Taxonomy of meanings for 祖:　　

Additional information about 祖

說文解字: 【祖】，始廟也。从示、且聲。 【則古切】

Criteria
• FAREWELL
  

  1. The current general word for taking leave and saying farewell is cí 辭.

  2. Bié 別 (ant. huì 會 "get together") is a rather colourless way of referring to the standard rituals of the farewell.

  3. Sòng 送 (ant. yíng 迎 "go out to welcome") refers standardly to following someone some symbolic part of his way, as a standard ritual of departure.

  4. Jiàn 餞 refers to the arrangement of a farewell wine party.

  5. Zǔ 祖 refers to the formal arrangement of the standard sacrifices to the spirits of the road on the occasion of a departure.

• 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

• DESCENDANT
  

  1. The general current and common abstract term for offspring is hòu 後 (ant. xiān 先 "forbears").

  2. Yì 裔 (ant. zǔ 祖 "ancestors"), a fairly rare word in pre-Buddhist texts, can refer to any offspring of a clan or occasionally a people.

  3. Zhòu 冑 refers to royal offspring.

  4. Yìn 胤 refers to distant offspring.

  5. Zòng 從 (ant. dí 嫡 "direct heirs") refers to the younger generation members of the same clan who do not immediately inherit.

  6. Zǐ 子 refers to children of any sex. See CHILD

  7. Sūn 孫 refers to all descendants lower than the generation of children.

  8. Shù 庶 and niè 孽 (ant. zhèng 正 "descendant in direct line") refer to offspring by other women than the main wife.

  9. Dí 嫡 / 適 (ant. zòng 從 "descendants who are not heirs") refers specifically to the direct legitimate heir.

  10. Zǐ zhí 子姪 is a general term for descendants.

  11. Zǐ xìng 子姓 specifically refers to the sons and grandsons.

• ANCESTOR
  

  [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

  [+FIG/LITERAL]

  [FEMALE/MALE]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  1. Zǔ 祖 (ant. hòu 後 "offspring") is the current general term for genetic literal ancestors.

  [CURRENT], [LITERAL], [MALE]

  2. Xiān 先 (ant. hòu 後 "offspring") refers even more generally to predecessors, but may specifically refer to ancestors, and the term is often used adjectivally.

  [CURRENT], [DERIVED], [GENERAL], [MALE]

  3. Zōng 宗 is the specific term referring to founding highest ancestor recognised within a clan.

  [CURRENT], [MALE], [SPECIFIC]

  4. Mǔ 母 is sometimes used to refer to femals ancestors.

  [ARCHAIC], [FEMALE]

  5. 考

  6. 妣 refers to the maternal line ancestor

Word relations
• Contrast: (ANCESTOR)妣/ANCESTOR
• Assoc: (ANCESTOR)宗/ANCESTOR Zōng 宗 is the specific term referring to founding highest ancestor recognised within a clan. [CURRENT], [MALE], [SPECIFIC] 2 Attributions
• Synon: (ANCESTOR)宗/ANCESTOR Zōng 宗 is the specific term referring to founding highest ancestor recognised within a clan. [CURRENT], [MALE], [SPECIFIC]
• Synon: (ANCESTOR)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
• Synon: (ANCESTOR)始/BEGIN The general word for something occurring for the crucial and influential first time or initiating anything, in particular any development, is shǐ 始 (ant. zhōng 終"bring to an end; come to an end" and chéng 成 "bring to a successful end, complete").
• Synon: (ANCESTOR)本/BASIS The basic word is běn 本 "the trunk, the main part" (ant. mò 末 "marginal part") and this word refers to the crucial constituent of something in any sense. [GENERAL], [STATIC]; [[COMMON]]