Taxonomy of meanings for 討:　　

  • 討 tǎo (OC: thuuʔ MC: tʰɑu) 他浩切 上 廣韻：【治也誅也他浩切三 】
    • ATTACK
      • vt(oN)launch a punitive expedition
      • vtoNlaunch an official or overt punitive expedition against
      • nabactattack
    • DISCUSS
      • vtoNLY: enter into a deep discussion of, mostly orally
    • PUNISH
      • nabactpunishment
      • vt(oN)punish the contextually determinate object
      • vt[oN]punish
      • vtoNobject=crimepunish 討罪
      • vtoNobject=culpritseek out and punish; punish (for an offence); launch a punitive attack on
      • vtoNpassivebe punished, have a punitive expedition carried out against one
      • vtoNreflexive.自punish (oneself)
      • vtoNPab{S}punish the fact that S
    • SEEK
      • vtoNinquire into and seek; 
      • vtt(oN1.)+prep+N2demand the contextually determinate N1 from N2
    • TEACH
      • vtoNteach and train (a population for war, or officials for a task)

    Additional information about 討

    說文解字: 【討】，治也。从言、从寸。 〔小徐本「寸」上無「从」。〕 【他皓切】

      Criteria
    • DISCUSS

      1. The most current words for discussion are yì 議 "public (often formal) discussion", and lùn 論 "discursive discourse; written summary discussion with a conclusion".

      2. Biàn 辯 refers to a rational subtle discussion and investigation.

      3. Zhēng 爭 refers to an eristic discussion or an altercation, and the word emphasises the intellectual conflict involved. See STRUGGLE.

      4. Jiǎng 講 refers to discussing something as an important subject and in a systematic manner.

      5. Tǎo 討 is to engage in a deep and thorough discussion and investigation of something.

      6. Píng 評 is a rare word that refers to discussion. (NB: this word enjoyed a renaissance and become more common in post-Buddhist times.)

      7.Tán 談 refers (often pejoratively) to an informal, perhaps even inconsequential, dialogue or or discourse on something. See DIALOGUE.

    • ATTACK

      [ASCENDING/DESCENDING]

      [CIVIL/MILITARY]

      [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

      [COVERT/OVERT]

      [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

      [LARGE-SCALE/SMALL-SCALE]

      1. The general word for any attack is gōng 攻 (ant. shǒu 守 "defend"; success kè 克 ) which can be used in a general sense referring to all kinds of attack, although that word does also have the specific meaning of a pointed campaign against a certain locality. (Note 戰必勝，攻必克。 )

      [GENERAL]

      2. Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums.

      [DESCENDING], [MILITARY!], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]

      3. Qīn 侵 refers to a less formal attack, typically unannounced beforehand, and typically aimed at taking the enemy's territory.

      [COVERT!], [DEROGATORY], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

      4. Xí 襲 refers to a surreptitious attack, on the sly, without any self-righteous pomp.

      [COVERT+], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

      5. Zhēng 征 refers to a typically punitive campain of some size against a state, construed as being of lower status.

      [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE], [OVERT]

      6. Tǎo 討 refers to a an extended explicitly punitive campaign by someone who construes himself as being in moral authority and entitled to uphold rectitude and morality through warfare. (Also figurative as in 天討有罪 "Heaven punishes those who are guilty". See PUNISH)

      [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING+], [MILITARY], [OVERT]

      7. Wéi 圍 refers specifically to military attack by surrouding the enemy.

      [MILITARY], [OVERT], [SPECIFIC]

      8. Kòu 寇 refers derogatorily to a wanton enemy attack.

      [DEROGATORY+], [MILITARY]

    • PUNISH

      1. The general word for punishment is wú xíng 五刑, traditionally in SHU, LYUXING listed as "dà pí 大辟 "decapitation", yuè 刖 "mutilation of foot", yì 劓, gōng 宮 "castration", mò 墨 "branding". The list varied through time and is different in different sources.

      2. Xíng 刑 refers specifically to physical punishment.

      3. Fá 罰 refers to non-physical forms of punishment including typically fines. See FINE

      4. Yù 獄 can be used to refer to any kind of punitive action taken against criminals.

      5. Fǎ 法 can occasionally be used, mainly in early texts, to refer not to criminal law but to the application of such laws to criminals.

      6. Zuò 坐 refers to a condemned person being held responsible for a criminal act and being punished. See CONDEMN

      7. Tǎo 討 is a moralistic term referring to a momentous act of punishment in the name of justice, and the meaning often vascillates between ATTACK and PUNISH, when the reference is a punitive attack. See ATTACK

      Word relations
    • Contrast: (DISCUSS)慮/PLAN Lǜ 慮 refers to a careful personal planning effort based on serious reflection.
    • Synon: (ATTACK)伐/ATTACK Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums. [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]