Taxonomy of meanings for 簡:　　

Additional information about 簡

說文解字:

Criteria
• NEGLECT
  

  1. The general word for neglecting something, either by deliberately ignoring it or by a failure to take due care, is hū 忽 (ant. jǐn 謹 "pay careful attention to").

  2. LŸè 略 is a deliberate act of neglecting something one has a duty to pay attention to.

  3. Màn 慢 (ant. jìng 敬 "pay proper and respectful attention to") and jiǎn 簡 (ant. xì 細 "pay detailed attention to") refer to a typically deliberate and defiant, often a deliberately outrageous, failure to pay proper attention to what is expected to be heeded.

  4. Shū 疏 (ant. yán 嚴 "pay strict attention to") refers to inadvertent nonchalant neglectfulness.

  NB: Yí 遺 "leave out" and shì 釋 "leave aside for the time being" refer to a deliberate but possibly defensible failure to take note of something, and these words are thus naturally treated in this meaning under the heading DISREGARD.

• FRUGAL
  

  1. The current general word for the virtue of parsimony is jiǎn 儉 (ant. shē 奢 "extravagant in the use of resources").

  2. Jié 節 (ant. chǐ 侈 "lavish use of resources") refers to the virtue of moderation in the use of things as it applies to specified areas and does not function an abstract philosophical concept of parsimony.

  3. The negative quality of stinginess is lìn 吝 (ant. POST-BUDDHIST kāng kǎi 慷慨 "generous (with friends)", and in pre-Buddhist times the less exact huì 惠 "generous (to inferiors)").

  4. The neutral terms for thrift are shěng 省 (ant. fèi 費 "spend freely"), jiǎn 簡, and yuē 約.

  5. Xí 惜 (ant. tài 泰 / 汰 "use up resources thoughtlessly") refers to the reluctance to let go of something or to use it up.

• COUNT
  

  1. The current standard word for counting is shǔ 數.

  2. Kuài 會 is typically large scale calculation in accountancy.

  3. Jì 計 is typically calculation ultimately considered as part of a future strategy.

  4. Yuè 閱 and jiǎn 簡 refers to counting as part of making a quantified survey of something.

  NB: Suàn 算 refers to the carrying out of arithmetic as a mathematical operation, and this is more complicated than plain counting. As a technical mathematical term the word is pre-Buddhist. See CALCULATE

• 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

• SIMPLE
  

  1. The current word for unadorned simplicity is pǔ 樸 (ant. lì 麗 "beautifully patterned").

  2. Sù 素 (ant. huá 華 "elaborate") means basically "pristine white" and refers to an original state of pristine plain simplicity of things.

  3. Zhì 質 (ant. wén 文 ) focusses on what is real, fundamental and basic rather than what are external temporary adornment.

  4. Jiǎn 簡 (ant. fán 繁 ) focuses on lack of inner complexity or multifariousness of any kind.

• EXTRAVAGANT
  

  1. Sh1ē 奢 (ant. jiǎn 儉 "parsimonious") is excessive conspicuous consumption or use of money for one's private purposes, with or without demonstrative large scale extravagance, and the word is not necessarily pejorative.

  2. Chǐ 侈 (ant. jié 節 "moderate in the use of resources") always refers to manifestly reprehensible extravagance with no connotation of laudable generosity.

  3. Mǐ 靡 (ant. jiǎn 簡 "unextravagant") is pointless and wasteful luxuriousness, and the term is always strongly pejorative.

  4. Huá 華 is purely demonstrative conspicuous and aesthetically elaborate consumption.

  5. Tài 泰 (ant. yuē 約 "restrained in the use of resources") is grandiose and demonstrative extravagance.

  6. Yín 淫 can come to refer to extravagance as a symptom of general indulgence.

• STATIONARY
  

  1. The most common writing material in Warring States times was the jiǎn 簡 "bamboo strip".

  2. Also common was the dú 牘 "wooden tablet".

  3. Bǎn 板／版 was a larger and thicker wooden tablet than the dú 牘.

  4. Gū 觚 six-sided wooden tablet, typically used to record population registers and the like.

  5. Bó 帛 "thin silk for writing on" was extremely expensive and only used for special ceremonial purposes.

• BAMBOO
  

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  1. The standard general current word for bamboo is zhú 竹, and the word usually refers to bamboo that is alive and growing.

  [GENERAL]

  2. Gān 竿 refers to bamboo that has been cut off, and the word typically refers to a bamboo stick, not to young shoots.

  [SPECIFIC]

  3. Miè 篾 is a rare word which refers to thin bamboo skin that has been removed to be used to make baskets, hats etc.

  [SPECIFIC]

  4. Yún 筠 refers to the rind of bamboo which may be still on the bamboo or already removed and prepared for use in the making of baskets or hats. In post-Buddhist times this word can come to refer generally to bamboo.

  [SPECIFIC]

  5. Gān 簳 is a very rare word which refers to slender young bamboo, typically the kind used to make bamboo arrows.

  [SPECIFIC]

  6. Jiǎn 簡 refers to polished bamboo slips used in writing. See WRITING MATERIAL

  [SPECIFIC]

  7. Jiàn 箭 refers to a kind of bamboo which provides suitable matrial for arrow-making.

  [SPECIFIC]

Word relations
• Ant: (NEGLECT)敬/DILIGENT Jìng 敬 refers to respectful diligence in action. 1 Attribution
• Object: (NEGLECT)業/WORK Yè 業refers to the pursuance of one's own professional career or one's career as a skilled artisan, farmer etc.. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (STATIONARY)牘/LETTER Dú 牘 refers to a letter, primarily one written on a wooden tablet, but came to be used to refer to letters in general.
• Assoc: (STATIONARY)牘/STATIONARY Also common was the dú 牘 "wooden tablet".
• Assoc: (STUPID)狂/CRAZY2 Attributions