Taxonomy of meanings for 聲:　　

Additional information about 聲

說文解字: 【聲】，音也。从耳、殸聲。殸，籒文磬。 〔小徐本無「殸，籒文磬」四字。〕 【書盈切】

Criteria
• MUSIC
  

  1. The current general term for music, including dance, is yuè 樂.

  2. Yīn 音 "tone, tones" is sometimes used by poetic extension to refer generally to music.

  3. Shēng 聲 "sound" is sometimes used to refer specifically to folkways of music.

  4. Qǔ 曲 refers to a piece of folk poetry set to music, but the word is also sometimes used in a generalised sense to refer to a tune as such. See SONG.

  5. Fēng 風 refers to folk tunes, typically associated with folk poetry.

• SOUND
  

  1. The dominant word for any sound produced by any creature or instrument is shēng 聲 and the word can come to refer specifically to the sound produced by the human voice (see VOICE), hence the word can also refer to a song with a melody and also to the tones as making up a melody. See SONG.

  2. Yīn 音 is much narrower in application, and more elevated in style, and the word typically applies to sound shaped into music or the like and often viewed as an aesthetic object. 聲成文謂之音。 "When sound makes a pattern it becomes yīn", true enough, but it does remain shēng 聲 also.

  3. Xiāo 囂 and xuān 喧 refer primarily to the din of human voices, but these words do have regular extended uses where they refer to any noisy or irritating sound.

  4. Xiǎng 響, which primarily means "echo", often comes to refer to any sound without any connotations concerning the irritating nature of the sound.

• 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.

• WELL-KNOWN
  

  1. The dominant general term for any kind of reputation, god or bad, is míng 名.

  2. Shēng 聲 refers specifically to notoriety in so far as it is the subject of public discussion.

  3. The specific general term for a high reputation is yù 譽, often in the combination míng yù 名譽.

  4. Wàng 望 is primarily public respect for a prominent political or intellectual leader.

  5. Wén 聞 refer to being well-known and/or notorious for anything good or bad.

  6. Zhī 知 refers to being well-known and/or notorious for anything good or bad.

• 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.

Word relations
• Ant: (WELL-KNOWN)實/REALITY The current word referring to reality is shí 實 (ant. xū 虛 "pretended reality"), but the word acquired this meaning rather late (meaning "object" in earlier texts). 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (MUSIC)樂 / 樂/ENJOY The current general word for active enjoyment and delighting in something is lè 樂 (ant. bēi 悲 "be saddened by"), as in 與民同樂 "share one's enjoyings/enjoyments with the people".　In the transitive usage the reading yào is suggested by WGZ. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (TONE)音/TONE2 Attributions
• Contrast: (SOUND)音/SOUND Yīn 音 is much narrower in application, and more elevated in style, and the word typically applies to sound shaped into music or the like and often viewed as an aesthetic object. 聲成文謂之音。"When sound makes a pattern it becomes yīn", true enough, but it does remain shēng 聲 also. 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (WELL-KNOWN)聞/WELL-KNOWN Wén 聞 refers to being well-known and/or notorious for anything good or bad. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (SOUND)色/COLOUR The standard word for colour of any kind is sè 色. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (VOICE)詞/SPEAK1 Attribution
• Assoc: (VOICE)辭/SPEAK Cí 辭 is primarily an act of careful articulation and rhetorical formulation.
• Oppos: (SOUND)響 / 嚮/SOUND Xiǎng 響, which primarily means "echo", often comes to refer to any sound without any connotations concerning the irritating nature of the sound. 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (VOICE)身/BODY Shēn 身 (which also means "person") specifically refers to the main trunk of the body excluding head, arms and legs. 1 Attribution