Taxonomy of meanings for 王:　　

Additional information about 王

說文解字: 【王】，天下所歸往也。董仲舒曰：古之造文者，三畫而連其中謂之王。三者，天地人也。而參通之者，王也。孔子曰：一貫三爲王。凡王之屬皆从王。 【李陽冰曰：中畫近上王者，則天之義。】 【雨方切】 【𠙻】，古文王。

Criteria
• WIFE
  

  1. The most general term for a commoner's female mate is fù 婦 (ant. fū 夫 "husband").

  2. Qī 妻 (ant. fū 夫 "husband") refers to the regular main wife, and specifically to a commoner's main wife.

  3. Nèi 內 refers generically to the harem.

  4. Hòu 后 (ant. wáng 王 "king") refers to a queen. See QUEEN

  5. Shì 室 is a polite circumlocution for a wife.

  6. Aυ 媼 (ant. wēng 翁 "old man") is a general term for a married woman, and the word is marginal in this group because it does not focus on the relationship to the mate.

  7. Fū rén 夫人 is a current phrase for a wife.

• FEAR
  

  1. The most general word for any kind of passing fear is probably jù 懼 and this word naturally links with yōu 憂 "worry", and this word refers to a momentary historical moment where that fear manifested itself ( 文王乃懼 "then King Wén got scared"). Jù sǐ 懼死 is momentary fear for one's life, whereas wèi sǐ 畏死 refers to a general state where one is too frightened to sacrifice one's life.

  2. Kǒng 恐 refers primarily to intense or overwhelming possibly passing state of fear, and the word differs from jù 懼 mainly in degree of intensity and in the managability of the danger faced.

  3. Wèi 畏 is typically a stable state of reasoned fear, typically relating those who are in authority (the etymologically related wēi 威 on which relation there is much word-play in texts like ZUO), or ghosts etc, but the word also has extended generalised uses, as in wèi sǐ 畏死 "be afraid to die".

  4. Jīng 驚 refers to the sudden onset of fear when someone is faced with an unexpected danger.

  5. Lì 栗 / 慄 and zhàn 戰 is to shiver with intense fear, and the physical expression of fear can be more prominent the inner feeling expressed through shivering.

  6. Qiè 怯 "chicken-livered and unlikely to undertake risky tasks" and nuò 懦 (ant. yǒng 勇 "courage, boldness") as well as dàn 憚 "unduly prone to feelings of fear" refer to being pusilanimousness or the lack or courage where courage is required.

  7. Bù 怖 "be in a current acute state of fear" has no weakened generalised uses.

  8. Sǒng 悚 / 聳 "be fretful, given to fear; get slightly frightened" refers to mild forms of (possibly superfluous or reprehensible) fear.

  9. Jì 悸 refers to symptoms of violent heart-beat caused by intense fear.

  NB: Pà 怕 is post-Buddhist (TANG).

• CHINA
  

  睡虎地秦墓竹簡 1978: 226 臣邦人不安秦主而欲去夏者, 勿許. 何謂夏 ? 欲去親屬是謂夏.

  The words for China have this in common that they do NOT designate any one state. 中國 "the central states" is implicitly plural when it does not refer to the capital city. 諸夏 the various Xià (states)" is explicitly plural. The standard Imperium Romanum has no counterpart in Chinese until very late, unless one admits 天下 "all under Heaven" as a designation for the empire. But 天下 does not define any bounded empire. It remains to be seen exactly when a standard term for China was took shape. Compare the problems of finding a term for the Chinese language.

  Based on 顧頡剛 & 王樹民, “ 夏 ” 和 “ 中國 ”— 祖國古代的稱號, Zhongguo lishi dili luncong, Vol. 1 (Xi'an, 1981), 6-22).

  In the Shu and Shi sections relating to the early Zhou, 區夏 (= 夏區 ), 有夏 and 時夏 (= 是夏 ) refers to the place in which the Zhou established their capital after their conquest of Shang, in contradistinction to Zhou 掇 homeland in the West ( 西土 ) and the close Zhou allies ( 一二邦 ). The Zhou referred to their own domain as 烠 he central city-state � ( 中國 ). Since 中國 in this usage refers to the territory directly governed by the Zhou, it is singular and used in exchange with 京師 and in contradistinction with 四方 and 四國. Other states also referred to their capital regions as 啎什縕 (thus Wu in GY 19.09.01/618); a (perhaps late) variant of this word is 啎尹塹 (Yugong).

  After becoming strong, the states enfeoffed by Zhou asserted the community with the 周 by commencing to refer to themselves as 堔 L �, leading to the plural designation 埣悎 L �, used in contrast with designations like 啈 i 狄�. The distinction between the two groups was viewed as cultural, and its precise reference shifted over time, originally excluding states (like 楚 ) from the community of 諸夏 but later including them, or including them in the beginning, whilst later excluding them (like 秦 ). Some of the non- 諸夏 states were viewed as subservient to 諸夏 states, others as their enemies. The membership of 楚 to the 諸夏 circle was always insecure; it was, so to speak, was"always on probation.

  The 東夏 made up a subdivision of the 諸夏, including states such a 齊 and 魯.

  In parallel with the 堔 L � appellations arose the 埽寊 appellations, 埽寊 on its own and 埣捄寊, and, the two words may well be cognate, the common 埽堮 L �.

  In the Warring States period the cultural distinction gave way to a geographical distinction, and the 中國 states were now the state occupying the Central Plain

• CONCUBINE
  

  Fēi 妃 (ant. wáng 王 "king") refers to a royal concubine.

• YOU
  

  1. The current general second person pronouns are rǔ 汝 in informal contexts, and in polite contexts zǐ 子.

  2. The current informal pronoun is rǔ 汝, and this word is commonly used in imperatives.

  <div>3. Ěr 爾 is another informal second person pronoun, and the word is not generally used in imperatives.</div><div><br></div><div>4. Ruò 若 is a poetic/archaising second person pronoun that went out of current use in Tang (待考）times. </div><div><br></div><div>5. Jūn 君 addresses superiors as well as equals formally, and politely.</div><div><br></div><div>6. Qīng 卿 is probably stylistically colloquial and addresses inferiors informally.</div><div><br></div><div>7. Dà wáng 大王 is the polite formal address to any king, small or powerful. </div><div><br></div><div>8. Wú zǐ 吾子, extremely common in the Zuozhuan, is respectful and honorific, but in a communicativ and sometimes even intimate mode: ·鄭玄注："吾子，相貌之辞。<br></div><br>

• LAW
  

  1. The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.

  2. Lu �律 is far more specialised as a specific term referring to concrete and detailed regulations rather than a legal system as a whole, and the word is also syntactically much less flexible. Thus we have 先王之法 and not 先王之律.

  The complexities of legal terminology can be preliminarily summarised as follows:

  A. The rule may be explicit (chéng 程, diǎn 典, fǎ 法, hào 號, lu �律 ); or it may be primarily conventional (cháng 常, jì 紀, jīng 經, zhì 制 ).

  B. The rule may be conceived as temporary (lìng 令, dù 度, chéng 程, hào 號 ); or it may be conceived as permanent and unchangeable (cháng 常, diǎn 典, jì 紀, jīng 經 ); or it may be conceived as long-term but clearly changeable (fǎ 法, lu �律, xiàn 憲, zhāng 章, zhì 制 ).

  C. The rules may concern legal and economic administration (chéng 程, diǎn 典, dù 度, lu �律, xiàn 憲, zhāng 章, zhì 制, and occasionally fǎ 法 ); or they may concern prohibitions of criminal conduct (fǎ 法, pì 辟, xíng 刑 ); or they may be general moral guidelines on conduct (cháng 常, hào 號, lìng 令, jì 紀 ).

  D. The focus may be on the written documents containing the rules as such (diǎn 典, xiàn 憲, zhāng 章 ); or the focus may be on the content of the rules (cháng 常, chéng 程, dù 度, lìng 令, zhì 制 ); or the primary focus may be on oral promulgation of the rule (hào 號 ).

  E. The rules may be regarded as a collective system (cháng 常, jì 紀, jīng 經, zhì 制 ); or they may be conceived as individual legal prescriptions (all others).

• EGO
  

  1. The umarked current first person pronoun most current by Warring States times is wú 吾, and the word is never emphatic in constructions like 吾實 "It was I who...". (Not in OBI. Note the Jinwen variant graphs for the same word 𫊣 and 䱷.) This word does not normally occur in object position and is highly idiomatic in a possessive pre-nominal position. Significantly, this pronoun can never be used emphatically or contrastively. (NB: The word also serves as an impersonal pronoun meaning "we" in the sense close to "one", German man, French on.) 我亦 "I too", versus 予亦 "I shall moreover V".

  2. Wǒ 我 (which can be used in the emphatic construction 我實 "It was I who...") is contrastive and emphatic by Warring States times, as in wǒ zé 我則 "I on the other hand...". (In OBI 我 was not yet in opposition to wú 吾 and was the standard unmarked pronoun during earlier stages of the language). The word freely occurs in subject, modifying, and object position and often has an idiomatic meaning like "I for my part" and the formal slightly depersonalised "our party". NB: The word also serves as a derived impersonal pronoun meaning "one", German "man", French "on". 我亦 "I too", versus 予亦 "I shall moreover V".

  3. Yú 予／余 is personal and often autobiographical, speaking of the author in the past. It it a preferred pronoun used by poets.

  4. Zhèn 朕 is an ordinary southern dialect first person pronoun in CC, but by decree the word came to be limited to use by the emperor alone after the unification of the Chinese Empire in 221 BC.

  NB 1: Many official titles - but by no means all - function as quasi pronouns. For example, no king could call himself wáng 王 "king", but all ministers will normally refer to themselves as chén 臣 in the presence of their king, and not by the more assertive pronoun wǒ 我. Thus most quasi-pronouns serve a self-deprecatory function and are not usable in contexts where no self-deprecation is called for. A fascinating exception is fūzǐ 夫子 "the master" which is apparently used in self-reference meaning "I, your master" by Confucius.

  For the internal complexity of the notion of the EGO in German see C. Harbsmeier, "Ueber den inneren Schweinehund, das bessere Ich und die rausgelassene Sau" [On lack of will-power and one's better Self???]

• 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.

• HOTEL
  

  1. The current literary word for a hotel is nì lu# 逆旅.

  2. Kè shè 客舍 is a colloquial word for a hotel open to the general public.

  NB the very popular 王仁興，中國旅館史話， 1984

• 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.

• KING
  

  1. The general term for a king of any kind is wáng 王, and in Warring States times this term can refer to all sovereign rulers, even the Son of Heaven.

  2. Tiān wáng 天王 is a highly formal ritual term for "the King by the Grace of Heaven" and refers regularly to the Zhou king.

  3. Tiān zǐ 天子 refers to the Son of Heaven recognised as the ritual leader of all kings, and the word is currently used in a non-referential generic abstract sense.

  4. Dì 帝, originally "highest ancestor", is an honorary title for a king of very special distinction.

  5. Huáng 皇 is a very archaic way of referring to mythical rulers which in Qin times came to be used as part of the term for "emperor".

  6. Huáng dì 皇帝 is the Qin standard term for the emperor.

• RULER
  

  1. The current general word for a person in charge of or senior to others is zhǔ 主 (ant. pú 僕 "servant").

  2. Jūn 君 (ant. chén 臣 "minister") refers specifically to someone who is politically or administratively in charge of others as a ruler.

  3. Wáng 王 (contrast bà 霸 "hegemon basing his role on power rather than moral authority") refers specifically to someone who is enfeoffed as a formal ruler of what counts as a state in ancient China.

  4. Gōng 公 has many related meaning, but when following after the name of a state the word refers specifically to the ruler of an enfeoffed kingdom under the Son of Heaven who belongs to the royal lineage. After personal names, or used absolutely, the word may generally refer to to rulers of any rank and might be fastidiously translated as "his lordship".

  5. Hóu 侯 refers specifically to someone who is enfeoffed with a kingdom (or by Han times a minor administrative area) by the Son of Heaven as a hereditary feudal lord.

  6. Bà 霸 (contr. wáng 王 "regular king"), sometimes also written 伯 refers to a person who is in actual control of an area and specifically to one who acts as the leader of the feudal lords, and the term is sometimes used pejoratively for a "tyrant" caring for his own interests rather than those of his subordinates.

  7. Lìng 令 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a xiàn 縣 by order of a king.

  8. Shǒu 守 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a jùn 郡 by order of the emperor.

  9. Mù 牧 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a zhōu 州 by order of the emperor in Eastern Han times.

  10. Shàng 上 can refer to any governing authority or ruler, but by Han times the word became a standard polite way of referring to the Han emperor.

  11. Chán-yú 單于 refers specifically to the ruler of the Xiōngnú 匈奴. Cf. the Tang term kēhān 可汗 "Khan".

  12. Háo 豪 refers to a person of power but without formally recognised bureaucratic status.

  13. Kuí 魁 refers to a powerful popular leader unrecognised by government.

• PALACE
  

  1. The standard word for a palace is gōng 宮, often expanded to wáng gōng 王宮 "royal palace".

  2. Gōng diàn 宮殿 is generic.

  NB: For the palace as the place for official functions see COURT.

• SLAVE
  

  1. The standard general word for a dependent low-status servant or slave is nú 奴, and this word became quite currrent in Han times.

  2. Yì 役 tends to focus on the hard labour involved.

  3. Lǔ 虜 focusses prototypically on the prisoner-origins of a slave.

  4. Lì 隸 refers to slaves in an administrative bureaucratic way, and prototypically these menial workers are in public employment, being thus of higher status than mere shepherds or stable-boys in the countryside.

  5. Zānghuò 臧獲 is the standard exampe of the name of a slave.

  Slavery and servant-hood not always easy to distinguish, and this is for very interesting social reasons. A scheme for the place of menials in the status system is systematised in a crucial ZUO Zhao 7 passage:

  故王臣公，公臣大夫，大夫臣士，士臣皁，皁臣輿，輿臣隸，隸臣僚，僚臣僕，僕臣臺。

  馬有圉，牛有牧，

• DREAM
  

  1. The current standard word for a dream is mèng 夢.

  2. Xiōng mèng 凶夢 refers to a nightmare.

  ZHOULI 3 占夢：掌其歲時，觀天地之會，辨陰陽之氣。以日月星辰占六夢之吉凶，一曰正夢，二曰噩夢，三曰思夢，四曰寤夢，五曰喜夢，六曰懼夢。季冬，聘王夢，獻吉夢于王，王拜而受之。乃舍萌于四方，以贈惡夢，遂令始難驅疫。

Word relations
• Subject: (KING)薨/DIE Hōng 薨 and cú 殂/徂 refers to the death of a senior official. 2 Attributions
• Epithet: (KING)霸 / 霸伯/RULER Bà 霸 (contr. wáng 王 "regular king") refers to a person who is in actual control of an area and specifically to one who acts as the leader of the feudal lords. 7 Attributions
• Epithet: (RULER)大/GREAT Dà 大 (ant. xiǎo 小 "insignificant") is often used to refer to generally recognised awe-inspiring status (for example of a king etc) rather than mere size. 6 Attributions
• Epithet: (KING)先 / 先/PRECEDE The current word for being first or coming first in time, or for being first in the order of importance, is xiān 先 (ant. hòu 後 "later"). 5 Attributions
• Epithet: (RULER)先 / 先/PRECEDE The current word for being first or coming first in time, or for being first in the order of importance, is xiān 先 (ant. hòu 後 "later"). 2 Attributions
• Epithet: (KING)聖/WISE Shèng 聖 (ant. yōng 庸 "mediocre") refers to supreme sagehood and perfection of character. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (KING)先/PAST2 Attributions
• Epithet: (KING)法/METHOD Fǎ 法 is a regular rule-governed procedure governing the proper exercise of a skill. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (KING)兼/CARE FOR1 Attribution
• Contrast: (KING)霸 / 霸伯/RULER Bà 霸 (contr. wáng 王 "regular king") refers to a person who is in actual control of an area and specifically to one who acts as the leader of the feudal lords. 3 Attributions
• Assoc: (KING)帝/KING Dì 帝, originally "highest ancestor", is an honorary title for a king of very special distinction. 3 Attributions