Taxonomy of meanings for 述:　　

Additional information about 述

說文解字: 【述】，循也。从辵、朮聲。 【食聿切】 【䢤】，籒文从秫。

Criteria
• EXPLAIN
  

  1. The current general word for a discursive "analytical" explanation of something that is not sufficiently clear in itself is shuō 說.

  2. Yán 言 refers to the explicit articulation of something, and the emphasis often is on the initiative taken to undertake this explanation.

  3. Chén 陳 refers to the laying out of something clearly so as to make it accessible to an overview and a clear understanding of the contents of what is laid out, and the social context is typically that of an inferior laying something out for superiors.

  4. Míng 明 is to throw intellectual light on something by any means, including illustration as well as historical explanation or definition.

  5. Yù 喻 / 諭 refers to making clear to others what is very clear to oneself, and the means is often comparsion or illustration, yù 諭 tending to be used for making something clear through words in later texts, and yù 喻 for explanation by comparison or metaphor.

  6. Jiě 解 refers primarily to the unravelling of something that would appear convoluted and non-transparent without the effort of intellectual unravelling.

  7. Shì 釋 is late and refers to explanation with special reference to individual difficult points.

  8. Shù 述 refers to laying out for others what oneself or others have done or said in the past.

  9. Xù 敘 refers to laying out something in an orderly manner, often in conversation with equals and in a confidential context, and the word became current in Han times.

• CREATE
  

  1. The most general word is probably wéi 為 and this is sometimes used to refer to the act of cultural invention or creation, and the connotation may be positive or negative. The word focusses on the act of making something as such rather than the product as such.

  2. Zuò 作 (ant. shù 述 "transmit") focusses on an autonomous initiative being taken, and the word can refer to a commendable act of creation as well as a reprehensible act of political disobedience. The word focusses on the product resulting of the action.

  3. Zào 造 is prototypically to fashion in the manner of a potter or founder, but the word often has a nuance of the arbitrary and comes to mean something like "fabricate". See also PRODUCE

  4. Chuàng 創 (ant. jì 繼 "continue a line") is a rare word referring to the initiative to start something.

  5. Zào huà 造化 refers to both the process of creation, and of spontaneous cosmic transformation.

• TRANSMIT
  

  1. The current general word for handing down something traditional is chuán 傳.

  2. Shù 述 (ant. zuò 作 "create") is to pass on something created by someone else.

  3. Chuí 垂 refers to the intentional continuation of a tradition, the causing that tradition not to be disrupted.

  NB: Dì 遞 gained currency in the meaning "pass on to later generations" in post-Han times.

  The nominal concept of a tradition as what is transmitted is not prominent in Chinese. The combination 傳統 does come in Hou Han Shu, but it is used verbally there, and the nominal use of the combination to refer to a tradition in the modern sense dates from the twentieth century, if we may believe HYDCD.

Word relations
• Oppos: (TRANSMIT)作 / 作 / 作/CREATE Zuò 作 (ant. shù 述"transmit") focusses on an autonomous initiative being taken, and the word can refer to a commendable act of creation as well as a reprehensible act of political disobedience. The word focusses on the product resulting of the action. 1 Attribution