Taxonomy of meanings for 而:　　

Additional information about 而

說文解字: 【而】，頰毛也。象毛之形。 〔小徐本下有「假借爲語助」五字。〕 《周禮》曰：作其鱗之而。凡而之屬皆从而。 【臣鉉等曰：今俗別作髵，非是。】 【如之切】

Criteria
• METHOD
  

  1. The most general word for method or technique is shù 術, and the professional technique here referred is typically publicly accessible.

  2. Fāng 方 refers to a professional and often esoteric and/or recondite skill or trick.

  3. Fǎ 法 is a regular rule-governed procedure governing the proper exercise of a skill.

  4. Dào 道 is a way of being as well as a way of doing things, and this Way may be either exoteric or esoteric.

  5. Duān 端 refers to a basic method or the important features of a method.

  學有次第而後大成 "When study has method, only then will it greatly succeed." ( 宋. 歐陽修 )

• PROMISE
  

  1. The general word for agreeing and undertaking to do something, after having been asked to do so, is xǔ 許, but the word applies only to superiors.

  2. Nuò 諾 refers to a solicited undertaking typically by an inferior, but occasionally also by a superior.

  3. Yǔn 允 "agree to" is typically a solicited promise from a superior.

  4. Yán 言 refers to a typically somewhat formal speech act by which a person commits himself to a future action. Compare 言而有信 "keep faith when one has promised something".

• SEXY
  

  1. The general noun is sè 色 "female beauty" which seems to be used only in nominal functions.

  2. The specific "adjective" would be yàn 艷 / 豔 which comes as close to "sexy" as any ancient Chinese word. ZUO: 美而艷

  3. Jiǎo 姣 (also applied to men) and jiāo 嬌 are less dramatic than yàn 艷 and refer to personal charm as well beauty as such.

  4. Yǎo tiǎo 窈窕 is the standard poetic cliche word for female attractiveness.

  5. Mèi 媚 "seductively beautiful" includes an idea of deliberate acting or deliberate use of make-up to please someone. See FLATTER.

  6. Kuā 姱 "lovely" is a highly poetic SHI and CC word of little currency in prose writing.

• AGREE TO
  

  [ASCENDING/HORIZONTAL/DESCENDING]

  [EXPLICIT/IMPLICIT]

  [FORMAL/INFORMAL]

  [MENTAL/PRACTICAL]

  [REACTIVE/SPONTANEOUS]

  1. Nuò 諾 (ant. yǐ 已 "be unwilling") expresses a general agreement to do what is asked of one, and this is the most common word which can be used both by superiors and by inferiors when expressing agreement.

  [EXPLICIT], [FORMAL], [REACTIVE]

  2. Wéi 唯 (ant. fǒu 否 "refuse") expresses an unquestioning agreement directed at superiors to do what is asked of one.concerning a major undertaking by means of a mutual promise.

  [ASCENDING], [EXPLICIT], [FORMAL], [REACTIVE]

  3. Qī 期 refers to the entering into a typically non-hierarchical agreement concerning any form of common action by means of a mutual promise.

  [EXPLICIT], [HORIZONTAL], [INFORMAL], [SPONTANEOUS]

  4. Yuē 約 refers to the entering into a voluntary binding agreement of any kind between equals.

  [EXPLICIT], [FORMAL], [HORIZONTAL], [SPONTANEOUS]

  5. Kěn 肯 (ant. jù (ér bù shòu) 拒（而不受 ) "refuse to accede to a request") refers to a willingness to do what one might refuse to do.

  [IMPLICIT], [MENTAL]

  6. Cóng 從 "do as one is told" (ant. cí 辭 "refuse") can refer to an agreement by a superior to do as is being suggested by an inferior rather than the obeying itself. See OBEY

  [IMPLICIT], [PRACTICAL], [REACTIVE]

• 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...]

• SUDDENLY
  

  1. The most common word for suddenness is hū 忽.

  2. Tū 突 and zhà4 乍 "out of the blue" refer to the unforeseen onset of something one has imagined was likely or even possible.

  3. Cù 卒 / 猝 refers to the sudden onset of something before it was expected to occur.

  4. E@ 俄 and é ér 俄而 refer to the abrupt occurrence of an event of strikingly short duration.

  5. Bó 勃 is typically limited in application to the suddenness of the initial emergence of a phenomenon.

• MODAL PARTICLES
  

  也 is judgmental and judgmentally descriptive, never narrative: "it is the case that; the point is that"矣 narrative or narratively descriptive and marks to a currently new, currently relevant or currently conditioned narrative statement.已 is judgmental as well as emphatic or definitive: "definitively!, definitely"而已 is decisive and exclusive of alternatives: "and that is all".耳 is a less emphatic 而已.爾 is a scribal variant for 耳 and writes the same word.哉 is emphatic and marks emotionally charged statements: "!".夫 =否乎 is tentative and marks statements the truth of which is held to open to doubt: "n'est-ce pas?"

• 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

• WEEP
  

  1. The current general word for weeping as a spontaneous reaction is qì 泣.

  2. Kū 哭 (ant. xiào 笑 "laugh") refers primarily to the (often ritualised) act of lamentation and wailing which may or may not be accompanied by the shedding of tears, and the word is never used to refer to refer to a spontaneous breaking into tears. (Note HNZ: 其哭哀而無聲 )

  3. Háo 號 refers to noisy ritual wailing with no suggestion of any shedding of tears.

  4. Tí 啼 refers to plaintive long-drawn wailing.

  5. Tì 涕 focusses specifically on the shedding of tears, but there is often an admixture of snivel.

  6. Lìn 臨 refers to wailing, possibly accompanied by weeping, en groupe on the occasion of someone's death.

• FOLLOW
  

  1. The dominant current word for moving along behind someone or something else, both in concrete and in abstract senses, is cóng 從 (ant. bèi 背 "be in opposition against").

  2. Suí 隨 is to move along literally behind someone, by a deliberate act of volition.

  3. Zūn 遵 refers primarily to the kind of deliberate following of a path, behaviour that is motivated by respect for what one follows, but sometimes the word is also used in a more generalised way referring to a person following a certain physical guideline without any suggestion of respect for this guideline, as in MENG 遵海而南 "head south along the shore of the sea".

  4. Xún 循 is to follow certain guidelines or a certain prescribed path, as a matter of prudential strategy, and typically in a rather mechanical or habitual manner.

  5. Yǎn 沿 is to follow a physical guideline (like a river bank) in a mechanical way.

  6. Hòu 後 and zhǒng 踵 is to follow literally in the footsteps of someone.

  7. Tīng 聽 refers to the abstract notion of following advice given to one as a superior. See OBEY

  8. Yì 役 and xùn 徇 are fairly rare when used as words referring to the deliberate act of becoming someone's follower or employee.

  9. Xí 襲 refers to a mechanical course of action in conformity with some pattern.

  10. Zé 則 refers to the following of a certain abstract principle or model person to which due attention is paid. See CONFORM

• MEET
  

  1. The current general word for meeting someone by coincidence is yù 遇, and going to meet someone is jiàn 見.

  2. Huì 會 refers to an arranged meeting, usually between more than two persons.

  3. Zāo 遭 refers to being exposed to something or running into someone, and the focus is on the fact that the encounter is generally hostile ( 遭宋司馬，將要而殺之 "ran into the Marshal of Sòng and wanted to kill him").

  4. Féng 逢 seems to be a dialect word for encountering something, but in early times this word has a much more limited range of syntactic functions, while from Han times it tended to replace yù 遇 as the standard word for encountering a person, later to be replaced in colloquial Chinese by its cognate pèng 碰.

  5. Chù 觸 is occasionally used to refer to someone bumping into someone else.

• 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>

• BLACK
  

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [DRAMATIC/UNDRAMATIC]

  [ELEVATED/FAMILIAR]

  [+FIG/LITERAL]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [IDIOMATIC/NON-IDIOMATIC]

  [POETIC/PROSAIC]

  1.The standard word is hēi 黑 (ant. bái 白 "white") which refers to anything very dark.

  [GENERAL], [LITERAL], [PROSAIC]; [[COMMON]]

  2. Xuán 玄 (ant. sù 素 "pristine unadorned white") refers to a redish mystifying black. SW: 黑而有赤色者

  [ELEVATED], [+FIG], [POETIC!]

  3. Àn 黯 (ant. hào 昊 "shining bright (of sky)") is rare and poetic, and the word refers to the threatening darkness of clouds in a thunderstorm.

  [DRAMATIC], [ELEVATED], [LITERAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  4. Zī 淄／緇 (ant. sù 素 "plain white") refers to the glossy greyish black appearance of dark silk, like the colour of dark earth, and this word seems limited to the description of clothes.

  [ELEVATED], [LITERAL], [SPECIFIC]

  5. Dài 黛 (ant. hào 皓 "shining whie") refers specifically to the dust-glossy black of make-up.

  [ELEVATED], [LITERAL], [POETIC], [SPECIFIC]; [[RARE]]

  6. Lí 黎 / 黧 (ant. sù 素 "pristine white and un-suntanned") refers to the dark sunburnt complexion of those who work in the open for long periods.

  [IDIOMATIC], [LITERAL], [PROSAIC], [SPECIFIC]

  7. Qián 黔 refers to the dark sunburnt complexion of those who work in the open for long periods, especially in qián mín 黔民 "the common people".

  [IDIOMATIC], [LITERAL], [PROSAIC], [SPECIFIC]

  8. Méi 黴 refers to the facial complexion darkened either by exposure to the sun or by sorrow.

  [ELEVATED], [+FIG], [IDIOMATIC], [POETIC!]; [[RARE]]

  9. Zào 皂 (sù 素 "plain undyed white") is also very rare and refers to the appearance of coarse dyed black non-silken textiles, the original reference of the word being to the plant used to produce the black effect.

  [LITERAL], [PROSAIC]

  10. Mò 墨 is basically ink, and by extension the word can come to refer to a dark black colour.

• 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.

• RELATIVE CLAUSE MARKER
  

  The N that Vs　NOTE 而 AFTER NOUNS IN OBJECT POSITION.　Unmarked postposed relative clauses become more and more common from Warring States times onwards. As they are unmarked by any characters we can register, they are not easily linked into this system and are treated (as a matter of convenience) as a rhetorical device.

• ONLY THEN
  

  1. Rán hòu 然後 and ér hòu 而後 typically focus on the logical or causal need of A happening (before B can happen), i.e. the new element tends to be A, and A is considered as a GENERAL logical or causal precondition for B.

  2. Fāng 方 means "not before then, only then", and the focus is simply on the concrete temporal sequence of events in which A precedes B.

  3. Nǎi 乃 is specifically "then and only then" and focusses on the concrete event B happening happening at last (after A).

• 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。

• AND
  

  [VERBAL-SCOPE/NOMINAL-SCOPE]

  [PREDICATE-SCOPE/SENTENCE-SCOPE/SUBJECT-SCOPE]

  1. Yǔ 與 "and" is the general all-purpose coordinating particle between NPs which, in ZUO, is equally common in subject and object position, and which coordinates both with concrete and abstract items, often topics, sometimes even pivots.

  [NOMINAL-SCOPE]

  2. Jí 及 "and" is between NPs, and at least in ZUO the conjunction is predominantly between concrete (also multiple) objects and occasionally between non-abstract subjects.

  [NOMINAL-SCOPE]

  3. E@r 而 is between VPs or sentences (and can occasionally occur between subject/topic nouns and the predicate in subordinate sentences, but in usage it does not belong into the present synonym group).

  [SENTENCE-SCOPE], [VERBAL SCOPE]

  4. Yǐ 以 is normally between a non-main and a main VP but may occasionally be purely coordinating and equivalent to ér 而.

  [VERBAL-SCOPE]

  5. Jì 既... ér 而 is between coordinates and equally weighted VPs.

  [VERBAL-SCOPE]

  6. Qiě 且 is between coordinate VPs, but the word also functions as a sentence connective.

  [VERBAL-SCOPE], [SENTENCE-SCOPE]

• ANSWER
  

  [ASCENDING/HORIZONTAL/DESCENDING]

  [COMMON/RARE]

  [FAST/SLOW]

  1. The dominant general word for responding to something that has been addressed to one is duì 對 (converse wèi 謂 "address"), but that word usually refers to a reply directed at a superior who has put a question or occasionally a response to a statement by a superior.

  [ASCENDING], [GENERAL]

  2. Dá 答 (ant. jīn 吟 ( 口字旁加金字 ) 而不答 "not answer") refers to an immediate unpremeditated reply.

  [ASCENDING], [FAST]

  3. Yìng 應 (ant. 喑 "keep quiet") is to come up with an immediate reaction of which the linguistic reply is a central part.

  [FAST]; [[RARE]]

  4. Chóu 酬 can occasionally refer to a polite formal reply.

  [FORMAL], [POLITE]; [[RARE]]

• EVEN
  

  1. The current word to make explicitly concessive nominals is suī 雖.

  2. E@r 而 is restricted to subordinate clauses, and the word stresses the subjective incongruousness, thus coming close to being a counterfactual "even".

  3. Yóu 猶 stresses the objective unlikeliness of the subject being characterised by the predicate.

  NB: Lián 連 is post-Buddhist (MING)

• THEREUPON
  

  [BRIEF/LONG]

  [DRAMATIC/UNDRAMATIC]

  [EMPHATIC/UNEMPHATIC]

  [NOUN/VERB/PARTICLE/CLAUSE]

  1. The current general word for "thereupon" is yú shì 於是 "at that point, then, thereupon" with its expanded variant yú shì hū 於是乎, but these expressions do not allow for any long delay.

  2. Yǒu jiān 有間 (ant.* xuǎn 旋／還 "without delay", dùn 頓 "immediately, without hesitation") refers to a brief interval of a certain time which ensues, and after which something new happens in the narrative sequence.

  [BRIEF], [UNDRAMATIC], [UNEMPHATIC]; [CLAUSE]

  3. Yǒu qǐng 有頃 (ant. è ér 俄而 "without delay", lì 立 "without delay") is "after a while" and the interval is perhaps a little longer than in yǒu jiān 有間, and this expression also refers to a plain narrative sequence.

  [BRIEF], [UNDRAMATIC], [UNEMPHATIC]; [CLAUSE]

  4. Yǐ ér 已而 (ant. qián cǐ 前此 "before this point in time") refers with emphasis to a longer than expected interval after a certain time.

  [LONG], [DRAMATIC], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  5. Jū 居 (as in jū sān yuè 居三月 "after three months") and the rarer chǔ 處 serve simply to indicate a specified interval after a certain time after which something else happens.

  [VERB], [UNDRAMATIC], [UNEMPHATIC]

  6. Jì 既 (ant. wèi jí 未及 "before even...") focusses dramatically on the fact that an action B does not occur before the action A is completed.

  [BRIEF], [DRAMATIC], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  7. Rán hòu 然後 (ant. yǐ qián 以前 "before") emphasises that an event occurs no sooner than after a certain event or space of time. See ONLY THEN.

  [BRIEF], [DRAMATIC], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  8. Ér hòu 而後 (ant. yǐ qián 以前 "before") emphasises that an event occurs no sooner than after a certain event or space of time. See ONLY THEN.

  [BRIEF], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  9. Xū yú 須臾 stresses that an event occurred immediately after another.

  [BRIEF+]; [nadS]

  10. Hòu 後 (ant. qián 前 "before") is a general word indicating that something happens later than something else.

Word relations
• Synon: (YOU)爾 / 爾儞/YOU1 Attribution
• Synon: (BUT)然/NONETHELESS1 Attribution