol. 4. pp. 1371; ill.: HAYASHI 1976: pp. 72, tab. 4-50]

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  5. Jí 极 is another term for the ridge-pole used in pre-Qin times; it does not generally refer to the east-southern beams: [HUANG 1995: 1044]

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  6. Fú 桴 refers to the east-western beam which is second when counted from the ridge-pole: [HUANG 1995: 1044 - 1045]

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  7. Méi 楣 is another term for fú 桴. Later, the word began to be used for the horizontal beam above the door. [HUANG 1995: 1044 - 1045]

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  8. Guǐ 庪 refers to the third east-western beam. [HUANG 1995: 1045]

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  9. Yǐn (written like 隱 but with 木 radical) and fén 棼 both refer to the highest east-western ridge-pole of the double-roof. [HUANG 1995: 1045]

  [SPECIFIC], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  10. Lǔ (written 木 + 呂 ) refers to the beam supporting the rafters of the roof. [HANYU DACIDIAN: vol. 4, pp. 973]

  NB: A standard building has the main gate facing south, and all beams in the north-south direction are called liáng 梁, all beams in the east-west direction are called dòng 棟.

• COFFIN
  

  1. The current general word for the coffin is guān 棺, but this term also refers specifically to the inner coffin as opposed to what is translated as "outer coffin", the guǒ 槨. Coffins were generally made of wood and often lacquered; in Han times, stone coffins also came to use.

  2. Jiù 柩 refers specifically to a coffin which contains a dead body.

  3. Guǒ 槨 refers to the often very large structure which is put arround the inner coffin guān 棺. Note that the outer coffin is much more than an outer slightly larger wooden box. See illustration.

  4. Chèn 櫬 refers specifically to the inner coffin, especially when presented as symbol of abject surrender (indicating to the person one surrenders to that one is willing to be put to death and put into this coffin). However, the term is also currently used to refer in general to an inner coffin in ZUO.

  5. Bì 椑 refers to a ritual coffin made for the ruler on his accession to the throne and lacquered afresh every year; also used as a dignified general term for a coffin. In Tang times this custom was discontinued.

  6. Mù 木 "wood, timber" is occasionally used by synecdoche to refer to a coffin.

  7. Qì 器 can also refer to the coffin (from Han at least down to Six Dynasties times). Coffins for an emperor can then be called bì qì 秘器, and those for officials guān qì 棺器.

• PLANT
  

  1. The general abstract term for a plant, rarely used, is zhí wù 植物.

  2. The current term for plants or vegetation in general is cǎo mù 草木 "grasses and trees".

  3. Cǎo 草 can refer to plants or all sorts, including flowers, but always to plants smaller than bushes.

• TREE
  

  1. The current word for a tree is mù 木. In Shang times times this word was a count noun for trees, later it also referred to felled trees and in particular to timber as a material. Thus in Warring States times the special feature of this word is that it is a mass noun as well as a count noun.

  2. Shù 樹 "tree" derives etymologically from the verb shù 樹 "to plant", and then came to mean, by extension "what is planted". The word always functions as a count noun.

• ROOF
  

  1. The earliest general word for the roof is wū 屋, which occurs in this meaning in SHIJING, ZUO, and CHUCI. The term can refer both to the roof of aristocratic buildings which was since the early Western Zhou period covered with tiles, or to the thatched roof of ordinary dwellings. Evidence for the shape of the roof in the Zhou period is of course scarce, we can recognize it only from several bronze vessels in the shape of the building and from pictorial presentations on late Chunqiu and early Warring States bronzes. Much better evidence is from the Han. It can be seen that by Han times basic types of Chinese roof had already developed; the most common among them was a saddle-like roof.

  2. Dòng 棟 refers to the ridge-pole of the roof, oriented usually in the east-western direction. It is also general term for the east-western beams in a roof construction.

  3. Jí 极 is another term for the ridge-pole used in pre-Qin times; it does not generally refer to the east-southern beams:

  4. Fú 桴 refers to the east-western beam which is second when counted from the ridge-pole: [HUANG 1995: 1044 - 1045]

  5. Méi 楣 is another term for fú 桴. Later, the word began to be used for the horizontal beam above the door. [HUANG 1995: 1044 - 1045]

  6. Guǐ 庪 refers to the third east-western beam. [HUANG 1995: 1045]

  7. Yǐn (written like 隱 but with 木 radical) and fén 棼 both refer to the highest east-western ridge-pole of the double-roof. [HUANG 1995: 1045]

  8. (I did not find the character) can generally refer to the east-western beams. [HUANG 1995: 1045 - 1046]

  9. Méng 甍 refers to the east-western ridge-pole, but also to the eaves of the roof. [HANYU DACIDIAN: vol. 5, pp. 294]

  10. Lǔ (written 木 Lu Buwei de lu) refers to the beam supporting the rafters of the roof. [HANYU DACIDIAN: vol. 4, pp. 973]

  11. Liù 霤 refers in LIJI and ZUOZHUAN to the eaves of the houses. [HANYU DACIDIAN: vol. 11, pp. 724 - 725]

  12. Chuán 椽 refers to the rafters supporting the tiles; these were usually made of wood, but sometimes also of bamboo, and were usually laid on the beams in one layer. [HUANG 1995: 1054 - 1055]

  13. Jué 桷 is another word for the rafters. It can refer to the rafters generally, but also specifically to the rafters with the square or edged section. [HUANG 1995: 1055]

  14. Cuī 榱 refers to the large rafters which can be decorated with jade pieces hanged down. [HUANG 1995: 1055]

  [15. Lǎo 橑 refers to the rafters of the double roof: HUANG 1995: 1056] [JM]

• MOUNTAINS
  

  8. Qí shān 岐山 is located in the northeast of the modern Qishan district, Shaanxi province. It was also called Tiān zhǔ shān 天柱山 Fēnghuángduī4 風凰堆. Ancient Zhou centers were located close to this mountain. For this reason, Qí shān 岐山 is mentioned already in the Shijing.

  9. Qíliánshān 祁連山 is another name for Tiānshān 天山. This mountain range is located in the southern and western part of the modern Xinjiang. It is divided into two groups - the northern in the central Xinjiang, and the southern in the southern Xinjiang. The former is identical with the modern Tiānshān 天山, the latter includes modern Kūnlúnshān 昆侖山, A3ěrjīnshān 阿爾金, and Qíliánshān 祁連山.These mountains are already mentioned in the Shiji, Xiongnu liezhuan.

  10. D4àyǔlíng 大庾岭 refers to the mountains on the borders of the modern Jiangxi and Guangdong.

  11. Yīnshān 陰山 refers to the mountains in the central part of the modern Inner Mongolia. Mentioned already in the Shiji.

  12. Qínlíng 秦岭 is a mountain range dividing the northern and southern parts of China. It is also a water-shed dividing the drainage areas of the Weì 渭, Huái 淮, and Hàn 漢 rivers. It spreads from the borders of the Qinghai and Gansu to the central part of Henan. This range includes important mountains, such as Mínshān 岷山, Huàshān 華山, and Sǒngshān 嵩山. Qínlíng 秦岭 in the narrow sense refers to the part of the range in the modern Shaanxi.

  13. Yānshān 燕山 refers to the mountains on the northern edge of the Hebei plains.

  14. Wǔyíshān 武夷山 is the name of the mountains on the borders of the modern Jiangxi and Fujian provinces. The earliest references I have found are post-Han.

  15. Taìhéngshān 太行山 refers to the mountain range on the borders of the modern Henan, Shanxi, and Hebei. In the south, it reaches to the Huanghe. The name already occurs in the texts of the Warring States period [YUGONG chapter in the SHANGSHU].

  16. Kūnlúnshān 昆侖山 is the name of the mountains on the borders of the modern Xinjiang and Tibet. It runs from the east to the west in the length of 2500 km. It is already referred to in the texts of the Warring states and Han periods [SHANHAIJING, HUAINANZI, MU TIANZI ZHUAN].

  17. Tiānshān 天山 are mountains in the central part of the modern Xinjiang. The name already occurs in the SHANHAIJING and HANSHU.

  18. Jǐuzǐshān 九子山 is an ancient name of the Jiǔhuáshān 九華山 in the modern Qingyang county of the Anhui province. The latter name was in use since the Tang.

  19. Dàbāshān 大巴山 refers to the mountains on the borders of the modern Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Hubei.

  20. Yàndàngshān 雁蕩山 are the mountains in the southeastern part of the modern Zhejiang province.

  21. Wūshān 巫山 is located on the borders of the modern Sichuan and Hubei. The Changjiang flows through its central part, creating famous Three gorges.

  22. Jūnshān 君山 is the mountain in the center of the Dongting lake, modern Hunan province. Also called Dòngtíngshān 洞庭山.

  23. Běimáng 北邙 is the mountain range in the modern Henan. Also called Mángshān 芒山, Běishān 北山.It runs from Sanmenxia in the West to the bank of the Yīluò river in the East. Since the Eastern Han, princes and high officers were buried on its slopes north to the Luoyang.

  24. Běigùshān 北固山 is the mountain in the northeastern part of the modern city of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province.

  25. Wúshān 吳山 is name of the three important mountains.

  a. In the north of the Pinglu county, Shanxi province. According to HOUHANSHU, on the peak of it, there there was located the city of Yǔ 麌.

  b. To the south-east of the Xihu lake in the Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province. In the Chunqiu period, it was the western border of the state of Wú, hence the name.

  c. In the southwestern part of the Long county, Shaanxi province. According to ERYA, it was one of the Five sacred mountains, 五岳.

  26. Dìngjūnshān 定軍山 is located in the southeatern part of the modern Mian county, Shaanxi province. In 219 A.D., near these mountains, army of Liu Bei defeated one of the Cao Caos generals.

  27. Fúniúshān 伏牛山 is ancient name for the Jīnshān 金山, northwest to the modern city of Zhenjiang in the Jiangsu province. The latter name came to be used in the Tang. Also called Huófú 獲箙, Fúyù 浮玉 mountains.　

  28. Jiāoshān 焦山 is located to the northeast of the modern city of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province.

  29. Tài sh1an 泰山 is the most important of the Five sacred mountains. It was also called Dōngyuè 東岳, Daìzōng 岱宗, Daìshān 岱山, Daìyuè 岱岳, Taìyuè 泰岳. It is located in the central part of the modern Shandong province. The mountain range runs from the eastern margin of the Dōngpíng 東平 lake in the northwestern direction to the modern Linbo city. It is about 200 km long. Since antiquity, Chinese rulers sacrificed on the Tài sh1an. The earliest evidence is in SHIJING.

  30. Huàshān 華山 is the westernmost of the Five sacred peaks, henceforth it was also called Xīyuè 西岳. It is located in the southern part of the modern Yin county, Shaanxi province. Its height is 1997 m.

  31. Héng shān �琱 sis the northernmost of the Five sacred peaks, henceforth it was also called Běiyuè 北岳.From the Han to the Ming, the sacred Héng shān �琱 swas located in the northwestern part of the modern Quyang county of the Hebei province.

  32. Héng shān 衡山 is the southernmost of the Five sacred mountains, and is also called Nányuè 南岳. It is located in the modern Hengshan county in the Hunan province, and is 1290 m high, and several hundred km long. It is refered to already in SHANGSHU, SHUN DIAN.　

  33. Sōng shān 嵩山 is the central of the Five sacred peaks, and it was also called Sōngyuè 嵩岳. It belongs to the Fúniúshān 伏牛山 mountain range, and is located in the modern Dengfeng county in the Henan province. It is already mentioned in the SHIJING.

  34. Niúzhǔshān 牛渚山 is the name of the mountains on the bank of the Changjiang in the northwestern part of the modern Dangtu county, Anhui province.

  35. Bāgōngshān 八公山 are the mountains in the western part of the modern city of Huainan, Anhui province. It is located west of the Féishuǐ 淝水, and south of the Huáishǔi 淮水. In 383 A.D. famous battle of Feishui took place close to this mountain.

  36. Jiǔyíshān 九疑山, also called Cāngyǔshān 蒼木吾山, are the mountains in the modern Ningyuan county in the Hunan province. According to the Shiji, the sage emperor Shun died and was buried there.

  37. Chìchéngshān 赤城山 are the mountains in the northwestern part of the modern Tiantai, Zhejiang province. First mentioned in the Jin dynasty.

  38. Lúshān 盧山 are the mountains in the southern part of the modern Jiujiang town, Jiangxi province. Also called Kuāngshān 匡山, Kuānglú 匡盧, Nánzhàng4shān 南障山. The name is already mentioned in the Han times. It is said that both Emperor Yu and First emperor climbed the mountains when travelling to the South.

  39. Sh3ouyángshān 首陽山 are the mountains in the southern part of the modern Yongji county, Shanxi province. According to the tradition (for the first time mentioned in the LUNYU), it was in these mountains, where Boyi and Shuqi lived in hermitage. The mountains are already referred to in the SHIJING.

  40. E2méishān 峨嵋山 is the name of the mountains in the southwestern part of the modern Emei county, Sichuan province. It is already mentioned in the HUAYANG GUOZHI of the Jin dynasty. It belongs to the four famous mountains of buddhism.

  41. Qīngchéngshān 青城山 are the mountains in the southwestern part of the modern Guan county, Sichuan province. According to the tradition, it was there where in the Han times Zhang Daoling practiced dao.

  42. Luófúshān 羅浮山 are the mountains on the north bank of the Dōngjiāng 東江 river in the modern Guangdong province. According to the tradition, during the Eastern Jin dynasty, Ge Hong practiced dao there.

• TABLE
  

  1. Most general word for the table is jǐ 几. According to the character, its main characteristic was crooked legs. The word then refers to two different pieces of furniture both possessing this feature: 1) to the small and very narrow table made usually of wood or bamboo and used for leaning on when sitting (or, more precisely, kneeling); this was put behind one's left side or in front of one, 2) to the low table broader than previous, which was used to put something on. In relation to the latter meaning, the term can be also used as a general term for the following kinds of tables.

  2. Àn 案 refers to the low table with oblong desk which was used to put on either dishes or other things, such as books which one reads etc. The table used to the former purpose has the higher rim around the desk. The term came to be used in Han times, but tables of this type are known already from the Warring States period. It is not sometimes easy to distinguish àn 案 from jǐ 几 and there is certain confusion in using both terms.

  3. Huán (written like 懁 but with 木 radical) refers to the round table of type to put dishes on.

  4. Gé 閣 refers to the wooden table higher than àn 案 which was put among the seats during the feasts and was used to put on dishes to be eaten later. It can have several levels. Later, this table was also used to put on books.

  [5. Zǔ 俎 refers to the small sacricifial table which was used to cut and offer meat; mentioned already in SHI.

  6. Kuǎn 梡 in LIJI refers to the sacrificial wooden table with four legs; used to put on the whole victim???.

  7. Jué 嶡 refers in LIJI to the small sacrificial table with four legs made of wood.

  8. Zhì 鑕 refers to the chopping block made of wood, but more often of metal, which was used to carry out an execution by cutting in the waist.

  9. Zhēn 砧 refers to the chopping block for executions, and in this sense it began to be used already in the Warring States period. The word originally referred to the stone for pounding silk, but this usage is documented first in the Han.

Word relations
• Object: (TREE)緣/CRAWL Pān 攀 and yuán 緣refer to crawling upwards. 2 Attributions
• Epithet: (TREE)喬/HIGH Qiáo 喬refers specifically to the imposing tallness of trees. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (TIMBER)朽/ROTTEN Xiǔ 朽 (ant. xīn 新 "fresh") typically refers to the rottenness of trees or bones. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (TREE)枝/BRANCH The standard word for any kind of branch, large or small, is zhī 枝 (ant. gàn 幹 "trunk"), a word etymologically related to zhī 肢 "limb". 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (TIMBER)鐸/BELL Duó 鐸 refers to a bell with a tongue which is similar to líng 鈴 but larger. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (TIMBER)板 / 版/BOARD1 Attribution
• Assoc: (TIMBER)革/LEATHER The general word for leather or hide with fur removed is gé 革. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (TIMBER)材/TIMBER The current general word for timber is cái 材. 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (TREE)樹/TREE2 Attributions
• Assoc: (TREE)草/GRASS The current general term for grass, possibly including some of what we would call flowers, is cǎo 草. 3 Attributions
• Oppos: (TREE)根/ROOT The current common word for a root of any kind is gēn 根, but the word also refers specifically to roots growing horizontally near the surface of the earth. 1 Attribution