Taxonomy of meanings for 生:　　

Additional information about 生

說文解字:

Criteria
• WORK
  

  1. The current general term for work is gōng 工 (ant. xiū 休 "rest"), but the word refers specifically to skilled work.

  2. Shì 事 (ant. xián 閒 "be at leisure") refers primarily to an official or regular working effort made on behalf of and in the service of an employer or a ruler.

  3. Zuò 作 (ant. xí 息 "take a rest from work") refers to manual work.

  4. Chǎn 產 refers to the pursuance of a traditional family trade.

  5. Yè 業 refers to the pursuance of one's own professional career or one's career as a skilled artisan, farmer etc..

  6. Wù 務 refers to work imposed on one because of one's public employment.

  7. Shēng 生 can occasionally come to refer to something like one's daily work.

  8. Zhì 治 is mostly used verbally and refers to putting a coherent organised effort into something or work at something.

  9. Gān 干 is only used verbally and refers to the concerted effort or working towards an end.

• ARISE
  

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

  [INCHOACTIVE/PERFECTIVE]

  1. The most current general word for something arising is probably qǐ 起 (ant. zhǐ 止 "cease to exist").

  [GENERAL]

  2. Méng 萌 is inchoative and refers to the initial stage of arising.

  [INCHOATIVE]

  3. Shēng 生 (ant. miè 滅 "be extinguished (as dinosaurs)") refers to the coming into existence of something which did not previously exist.

  [PERFECTIVE]

  4. Xīng 興 (ant. xí 息 "cease to be virulent") and fā 發 refer to something moving from an "incubatory" state to a state of manifest "virulence" and full development.

  [HIGH-DEGREE], [PERFECTIVE]

  5. Chū 出 (NB: rù 入 cannot be used as an antonym for this meaning.) refers to something that pre-exists emerging or moving from an initial state of hiddenness or non-obviousness to a state of manifest visibility (in analogy with the basic meaning of the word "to come out").

  [SPECIFIC]

  6. Zuò 作 (ant.* xiē 歇 "cease to exist, cease to be active, cease to happen") typically refers to something happening or arising for the first time, but the word can also refer to the emergence of persons like sages.

  [ORIGINAL], [SPECIFIC]

  NB: This group needs to be viewed together with BEGIN, and the line between the two is by no means always clear.

• LIFE
  

  全生

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 guānhuà 官話 "Mandarin" is obsolete, and its traditional antonym was xiāngyǔ 鄉語 "local speech".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

• BIRTH
  

  [BASIC/MARGINAL]

  [FACT/PROCESS]

  [+FIG/LITERAL]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  1. Shēng 生 (ant. sǐ 死 "die") is a colourless general word for the fact of being delivered of offspring or for engendering offspring, and the word also has many derived and related meanings.

  [FACT], [+FIG], [GENERAL]; [[COMMON+]]

  2. Chǎn 產 can focus on the physical process of birth alone, but the word can connote the act of rearing or even breeding. See REAR.

  [LITERAL], [PROCESS]; [[COMMON]]

  3. Zì 字 is a rare very archaic word referring to the production of offspring.

  [ARCHAIC], [LITERAL]; [[RARE]]

  4. Yù 育 is a rare fairly archaic word for giving birth to and rearing offspring.

  [ARCHAIC], [LITERAL], [PROCESS]

  5. Rǔ 乳 viewS the act of giving birth as immediately preceding and linked to the feeding of what one has given birth to.

  [LITERAL], [MARGINAL], [PROCESS]; [[RARE]]

  4. Sū 穌 "be born again" belongs to the realm of religious discourse.

  [SPECIFIC]; [[RARE]]

• FRIEND
  

  1. The most general current word for a friend is yǒu 友 (ant. dí 敵 "enemy"), and the specific nuance indicated by this word is that of a commonality of feelings and interests, although it must be noted that the etymological link of the word is with the notion of "help", and in pre-SHI times the word tended to refer to cooperating associates rather than friends.

  2. Péng 朋 typically refers to a person of similar educational background and a similar political or social agenda.

  3. Dǎng 黨 refers to group of péng 朋 pursuing a common aim, and the word is normally derogatory in meaning.

  4. Bàn 伴 and lu# 侶 refer to a companion during a specified period of time.

  5. Pǐ 匹 and chóu 儔 refer to a person of similar professional or social background who for this reason has connections with one.

  6. Jiù 舊, gù rén 故人, gù zhī 故知, and jiù gù 舊故 (all ant. shēng rén 生人 "stranger") refer to old acquaintances linked together by common experiences in the distant past.

  7. Zhī yīn 知音 refers to person who has a proper sense for the special qualities of another in such a way that he is linked to him by deep bonds of spiritual friendship.

  8. Hǎo 好 often refers to relations of friendship and good-will between states and communities, but also between individuals.

• LIVE
  

  1. The current standard word for being alive is shēng 生 (ant. sǐ 死 "be dead").

  2. Cún 存 (ant. wáng 亡 ) and zài 在 (ant. mò 沒 / 歿 "go under") refer to continuing in the state of being alive, but the word also refers to continued existence in general.

  3. Huó 活 (ant. sǐ 死 ) specifically refers to the state of being alive when one might have been dead, and strongly connotes not only a failure to die but also the continued existence of life energy.

  4. Mìng 命 refers specifically to one's life-span and not to the content of one's life that might be described in a biography.

  5. Shēn 身 comes to refer to the life one conducts as in xíng shēn 行身 "conduct one's life" (Greek bios), and, and to one's lifespan as in zhōng shēn 終身 "all one's life".

  6. Shòu 壽 (yāo 夭 "short life ended by an unnaturally early death") refers specifically to a lifespan as long as it naturally can be and should be.

• 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.

• GROW
  

  1. The current general term for growth is zhǎng 長, and for having as a habitat it is shēng 生.

  2. Chéng 成 refers specifically to growing to a mature state and thus to grow into something grown-up.

  3. Bāo 苞 refers to plants growing in clusters.

  4. Shú 熟 refers to a plant growing to maturity and the ripe stage where it may be harvested.

  NB: Chǎn 產 refers specifically to a plant or an animal being a product of a certain area and thus growing in that area. This word is marginal in the group.

• RIBBON
  

  1. Probably most general word for a ribbon is zǔ 組 and it usually refers to the wide and thin ribbon made of silk. Its shape, size and functions are very variable. The word can thus refer to a belt ribbon, strings for use with hats, string used to tie an armour etc.

  2. Xún 紃 refers to the round plaited ribbon which can be used in various ways (on shoes for instance):

  3. Tāo 絛 is a small plaited ribbon which can be used in various ways (to make a shoes lace for instance) similar to xún 紃. The two perhaps differs by value???.

  4. Shòu 綬 refers to the ribbon which was originally used to tie jade pendants to the waistband; in the Han dynasty it was used for tying the seal. In Han times, shòu 綬 was an important marker of the status of its holder, and length and colour of the ribbon varied according to it.

  5. Lún 綸 in Han times refers to the green/blue silk ribbon used by minor officials to tie the seal to the waistband.

  6. Yīng 纓 refers specifically to one of two ribbons used to keep hat straight. The word also refers to the colour ribbon worn by a woman when having reached an age for marriage; it was also used for tying fragrant things.

  7. Hóng 紘 refers to the ribbon used to keep hat; in this case only one ribbon is used.

  8. Yīng ruí 纓 (written like 10.) refers to the ribbon used to keep a hat.

  9. Màn hú 縵胡 refers to the ribbon used to keep a hat which was worn by warriors, and was made of plaint undecorated silk.

  10. Ruí (written like 竹 above and down 豕 with 生 ) refers to the part of the hat ribbon which is hanging down.

  11. Qí 綦 refers to the small ribbon which can be used on shoes.

  12. Zuǎn (written like 算 above and 系 below) refers in SHUOWEN to the red ribbon.

  13. Xǐ 縰 refers to a ribbon used to tie up hair.

• BEAUTIFUL
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

  [POETIC/PROSAIC]

  1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

  [GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

  2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

  [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

  [ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

  5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

  [HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

  6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

  [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

  8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

  [NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

  [GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

  10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

  <div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div><br></div><div>吳蓬，東方審美詞彙集萃，上海文藝出版社，2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃：富有生机之突起。<br>苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。<br>沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。<br>冲：调成和淡之意向。<br>饬：整顿。<br>粗：大而不笨者。<br>淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。<br>醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。<br>绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。<br>澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。<br>淡：与浓艳相对。<br>宕：放荡不拘。<br>跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。<br>端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。<br>敦：很实在的，结实的厚。<br>繁：众而密，有生气。<br>方：与平正同义。<br>丰：饱满而充足。<br>风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。<br>飞：大幅度的流动。<br>刚：属于阳性的，有正力的，与柔软相对。</div><div>高：俯视一切的、超然得不一般。<br>工：规矩，不潦草。<br>孤：自我独立。<br>古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。<br>骨：内在的架子。<br>犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。<br>瑰：不单调的美。<br>乖：不和顺。<br>憨：近于拙朴而敦实。<br>酣：厚润四溢。<br>豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。<br>宏：大而有气度。<br>厚：有沉积的饱和。<br>华：明亮而艳丽。<br>环：长久圆融之境。<br>荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。<br>豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。<br>恢：宽广有余。<br>浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。<br>简：经过一番整修的减少。<br>娇：美得可爱。<br>警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。<br></div><div>劲：能察觉的力。<br>精：很到位。<br>隽：精致而具内涵之美。<br>娟：秀而婉丽。<br>崛：高起而突出。<br>俊：人材杰曲之美。<br>峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。<br>空：有灵气之空白。<br>枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。<br>宽：大度而畅朗。<br>旷：广阔而空灵。<br>辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。<br>朗：明亮而豁然。<br>琅：圆而光润。<br>伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。<br>冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。<br>炼：精到而有功力。<br>淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。<br>流：明显的动感。<br>迈：阔而放的超势。<br>莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。<br>袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。<br>茂：有生气的繁密。<br>媚：柔美之趣。<br>宓：安而静。<br>明：清晰有亮度。<br>凝：浓重而不流动。<br>懦：毫无火气之柔软。<br>平：一般的，接近于稳。<br>朴：原始状态，形象较准。<br>嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。<br>奇：不一般。<br>气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。<br>清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。<br>峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露<br>尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。<br>遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。<br>虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。<br>意：诚实谨慎。<br>儒：代表文人之书卷气。<br>洒：散落无拘束。<br>赡：富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚：审美中之骚字，可引伸为风骚至风流感。<br>韶：美丽有光泽。<br>涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。<br>深：不是浮面的。<br>神：精与气合。高端的。<br>生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。<br>肆：任意放纵。<br>松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。<br>瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。<br>疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。<br>肃：有立即静穆下来之势。<br>率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。<br>邃：深远而悠久。<br>阅：通达之意。<br>给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。<br>天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。<br>恬：安静而坦然。<br>挺：直而有生气。<br>婉：柔和而曲折。<br>温：是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍：往往与"峨"合用，是高大厚实之趣。<br>洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。<br>犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。<br>熙：光明，和乐。<br>细：指细而不纤。<br>娴：文静而雅致。<br>闲：一种高雅的自由。<br>萧：疏少有致。<br>潇：散朗而润泽。<br>馨：很醇厚的香气。<br>篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。<br>雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。<br>秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。<br>虚：表象空，但并非真空。<br>雅：文气而不俗。<br>妍：鲜美而柔性。<br>严：认真，不马虎。<br>淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。<br>野：超脱、不规范。<br>冶：经过一番精致修饰。<br>逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。<br>莹：透明而幽亮。<br>雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。<br>幽：静而深。<br>腴：肥润而饱和。<br>郁：厚积而有生气。<br>纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。<br>遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。<br>渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。<br>圆：接近于饱满润滑。<br>蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。<br>韵：一种余味不尽之趣。<br>恣：放纵的，无拘束的。<br>滋：湿润感。<br>自：出于本性的流露。<br>质：本体的，实在的。<br>纵：放逸无拘之状。<br>拙：接近朴，形不准。<br>庄：端正之貌。<br>卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。<br></div><div><br></div><br>

• FRESH
  

  1. The current general word for freshness is xiān 鮮 (ant. fǔ 腐 "gone off, rotten").

  2. Shēng 生 (ant. shú 熟 "cooked") refers to something that has not undergone any form of cooking and remains entirely free from treatment with heat.

  3. Xīn 新 (ant. chén 陳 "stale") refers to something that is fresh and new and still at its best, not having gone off, and not having starting the process of rotting away.

• DIE
  

  1. The dominant general word is sǐ 死 (ant. shēng 生 "be alive"), and this can refer to the death of plants as well as animals or men.

  2. Bēng 崩 refers to the death of an emperor.

  3. Hōng 薨 and cú 殂 / 徂 refers to the death of a senior official.

  4. Zú 卒 is specifically the death of a common citizen, but occasionally also used to refer to the death of senior persons like dukes.

  5. Piǎo 殍 and jǐn 殣 "(of common people) starve to death, die in the gutters" refer distinctly to the death of ordinary people.

  6. Mò 沒 / 歿 (ant. cún 存 "survive") and zhōng 終 are abstract elevated, polite words to use about the death of a significant person.

  7. Yì 殪 "get killed" is the result of violent action.

  8. Yāo (old: yǎo) 夭, yǎo 殀 and shāng 殤 (ant. shòu 壽 "long-lived") refer to an early and not just untimely death.

  9. Jí22 shì 即世 refers to the death of high-ranking personalities in the bureaucracy.

  10. Wáng 亡 "cease to be" is a polite and periphrastic way of referring to death.

  11. Xùn 殉 refers to the act of laying down one's life, dying for a cause.

  NB: The periphrastic vocabulary of Chinese referring to death is extraordinarily large. I have more than 900 terms - if modern locutions gēbēr sǐ 咯嘣兒死 "die" are included.

• ENDURING
  

  1. The general word for something which is constant and lasting in time is jiǔ 久 (ant. qǐng 頃 "for a short time"), which can refer to bounded or unbounded and open-ended persistence in time.

  2. Cháng 長 (ant. duǎn 短 "of short duration") expresses bounded enduringness with a definite final point being typically imagined, although in cháng shēng 長生 the word refers to an unending long life.

  3. Cháng 常 and the especially emphatic héng 恆 "highly constant and permanent" (ant.* ǒu 偶 "contingency and consequent changeability") emphasise the constancy or constant recurrence of the attributes of what is lasting, and typically - though not always - the constancy is valued positively.

  4. Bì 必 refers to something being an invariable event that always tends to occur.

  5. Shí 時 "recurrently, constantly" allows for something being present or having certain attributes intermittently but over a long stretch of time.

  6. Yóng 永 "last for a while" (ant. zàn 暫 "temporary" post-Buddhist, Six Dynasties: temporarily) is an elevated and poetic word often referring to subjectively experienced long duration.

• GENTLEMAN
  

  1. The current general term for a person of a certain social standing is shì 士 and this word often connotes specifically a certain level of education, particularly literacy. See INTELLECTUAL.

  2. Jūn zǐ 君子 can focus either on nobility of birth and social status. See alsounder GOOD the meaning "man of excellent character".

  3. Rú 儒 (opp. 墨 "Mohist"), literally "weakling", typically referred Late Warring States times to classicists, often from broadly Confucian circles.

  4. Xián 賢 (ant. 不肖 "person of inferior worth and talent") adds to the notion of an intellectual of some education that of special talent, and sometimes also of moral worth. See TALENT.

  5. Zhé 哲 emphasises advanced intellectual talents.

  6. Jiā 家 focusses on basic professionalism or expertise, but the term is rare in pre-Han times.

  7. Shēng 生 simply refers to literates.

Word relations
• Result: (LIFE)知/UNDERSTAND The standard current and word for understanding something and knowing how to do something is zhī 知 (ant. mèi 昧 "not have the foggiest idea") 1 Attribution
• Ant: (LIVE)死/DIE The dominant general word is sǐ 死 (ant. shēng 生"be alive"), and this can refer to the death of plants as well as animals or men. 11 Attributions
• Ant: (ARISE)滅/DESTROY Miè 滅 refers to the physical destruction of cities or states, and the word implies the use of external military force, and typically military resistance. 1 Attribution
• Ant: (LIVE)殺 / 煞/KILL The overwhelmingly dominant term referring to any form of taking the life of anything is shā 殺. 1 Attribution
• Object: (LIFE)學/STUDY The dominant word is xué 學 (ant. jiào 教 "train teach")which refers primarily to studying or training under another person, and secondarily to the learning by heart texts. Very often, the word retains a tinge of immitation. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (ANIMAL)群/ALL Qún 群 is a quantifier which indicates that the whole of the flock or group of items designated by the noun it precedes are referred to [COLLECTIVE]; [nadN] 2 Attributions
• Epithet: (LIVE)長/ENDURING Cháng 長 (ant. duǎn 短 "of short duration") expresses bounded enduringness with a definite final point being typically imagined, although in cháng shēng 長生 the word refers to an unending long life.
• Epithet: (ANIMAL)蓄 / 畜/REAR Xù 畜 refers primarily to the breeding of livestock, but is also used for humans under one's control and below one's status. 2 Attributions
• Epithet: (BIRTH)初/BEGIN Chū 初 (ant. mò 末 "end") is purely chronological and refers to the early stage of something that persists, without indicating any lasting influence of that early stage on later developments. See FIRST 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (LIVE)存/LIVE Cún 存 (ant. wáng 亡) and zài 在 (ant. mò 沒/歿 "go under") refer to continuing in the state of being alive, but the word also refers to continued existence in general.
• Contrast: (BIRTH)成/COMPLETE The standard word for bringing anything to a successful conclusion is chéng 成. 2 Attributions
• Contrast: (ARISE)立/ESTABLISH The current general word for setting up anything abstract or concrete is lì 立 and the almost equally common shè 設. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (BEGET)有/POSSESS
• Contrast: (ARISE)產/ARISE
• Contrast: (LIVE)身/PERSON Shēn 身 regularly refers to the embodied person, as something to be cultivated, and as something to be morally careful about, but the word is originally widely used to refer to the physical body as such being at times hard to distinguish from the figurative use discussed in this group. The word is very often reflexive. 2 Attributions
• Contrast: (LIVE)身/SELF Shēn 身 typically refers to the subject in a contrastive way, and the word is often hard to distinguish from the nominal concept of a person. Adverbially, the word is different from PERSONALLY in that it does not connote distinction in the agent. 1 Attribution
• Synon: (ARISE)出/ARISE Chū 出 (NB: rù 入cannot be used as an antonym for this meaning.) refers to something that pre-exists emerging or moving from an initial state of hiddenness or non-obviousness to a state of manifest visibility (in analogy with the basic meaning of the word "to come out"). [SPECIFIC]
• Synon: (ARISE)起/ARISE The most current general word for something arising is probably qǐ 起 (ant. zhǐ 止 "cease to exist"). [GENERAL] 1 Attribution
• Synon: (PRODUCE)造/PRODUCE Zào 造 refers to the production of something like a carriage through craftsmanship. 2 Attributions
• Oppos: (BIRTH)有/POSSESS3 Attributions
• Oppos: (BEGET)蓄 / 畜/REAR Xù 畜 refers primarily to the breeding of livestock, but is also used for humans under one's control and below one's status. 2 Attributions