Taxonomy of meanings for 賢:　　

Additional information about 賢

說文解字: 【賢】，多才也。从貝、臤聲。 【胡田切】

Criteria
• TALENT
  

  1. The standard word for an unusual promising ability to perform important future tasks of any kind is cái 才／材, and the talents referred to by this word do not need to be of a "higher" kind.

  2. Xián 賢 (ant. bù xiào 不肖 "untalented") often refers to realised talents, and typically includes the nuance of moral worthiness in addition to practical and intellectual talents, and prototypically these talents include moral ones and are excercised in the service of a ruler. (Note the combination 忠賢 "loyal and worthy")

  3. Dé 德 "political charisma; moral integrity" refers especially to the higher talents of the sage or the sage ruler and may perhaps be usefully compared in this synonym group. See VIRTUE.

• INCOMPETENT
  

  1. The most current and general word for incompetence is bù xiào 不肖 (ant. xián 賢 "distinguished talent").

  2. Nú 駑 (ant. jùn 駿 "talented" and jùn 俊 "talented") refers prototypically to the lack of skills in a horse, but is often used metaphorically to refer to lack of outstanding talent in general. [see INFERIOR]

  3. Duǎn 短 (ant. cháng 長 "of some excellence") refers to a distinct shortcoming in the form of a specific point of incompetence.

  4. Zhuó 拙 refers - typically in polite discourse to one's own - ineptness. [see STUPID]

• HERO
  

  1. The current general term for a person of almost superhuman strength or talent is xióng 雄 (ant. yōng 庸 "ordinary person").

  2. Jié 傑 / 桀 refers to an outstanding hero.

  3. Yīng 英 focusses on the hero as an illustrious figure.

  4. Jùn 俊 focus on the hero as a remarkable figure towering above ordinary man.

  5. Háo 豪 focusses on the hero as possessed of very great strength.

  6. Shèng 聖 (ant. fán 凡 "ordinary person") focusses on the hero as possessed of very great superior creativity and wisdom, and the word is mostly expanded to shèng rén 聖人.

  7. Xián 賢 (ant. bù xiào 不肖 "the incompetent") focusses on the hero as possessed of very unusually high moral, political, and practical talents.

  WENZI, shangli: 智過百人謂之杰，十人謂之豪，千人謂之俊，萬人謂之英。

  HUAINAN, taizu: 故智過萬人者謂之英，千人者謂之俊，百人者謂之豪，十人者謂之杰。

• GENTLEMAN
  

  1. The current general term for a person of a certain social standing is shì 士 and this word often connotes specifically a certain level of education, particularly literacy. See INTELLECTUAL.

  2. Jūn zǐ 君子 can focus either on nobility of birth and social status. See alsounder GOOD the meaning "man of excellent character".

  3. Rú 儒 (opp. 墨 "Mohist"), literally "weakling", typically referred Late Warring States times to classicists, often from broadly Confucian circles.

  4. Xián 賢 (ant. 不肖 "person of inferior worth and talent") adds to the notion of an intellectual of some education that of special talent, and sometimes also of moral worth. See TALENT.

  5. Zhé 哲 emphasises advanced intellectual talents.

  6. Jiā 家 focusses on basic professionalism or expertise, but the term is rare in pre-Han times.

  7. Shēng 生 simply refers to literates.

Word relations
• Result: (TALENT)行/ACT The current general word for any deliberate action one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"). The nominal entries have the old reading xìng. [COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE]
• Ant: (EXCELLENT)惡/BAD The most general word for what is inferior and not commendable, morally, aesthetically or otherwise, is è 惡 (ant. měi 美 "commendable"), but this word is also used to refer more specifically to wickedness. See WICKED [GENERAL]
• Ant: (TALENT)鄙/VULGAR Bǐ 鄙 (ant. chóng 崇 "elevated") refers to rusticity and lack cultural polish typical of a person from outlying regions, a country bumpkin. 1 Attribution
• Ant: (EXCELLENT)非/CRITICISE The current general term for criticism is fēi 非 (ant. shì 是 "approve of"). 1 Attribution
• Ant: (EXCELLENT)不肖/INCOMPETENT The most current and general word for incompetence is bù xiào 不肖 (ant. xián 賢 "distinguished talent"). 16 Attributions
• Ant: (TALENT)愚/STUPID The dominant word is yú 愚 (ant. zhì 智 "clever; wise"), and the word refers to intellectual obtuseness as well as practical ineptitude. 1 Attribution
• Ant: (GOOD)小人/BAD1 Attribution
• Object: (EXCELLENT)尊/RESPECT Zūn 尊 (ant. bǐ 鄙 "consider as not worthy of any veneration or respect") refers to public respect for someone in a very exalted social, cultural, religious and/or political position, and the degree of public respect is much greater that that in jìng 敬 and reaches into the past to ancestors. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (EXCELLENT)主/RULER The current general word for a person in charge of others are zhǔ 主 (ant. pú 僕 "servant"). 4 Attributions
• Epithet: (EXCELLENT)君/RULER Jūn 君 (ant. chén 臣 "minister") refers specifically to someone who is politically or administratively in charge of others as a ruler. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (TALENT)醫/PHYSICIAN The general standard word for a doctor is yī 醫. 4 Attributions
• Contrast: (TALENT)明/INTELLIGENT Míng 明 (ant. àn 闇 "obfuscated in one's mind"), taking its analogy from sharpness of vision, typically refers to clarity of insight at all levels. 2 Attributions
• Contrast: (EXCELLENT)能/EXCELLENT2 Attributions
• Contrast: (GOOD)良/EXCELLENT The standard current general word for anything or anyone who naturally meets certain generally accepted high standards of excellence is liáng 良 (ant. liè 劣 "inferior"). 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)仁/BENEVOLENCE Rén 仁 (ant. cán 殘 "cruel" and perhaps ant.* rěn 忍 "be callous, unfeeling") which refers to kind-heartedness and deep human sensibility as a constitutive feature of man as a moral being, is the standard word since Confucius. [ETHICAL], [HIGH-DEGREE] 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)惠/BENEVOLENCE Huì 惠 "kind generosity" (ant. sè 嗇 "stinginess") is kind-heartedness in generous action of various kinds and displayed towards inferiors. See GENEROUS. [PRACTICAL]
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)聖/WISE Shèng 聖 (ant. yōng 庸 "mediocre") refers to supreme sagehood and perfection of character. 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)良/EXCELLENT The standard current general word for anything or anyone who naturally meets certain generally accepted high standards of excellence is liáng 良 (ant. liè 劣 "inferior"). 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)聖/WISE Shèng 聖 (ant. yōng 庸 "mediocre") refers to supreme sagehood and perfection of character. 4 Attributions
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)潔/GOOD2 Attributions
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)哲/WISE Zhé 哲 emphasises advanced intellectual talents. 2 Attributions
• Oppos: (EXCELLENT)佞/ELOQUENT Nìng 佞 typically describes rhetorical skill as an unattractive negative attribute. 1 Attribution