Taxonomy of meanings for 為 / 爲:　　

Additional information about 為

說文解字:

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 guānhuà 官話 "Mandarin" is obsolete, and its traditional antonym was xiāngyǔ 鄉語 "local speech".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

• PERSON
  

  1. Shēn 身 regularly refers to the embodied person, as something to be cultivated and corrected, and as something to be morally careful about, but the word is originally widely used to refer to the physical body as such, and this usage continues throughout pre-Buddhist times being at times hard to distinguish from the figurative use discussed in this group. Moreover, the word is very often reflexive.

  2. Qū 軀 is a rare poetic word that can be used to refer to one's embodied person.

  3. Jǐ 己 can occasionally refer to one's own person rather than simply to oneself, but the distinction is not marked and should perhaps be disregarded lexically as being imposed by context only.

  For the concept of personality, see CHARACTER, and particularly the concept of 為人 "constitutive features of someone's character".

  NB: The notion of the personality as something inner and disembodied, only inhabiting a physical as something outward, is alien to ancient Chinese thought. See, however, SOUL, where a number of mentalistic terms are in strict opposition to the physical body. The Chinese words for the person are not in this group.

• COPULA
  

  1. Classical Chinese had several common copulas at an early stage: wéi 維 / 唯 / 惟 (ant. fēi 非 "is not") was common in SHI and SHU, but discontinued later.

  2. The final particle yě 也 is interpreted by some as a sentence-final copula, but it is properly regarded as a sentential particle marking non-narrative modes of predication.

  3. The standard copula in Warring States Chinese is wéi 為, which tends to have human subjects and is by no means as common in Chinese as the copula is in Western languages.

  4. Yuē 曰 is current as a copula in listings of items and the like.

  5. Yún 云 is a rare archaising copula in ZUO.

  6. Zé 則 is copula-like after contrastive subjects.

  7. Nǎi 乃 is copula-like and contrastive and stresses that the subject is none other than the predicate.

  8. Dāng 當 "act as, fulfill the function of" is copula-like, but there is only a slight degree of grammaticalisation in the direction of a copula.

  9. Wèi 謂 "be counted as, count as" sometimes moves in the direction of copula-like uses.

  10. Shì 是 is a resumptive demonstrative pronoun which on very rare occasions can come to function very much as a copula.

  11. Zhòng 中 has some copula-like uses in GUAN, when the word means "amount to, cost" and sometimes even stands before ordinary nominal predicates.

  12. Yǐ 以 "as a SUBJECT" functions quite regularly as a subordinate copula in classical Chinese.

• WEATHER
  

  There is no commonly used general concept for the weather in pre-Buddhist Chinese. The closest we come is perhaps qì 氣 as in ZUO 天有六氣, but consider the whole passage:

  天有六氣， (In the same way) there are six heavenly influences,

  降生五味， which descend and produce the five tastes,

  發為五色， go forth in the five colours,

  徵為五聲。 and are verified in the five notes;

  淫生六疾。 but when they are in excess, they produce the six diseases.

  六氣曰陰、陽、風、雨、晦、明也， Those six influences are denominated the yin, the yang, wind, rain, obscurity, and brightness.

  分為四時， In their separation, they form the four seasons;

  序為五節， in their order, they form the five (elementary) terms.

  過則為菑： When any of them is in excess, there ensues calamity.

  陰淫寒疾， An excess of the yin leads to diseases of the cold;

  陽淫熱疾， of the yang, to diseases of heat;

  風淫末疾， of wind, to diseases of the extremities;

  雨淫腹疾， of rain, to diseases of the belly;

  晦淫惑疾， of obscurity, to diseases of delusion;

  明淫心疾。 of brightness to diseases of the mind.

• BELIEVE
  

  [BASIC/MARGINAL]

  [EXPLICIT/IMPLICIT]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [FALSE/TRUE]

  [FUTURE/PAST/PRESENT]

  [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

  [IDIOM/WORD]

  [OBJECTIVE/SUBJECTIVE]

  1. Yǐ wéi 以為 and occasionally also yǐ 以 alone refer to a belief that is typically held to be less than reliable.

  [EXPLICIT], [GENERAL], [SUBJECTIVE], [VERB]

  2. Yǐ 以 alone sometimes refers to a belief that is typically held to be less than reliable, and seems simply short for yǐ wéi 以為.

  3. Wèi 謂 typically refers to a mistaken belief.

  [EXPLICIT], [FALSE!], [SUBJECTIVE], [VERB]

  4. Yì 意 refers to guesswork, anticipation and the like. See GUESS

  [FUTURE]

  5. Xìn 信 is sometimes used to refer to conviction, to someone trusting something to be the case or being confident that something is the case.

  [HIGH-DEGREE], [IMPLICIT], [VERB]

  6. Shì yóu 視猶 "look upon as" is occasionally used to refer to a belief attached to an attitude.

  [IDIOM], [IMPLICIT], [SUBJECTIVE], [VERB]

  7. Mín xīn 民心 is public opinion.

  [IDIOM], [IMPLICIT], [NOUN], [SPECIFIC]

  8. Jiàn 見 "view" is very occasionally used figuratively to refer to an opinion.

  [IMPLICIT], [MARGINAL], [NOUN]; [[RARE]]

• BASIC NATURE
  

  1. The current and quite dominant word for the stable inherent and prototypically innate features of something is xìng 性 (ant. wéi 為 "what belongs to human action", and wěi 偽 "artificial").

  2. Qíng 情 (ant. wěi 偽 "artificical acquired character") refers to the basic nature of a thing as forming a pattern of reaction to other things.

  3. Xīn 心 refers specifically to psychological aspects of animate nature.

  4. Tiān 天 refers specifically to the non-man-made aspect of the nature of things.

  5. Zī 資 refers to human nature as an endowment and an asset given to man by nature.

  6. Wéi rén 為人 and wéi wù 為物 the possibly conditioned and hardly alterable basic constitutive nature of thing.

  7. Rén qíng 人情 refers to the natural sensibilities of humans.

• GOVERN
  

  1. The general word for governing, administering or ordering things is zhì 治, old reading chí.

  2. Wéi 為, yǒu 有, yòng 用, lín 臨, lì 蒞, lǐ 理 are polite ways of referring to the government by a legitimate ruler.

  3. Nán miàn 南面, tīng zhèng 聽政, and the late jiàn zuò 踐祚 "ascend the throne and hold control" are polite ways of referring to the occupation of ruler's position by a legitimate incumbent.

  4. Zhèng 政 refers to the basically bureaucratic administration of a state, practical implementation of governmental measures.

  5. Shù 術 refers to the "philosophical" and political art of statecraft.

  6. Xiǎng 享 refers to government of a state as a privilege enjoyed by the legitimate ruler.

  7. Wàng 王 is the proper government of a state by its legitimate ruler, and term often has "idealising" nuances.

  8. Jūn 君 refers to de-facto government by a ruler without any idealising or approving nuances being implied.

  9. Zhuān 專 refers to the (often illegal or not entirely law-based) monopolising of power, and the word often has negative connotations.

  10. Xiàng 相 refers to senior roles in government bureaucracy other than those of the ruler.

  11. Sī 司 refers to administration on a scale below that of a state.

  12. Shǐ 使 refers to leadership, typically of the people.

  13. Mù 牧 refers to government as a paternalistic responsibility of the ruler.

• PASSIVE MARKER
  

  1. The most current general marker of the passive is jiàn 見 which means literally "be exposed to, face".

  2. Passives in wéi 為 "be the object of" abstractly indicates that the verb it modifies is neutrally passive.

  3. Passives in bèi 被 "suffer" typically refers to the suffering of something undesirable.

  4. Passives in qǔ 取 "bring upon onesel" typically refers to the suffering of something undesirable by one's own fault.

  5. Passives in zāo 遭 "come upon" and yù 遇 "run into" refer to running into what tend to be undesirable situations one is exposed to.

  <div>6. Passives in shòu 受 "receive" refers to an agent being the recipient of some impact from the outside.</div><div><br></div><div>7. For passives in yú 於 see the entry under SUFFER.<br></div><br>NB: Note that the notion of the passive is notoriously hard to define for a language like classical Chinese. What some grammarians view as passive constructions will be construed by others as periphrastic ways of expressing with various transitive verbs what other other languages express with passive forms.

• BECAUSE
  

  Giving reasons for a statements made, by a single appended clause giving an explanation, motivation, justification, or demonstration, turns out to be not as common as one might have thought. Yīnwéi 因為 "because" is not classical Chinese. "Brutus killed Caesar because he hated him" would become in classical Chinese "Brutus hated Caesar and accordingly/therefore he killed him." The current conceptual fields are THEREFORE and "in order to" under INTEND. The only word that "feels" anything like the English "because" is the final particle yě 也 "this was because, this is because".

  1. The standard word is yǐ 以 "by reason of" which can refer to objective causes as well as subjective motivation, but never logical reasoning, and the reason adduced by this word may even be a pretext.

  [GENERAL]; [[vt+N.adV, vt+N.postV]]

  2. Yīn 因 "on the basis of" typically refers to the basis on which something is done, and sometimes to some kind of deliberate and strategic accommodation to objective conditions.

  [[vtadV]]

  3. Yóu 由 "be because of" emphasises the "wherefrom" of something, the objective reason from which something flows. It is rare in early texts meaning "be because", but became common at later stages of the language.

  [OBJECTIVE]; [[RARE]], [[vtadV]]

  4. Wéi 為 sometimes introduces a reason for something that is then introduced by gù 故 "therefore" or by yīn 因 "therefore".

  [OBJECTIVE]; [vt+N.postS]

  5. Sentence-final yě 也 often marks because-clauses, and the reason given is rarely psychological, sometimes objective, quite often logical: S 也 meaning "it is/was because of S".

  [[ppostS]]

  6. Wéi 為 sometimes introduces a reason for something that is then introduced by gù 故 "therefore" or by yīn 因 "therefore".

• PEOPLE
  

  1. The dominant current general word for the people is mín 民 (ant. jūn 君 "ruler"), and this term refers inclusively to all the people particularly insofar as they are ruled by a ruler or belong to a state (xiǎo mín 小民 are the ordinary people). [ 夫民之為言也暝也，萌之為言也（肓）〔盲〕也，故惟上之所扶而以之，民無不化也。故曰：「民萌。」民萌哉！ ( 直言其意而為之名也 ) Xinshu 9

  2. Bǎi xìng 百姓 (ant. jūn zhǔ 君主 "ruler") typically refers to the registered senior families in a state who are under the control of the ruler and contribute taxes as well as military service to him; but from earliest times this term was occasionally used to refer generally to the populace at large.

  3. Rén 人 (ant. wáng 王 "king") is sometimes used generically for those people who were taken to have a political voice, as in Yīn rén 殷人 "the people of Yīn".

  4. Méng 氓 / 萌 (ant.* shì mín 士民 "citizens") refers specifically to the common people belonging to the lower echelons of society.

  5. Zhòng 眾, shù 庶 and the rarer and more rarified words 蒸 and lí 黎 refer to the masses of the people under the aspect of their numerousness.

  6. Qián shǒu 黔首 "black-headed people" is the current word for the people especially promoted by the Qin dynasty.

  7. Shì mín 士民 refers to senior registered citizens with a certain political influence; but the term can also be used collectively to refer to the freemen/gentleman shì 士 on the one hand, and the common people mín 民 on the other.

  8. Guó rén 國人 refers not to the people in a state, but specifically to the senior citizens in the capital.

  9. Mín rén 民人 is a very current way of referring to the people without suggesting any low or high status.

  10. Shù rén 庶人 is the technical term for the non-office-holding commoners in a country.

• ACT
  

  [AD-HOC/SYSTEMATIC]

  [AIMLESS/PURPOSEFUL]

  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

  [BASE/NOBLE]

  [BASIC/MARGINAL]

  [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

  [CONATIVE/PERFECTIVE]

  [DELIBERATE/INVOLUNTARY]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HABITUAL/OCCASIONAL]

  [HUMBLE/NOBLE]

  [PHYSICAL/MENTAL]

  [PRESCRIBED/SPONTANEOUS]

  [PRIVATE/PUBLIC]

  [RESPONSIBLE/UNACCOUNTABLE]

  1. The current general word for any deliberate behaviour one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"), and this conduct is typically one engaged in on someone else's behalf.

  [COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [PHYSICAL], [RESPONSIBLE]

  2. Wéi 為 (ant. wú wéi 無為 "not engage in purposeful and result-orientated self-assertive action") focusses not on the act itself but primarily on the results achieved or aimed for.

  [OCCASIONAL], [PURPOSEFUL]

  3. Jū 居, when used in this meaning, focusses not on the results of one's actions, or on the effect of one's actions on others, but on the moral character of one's behaviour as such.

  [HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE], [SYSTEMATIC]

  4. Shì 事 (ant.* xián 閒 "take it easy") primarily focusses on action as part of the fulfilment of a duty imposed by one's station in life or a task one has set oneself.

  [PRESCRIBED], [PUBLIC!], [RESPONSIBLE]

  5. Gōng 躬 (ant.* shǐ rén 使人 "get others to...") focusses on a person of considerable social status engaging personally in a (typically public) action. See SELF.

  [MARGINAL], [NOBLE], [OCCASIONAL], [PUBLIC!]

  6. Wěi 偽 (ant. tiān 天 "natural") refers to artificial or faked human action. See PRETEND.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [DEROGATORY!]

  7. Dòng 動 (ant. jìng 靜 "decide to remain inactive") typically refers to spontaneous purposeful action and focusses almost philosophically on the autonomous decision of the agent to act.

  [OCCASIONAL], [DELIBERATE]

  8. Zuò 作 (ant. xí 息 "fail to take the initiative, fail to become active") refers to the taking of an initiative for an action which would not have occurred without such a deliberate initiative, and the word is naturally associated with the notion of creativity.

  SPONTANEOUS, OCCASIONAL, PERFECTIVE

  9. Jǔ 舉 refers specifically to the undertaking of a well-considered major act, particularly as part of a political strategy.

  [DELIBERATE], [PURPOSEFUL], [RESPONSIBLE]

  NB: Fēng 風 refers rather generally and abstractly to a person's or a group's way or pattern of behaviour, and the word is usually used as a noun. See CUSTOM

  10. Jiā 加 typically refers to action insofar as it affects others.

  11. Xí 習 refers to the habitual repeated practice of something in order to achieve proficiency in the kind of action concerned.

• PRODUCE
  

  1. The most common word for producing something is wéi 為.

  2. Chéng 成 focusses on the completion of the process and its success.

  3. Zhì 治 focusses on the orderliness of the result.

  4. Chǎn 產 focusses on the act of production as typically informed by professionalism.

  5. Zào 造 refers to the production of something like a carriage through craftsmanship.

  6. Zhì 制 refers primarily to the production of clothes, but the word later came to refer to all manner of production of artifacts.

• BUILD
  

  1. The general current word for erecting or rebuilding a permanent structure of any kind is zhú 築.

  2. Lì 立 "to erect" focuses on the resulting uprightness of the structure, but the word.

  3. Xiū 脩 focusses on the careful finishing work of construction, and the word also applies to reconstruction with careful attention paid to the finish. [See REPAIR]

  4. Gòu 構 "make a structure" focusses on the fitting together of different parts, Lothar Ledderose's modules, to make a structured whole.

  5. Qǐ 起 "raise (a building)" is an administrative neutral term that can refer to the building of any larger structure, and the word become current in this meaning in Han times.

  6. Wéi 為 is currently used to refer specifically to the building of houses or capitals. See PRODUCE

  7. Zuò 作 "take the initiative to build" a very general word to use which can refer to all sorts of making of things. See PRODUCE.

  8. Jiàn 建 "to establish" is mostly used abstractly and not for concrete physical structures. See ESTABLISH

  9. Jīng 經 and yíng 營 are archaic and poetic words focussing on a concerted large-scale public effort.

• BECOME
  

  1. The standard general word for becoming is wéi 為.

  2. Chéng 成 often refers to something becoming something else by an effort or by voluntary action.

• IMAGINATION
  

  The poetic imagination, German Phantasie, as a positive force was surely recognised in traditional China as an important part of poetic talent. The related notions that seems to be fairly current in China is that of "mere imaginings, sheer phantasy", and that of 以為 "unjustified belief", but even these still needs close investigation. It is interesting how rarely one is tempted to use words like "imagination" in translating ancient Chinese texts. This conceptual area badly needs careful study also in pre-Buddhist China. Unfortunately, I have not so far been able to get a handle on this phenomenon. This concept is directly relevant to many literary notions such as that of fiction.

• CREATE
  

  1. The most general word is probably wéi 為 and this is sometimes used to refer to the act of cultural invention or creation, and the connotation may be positive or negative. The word focusses on the act of making something as such rather than the product as such.

  2. Zuò 作 (ant. shù 述 "transmit") focusses on an autonomous initiative being taken, and the word can refer to a commendable act of creation as well as a reprehensible act of political disobedience. The word focusses on the product resulting of the action.

  3. Zào 造 is prototypically to fashion in the manner of a potter or founder, but the word often has a nuance of the arbitrary and comes to mean something like "fabricate". See also PRODUCE

  4. Chuàng 創 (ant. jì 繼 "continue a line") is a rare word referring to the initiative to start something.

  5. Zào huà 造化 refers to both the process of creation, and of spontaneous cosmic transformation.

• BARBARIAN
  

  1. Perhaps the most current general word for peoples who were taken not to belong to the Huáxiá 華夏 community is yí dí 夷狄, but sometimes the term refers specifically to the eastern and the northern barbarians.

  2. Jiǔ yí 九夷 is another term referring generically to the peoples who were taken not to belong to the Huáxiá 華夏 community, but more specifically to those of the East.

  3. Sì dí 四狄 is a general term for the various types of peoples that were not taken to belong the Huáxiá 華夏 community, but more specifically to those of the north. Sometimes the term wǔ yí 五夷 is used.

  4. Róngdí 戎狄 is another term referring generically to the peoples who were taken not to belong to the Huáxiá 華夏 community, but also more specifically to the western and northern barbarians.

  5. Mán yí 蠻夷 is another term referring generically to the peoples who were taken not to belong to the Huáxiá 華夏 community.

  One standard classification of non-Chinese peoples is this:

  6. Yí 夷 refers to the barbarians of the east, but the term came to be used for barbarians generally. 東方為九夷，

  7. Mán 蠻 refers specifically to the barbarians of the south. 南方為八蠻，

  8. Róng 戎 refers specifically to the barbarians of the west. 西方為六戎，

  9. Dí 狄 refers specifically to the barbarians of the north. 北方為五狄。

  In addition there is a rich vocabulary specifying various non-Chinese ethnic groups.

• INACTIVE
  

  1. The standard general word for remaining inactive is jìng 靜 (ant. dòng 動 "take an initiative")

  2. Wú wéi 無為 (ant. yǒu suǒ wéi 有所為 "engage in assertive action") is a technical philosophical term referring to the refusal to take assertive action.

• APPOINT
  

  [FORMAL/INFORMAL]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [IMPOLITE/POLITE]

  [TECHNICAL-TERM/CURRENT-WORD]

  1. Bài 拜 (ant. biǎn 貶 "demote to a lower position in the hierarchy at court") refers formally and bureaucratically to a high appointment at court.

  [POLITE], [SPECIFIED]; [vtt!]

  2. Shì 仕 (ant. chù 黜 "remove from office") describes a position below the top echelon in pre-Qín times, but came to refer to the highest kinds of appointment in Hàn times.

  [FORMAL], [GENERAL]

  3. Huàn 宦 is rarer, refers originally to the position of a menial servant, but became basically synonymous with shì 仕, except that huàn 宦 normally refers to positions held at court.

  [SPECIFIC], [FORMAL]

  4. Wéi 為 "make into" is a neutral informal term which does not primarily refer to the formal investment or any transferring of the insignia of office.

  [GENERAL], [INFORMAL]

  5. Xiàng 相 is used in a derived sense for an appointment to a specific high position, that of Prime Minister.

  [FORMAL], [SPECIFIC+]

  6. Shǔ 署 is a Hàn dynasty technical buraucratic term.

  [FORMAL], [TECHNICAL-TERM]

  7. Mìng 命 refers specifically to the conferment of the title which goes with an official appointment.

  [FORMAL], [CURRENT-WORD]

  8. 委

  9. 授

• VIRTUE
  

  1. The current general term for salient features and principles of charismatic moral potency, integrity and generosity is dé 德, when used as a term of ethical evalutation.

  2. Other general terms for subjectively construed general moral commendation include měi 美 "point of moral distinction" (ant. è 惡 "point of moral decrepitude"), and occasionally gāo 高 "elevated points, elevated spirit" (ant. jiàn 賤 "point of vulgar decrepitude"). NB that shàn 善 "excellent" is not used as a general term of positive moral appreciation in pre-Buddhist texts.

  3. The most current dé 德 "virtues" recognised in pre-Buddhist China are rén 仁 "kind-heartedness", yì 義 "rectitude", lǐ 禮 "propriety", zhì 智 "wisdom", and xìn 信 "good faith".

  4. Further important virtues are xiào 孝 "filial piety", zhōng 忠 "loyal diligence", tì 悌 / 弟 "brotherly affection", lián 廉 "impeccable probity", jié 節 "moderation", and perhaps yǒng 勇 "the courage of one's moral convictions". ( 說苑 : 百行 (xìng) 孝為先 )

  5. Zhōng yōng 中庸 "the mean in action" may be mentioned as a a central Confucian virtue, jiān ài 兼愛 "unIversal love" as a Mohist virtue, wú wéi 無為 "unobtrusive action" as a non-moralistic Taoist virtue.

Word relations
• Result: (BECOME)化/CHANGE Huà 化 (ant. cháng 常 "remain constant") refers to irreversible change into a fundamentally new state, while retaining one's identity. 1 Attribution
• Result: (WORK)成/ACHIEVE The current general word for successful action on one's own behalf or on someone else's behalf is chéng 成 (ant. bài 敗 "fail to achieve; botch up"). [GENERAL], [LARGE-SCALE]; [VERB] 1 Attribution
• Result: (ACT)成/SUCCEED2 Attributions
• Result: (BECOME)轉/CHANGE Zhuǎn 轉 refers to change typically construed as part of a cycle of changes. 1 Attribution
• Ant: (ACT)已/STOP Definitive discontinuation, often of inanimate processes, is yǐ 已 (ant. zuò 作 "break into action"). See FINISH. 1 Attribution
• Ant: (GOVERN)敗/DESTROY Bài 敗 and zéi 賊 are currently used for the destruction of abstract things such as dé 德 "virtue". 2 Attributions
• Ant: (BUILD)毀/DESTROY The current general word for destruction of any kind is huǐ 毀, and what is destroyed may anything from a toy or a house to a state. 1 Attribution
• Object: (ACT)政/GOVERN Zhèng 政 refers to the basically bureaucratic administration of a state, practical implementation of governmental measures. 4 Attributions
• Object: (ACT)非/WICKED1 Attribution
• Object: (GOVERN)國/STATE The dominant word is guó 國, and the word naturally focusses on the capital which defines the identity of the state, but from Warring States times the word does refer to the whole of the territory, as the term guó xiāo 國削 "the state was truncated" shows. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (SERVE)事/SERVE The current general word for serving another is shì 事 (ant. shǐ 使 "deploy"). 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (COPULA)成/COPULA
• Contrast: (COPULA)作 / 作 / 作/COPULA1 Attribution
• Contrast: (FOR)與/WITH The current word is yǔ 與. 1 Attribution
• Synon: (FOR)對/DIRECTION1 Attribution
• Synon: (SYMBOL)象/SYMBOL The standard word for a symbolic representation of something is xiàng 象. This is a philosophical concept of considerable metaphysical depth. 1 Attribution
• Synon: (ACT)行/ACT The current general word for any deliberate action one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"). The nominal entries have the old reading xìng. [COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE] 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (ACT)言/SPEAK Yán 言 is to speak up, propose, typically in public, and on one's own initiative, to maintain something, and the word can indroduce direct speech as well as occasionally very limited indirect speech. 1 Attribution