Taxonomy of meanings for 人:　　

Additional information about 人

說文解字: 【人】，天地之性最貴者也。此籒文，象臂脛之形。 〔小徐本作「此籒文人，象臂脛形也。」〕 凡人之屬皆从人。 【如鄰切】

Criteria
• CITIES
  

  See 曲英結，先秦都城復原研究，黑龍江人民, 1991

• CLASSIFIERS
  

  人 is the measure word for persons.

  匹 is the measure word for horses.

  乘 is the measure word for carriages.

• CUCKOLD
  

  烏龜

  奸婦之夫人

  戴綠帽

• OTHER
  

  1. The current general word for "other" is tuō 他 / 它.

  2. Yú 餘 refers specifically to the left-over items or the remaining items, sometimes in later texts also to different items.

  3. Yì 異 "different" can occasionally come close in meaning to "other".

  4. Gèng 更 is always used adnominally or adverbially and implies an action of changing items or - typically - an action of waiting until "another" item.

  5. Rén 人 refers indefinitelyh to other persons, in the singular (someone else) or in the plural (other people), but never as "the other person" or as "the other people".

  6. Wù 物 can occasionally come to refer to other things or creatures, sometimes even other people, in the singular or plural.

• WIFE
  

  1. The most general term for a commoner's female mate is fù 婦 (ant. fū 夫 "husband").

  2. Qī 妻 (ant. fū 夫 "husband") refers to the regular main wife, and specifically to a commoner's main wife.

  3. Nèi 內 refers generically to the harem.

  4. Hòu 后 (ant. wáng 王 "king") refers to a queen. See QUEEN

  5. Shì 室 is a polite circumlocution for a wife.

  6. Aυ 媼 (ant. wēng 翁 "old man") is a general term for a married woman, and the word is marginal in this group because it does not focus on the relationship to the mate.

  7. Fū rén 夫人 is a current phrase for a wife.

• COOK
  

  1. The standard word for a person in charge of the preparation of food is páo 庖.

  2. Zǎi 宰 often refers to what appears to be a kind of head butler serving up formal meals, but the meaning of this word is often difficult to distinguish from the other function of "head official, head administrator".

  3. Perhaps the most general word for preparing food is chuī 炊. See BOIL, ROAD, FRY, STIR-FRY, GRILL, STEAM, BAKE

  NB: There is a strikingly large number of binomes like páo rén 庖人 and páo zǎi 庖宰 referring to the cook in ancient China.

• ENTERTAINER
  

  1. The most current general word for an entertainer is jì 妓, and this word refers to any entertainer including artists, dancers, and clowns of any kind.

  2. Chàng 倡 refers occasionally to an entertainer specialised in singing, especially the main singer.

  3. Lìng 伶 refers specifically to a musician-entertainer who accompanies the main singers chàng 倡.

  4. Yōu 優 and yōu rén 優人 refers to dwarf-clowns who perform through comic talk, comic action and slapstick comedy.

  5. Pái 俳 and more often pái yōu 俳優 refer to a superior specialist in comic talk.

  6. Zhū rú 侏儒 is a general word for a dwarf, and since the dwarf at court typically acted as a clown, the term came also to refer generally to clowns.

  <div>7. Nu# yuè 女樂 is a standard general term for female musical entertainers or female musicians.</div><div><br></div><div>A splendid comparative overview is found in Beatrice K. Otto, Fools are Everywhere. The Court Jester Around the World, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001<br></div><br>

• 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...]

• OLD MAN
  

  1. Sǒu 叟 (ant. tóng 童 "young boy") and the somewhat rarer zhàng rén 丈人 (ant. hái tí 孩提 "child") refer respectfully to a venerable old man of some status.

  2. Fǔ 父 is a southern dialect word referring to an old man.

  3. Lǎo 老 (ant. yòu 幼 "young person") is a neutral term referring generically to the aged, including men and women.

  4. Wēng 翁 (ant. ér 兒 "young child") refers generally to an old man without suggestions of venerability, but the word became current only in Han times.

• 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

• PERSON
  

  1. Shēn 身 regularly refers to the embodied person, as something to be cultivated and corrected, and as something to be morally careful about, but the word is originally widely used to refer to the physical body as such, and this usage continues throughout pre-Buddhist times being at times hard to distinguish from the figurative use discussed in this group. Moreover, the word is very often reflexive.

  2. Qū 軀 is a rare poetic word that can be used to refer to one's embodied person.

  3. Jǐ 己 can occasionally refer to one's own person rather than simply to oneself, but the distinction is not marked and should perhaps be disregarded lexically as being imposed by context only.

  For the concept of personality, see CHARACTER, and particularly the concept of 為人 "constitutive features of someone's character".

  NB: The notion of the personality as something inner and disembodied, only inhabiting a physical as something outward, is alien to ancient Chinese thought. See, however, SOUL, where a number of mentalistic terms are in strict opposition to the physical body. The Chinese words for the person are not in this group.

• FRIEND
  

  1. The most general current word for a friend is yǒu 友 (ant. dí 敵 "enemy"), and the specific nuance indicated by this word is that of a commonality of feelings and interests, although it must be noted that the etymological link of the word is with the notion of "help", and in pre-SHI times the word tended to refer to cooperating associates rather than friends.

  2. Péng 朋 typically refers to a person of similar educational background and a similar political or social agenda.

  3. Dǎng 黨 refers to group of péng 朋 pursuing a common aim, and the word is normally derogatory in meaning.

  4. Bàn 伴 and lu# 侶 refer to a companion during a specified period of time.

  5. Pǐ 匹 and chóu 儔 refer to a person of similar professional or social background who for this reason has connections with one.

  6. Jiù 舊, gù rén 故人, gù zhī 故知, and jiù gù 舊故 (all ant. shēng rén 生人 "stranger") refer to old acquaintances linked together by common experiences in the distant past.

  7. Zhī yīn 知音 refers to person who has a proper sense for the special qualities of another in such a way that he is linked to him by deep bonds of spiritual friendship.

  8. Hǎo 好 often refers to relations of friendship and good-will between states and communities, but also between individuals.

• NEIGHBOUR
  

  1. The standard word for a neighbour is lín 鄰.

  2. Xiàng rén 巷人 refers to street neighbours.

  3. Xiāng rén 鄉人 refers to fellow villagers.

  4. Sì lín 四鄰 refers to all one's neighbours on all sides.

• HUSBAND
  

  1. The general current word for a husband is fū 夫.

  2. Liáng rén 良人 is a familiar idiom for a husband.

  3. Zhàng fū 丈夫 is an informal colloquial word for a husband, one suspects, but it is hard to see how one may prove this point.

• MALE
  

  1. The current general term is nán 男 (opp. nǚ 女 "female) or, more administratively and technically nán zǐ 男子 (opp. nǚ zǐ 女子 "female").

  2. Mǔ 牡 refers to the male of birds and beasts in purely biological terms.

  3. Xióng 雄 denotes maleness, but often connotes virility, strength and domination as well.

  4. Zhàng fū 丈夫 (opp. fù rén 婦人 "woman") is a current, probably colloquial, word for an adult male.

  5. Fū 夫 is a dignified term for an adult male.

• MINISTER
  

  1. The general word for a government minister at any level and of any kind is chén 臣, generically rén chén 人臣.

  2. Zuǒ yòu 左右 refers to the senior ministers in the immediate environment of a king or duke who were able, ex officio, to speak up in court.

  3. Xiàng 相 refers to the head of the group of ministers, the prime minister, also called yǐn 尹 or lìng yǐn 令尹 in the southern state of Chǔ.

  4. Qīng 卿 refers to a member of the group fo senior ministers, variously defined.

  The list of senior official titles in ancient China is long indeed. See Hucker and Zuo Yandong's monograph.

• BASIC NATURE
  

  1. The current and quite dominant word for the stable inherent and prototypically innate features of something is xìng 性 (ant. wéi 為 "what belongs to human action", and wěi 偽 "artificial").

  2. Qíng 情 (ant. wěi 偽 "artificical acquired character") refers to the basic nature of a thing as forming a pattern of reaction to other things.

  3. Xīn 心 refers specifically to psychological aspects of animate nature.

  4. Tiān 天 refers specifically to the non-man-made aspect of the nature of things.

  5. Zī 資 refers to human nature as an endowment and an asset given to man by nature.

  6. Wéi rén 為人 and wéi wù 為物 the possibly conditioned and hardly alterable basic constitutive nature of thing.

  7. Rén qíng 人情 refers to the natural sensibilities of humans.

• HUMAN
  

  1. The dominant term is rén 人 which refers to any human.

  2. Mín 民 is a mass noun referring to the population in general, but the word is also used to refer generically to ordinary citizens. (See PEOPLE)

• PERSONALLY
  

  1. The current word for doing something personally is zì 自 (ant.* rén 人 "others").

  2. Qīn 親 (ant.* jiè 藉 and píng 憑 "via others") emphasises that a person who might have chosen not to condescend to do something personally actually decided to do it, and the word naturally tends to be limited to subjects of a fairly high social status.

  3. Gōng 躬 refers to doing something oneself demonstratively, and the word emphasises the moral responsibility of the agent for what he or she does rather than (like jǐ 己 "he himself, rather than someone else") laying any contrastive stress on the fact that the agent and not someone else engages in the action concerned.

  4. Qiè 竊 is very often used in polite formal discourse to indicate subjectiveness of attitudes that are being submitted to a superior. Thus this word is highly limited in application and somewhat marginal in the group.

  5. Shēn 身 "in person" hovers between an adverbial and a nominal function and is sometimes hard to distinguish from the meaning "himself" classified under SELF, which is common in contrastive in parallelistic constructions.

• 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>

• GOOD
  

  1. The general term for positive appraisal of human capacities of any kind is shàn 善 (ant. è 惡 "bad").

  2. Rén 仁 (ant. cán 殘 "unfeeling") refers to kind-heartedness as an attitude directed towards moral behaviour. See BENEVOLENCE

  3. Lián 廉 (ant. tān 貪 "greedy for bribery gifts") refers to moral probity and impeccability.

  4. Zhí 直 (ant. qǔ 曲 "devious") refers to moral straightforwardness and uprightness.

  5. Zhōng 衷 (ant. xié 邪 "wicked") refers to devoted uprightness of character. See also EARNEST

  6. Qīng 清 (ant. zhuó 濁 "defiled and corrupt") can be used to refer to moral purity.

  7. Shú 淑 is a highly poetic word referring to admirable moral qualities in general, typically in women.

  8. Jūn zǐ 君子 (ant. xiǎo rén 小人 "petty man") refers to high moral qualities and capacities, especially in men.

  <div>9. Zāng 臧 (pí 否 "good-for-nothing") is an archaic neutral unemotional objective term for goodness.</div><div><br></div><div>10. Rén yì 仁義, when it is not simply listing benevolence and righteousness, commonly refers quite generally (by synecdoche) to moral goodness or the moral virtues LIKE benevolence and righteousness and not in fact to just two of the virtues.<br></div><br>

• STUDENT
  

  1. The current general word for a disciple of any kind, or a follower of a school or any line of thought, is tú 徒.

  2. Mén rén 門人 stresses the physical abode near a master.

  3. Dì zǐ 弟子 refers rather intimately to disciples of a master as the object of his affection.

  4. Shǔ 屬 is a cold general word referring to someone who belongs to a certain group and under a certain leadership.

  5. Cóng zhě 從者 like the English "followers" primarily focusses on the idea of following a master wherever he goes, but this nuance is weakened with time so that the term comes to mean quite abstractly "follower".

  6. Xiǎo zǐ 小子 is an affectionate term only used in the vocative.

• KNOW
  

  1. The general word for knowing something to be the case in any way or on any basis is zhī 知, but the word is more common in the meanings discussed under UNDERSTAND as in 知人 "understand men".

  2. Wén 聞 is to have learnt as given, so that one knows it as part of one's intellectual tradition or education.

  3. Shí 識 is to be able to recognise and thus to have some idea of something through familiarity and experience, and what one is thus familiar with does not seem to be facts.

• 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.

• GENERATION
  

  1. The dominant general word for a generation is shì 世, and this word has strong temporal connotations referring to the period of one generation, and the word has a certain syntactic flexibility. Sān shì 三世 refers to three generations.

  2. Dài 代 refers to the length of a whole dynasty comprising several generations, and the word in this meaning has little syntactic flexibility. Sān dài 三代 refers to three dynasties Xià, Shāng, and Zhōu. See DYNASTY

  3. Jì 紀 refers to a cycle of 12 years, sān jì 三紀 refers to a period of thirty-six years, but from Later Han times, the reference is often more generally to a generation.

  4. Tiān xià 天下 "all under Heaven" often refers generally to all people alive at a certain time.

  5. Shí rén 時人 refers specifically and prosaically to the people of the time.

• RELATIVES
  

  1. The current general words for relatives are qīn 親 "consanguine relative", and qī 戚 "non-consaguine relative".

  2. Juàn 眷 is not very current in pre-Buddhist times, but does refer quite generally to consanguine as well as non-consanguine relatives.

  3. Qī 戚 refers to relatives including and sometimes focussing on the non-consanguine relations.

  4. Qīn qī 親戚 refers to members of one family having a consanguinal relationship. Before the >Qín 秦 dynasty, these could be also called zhì qīn 至親.

  5. Gǔ roù 骨肉 is used as a metaphor refering to a consanginual kinship.

  6. Jiā rén 家人 refers to the family living together.

  7. Qīn shǔ 親屬 refers in a rather objective or even administrative way to the members of a clan.

• GROOM
  

  1. The most current general word for a groom is yǔ 圉, often expanded to yǔ rén 圉人 or sometimes even yǔ chén 圉臣.

  2. The high-status official in charge of the horses, administratively was zōu 騶.

• ACT
  

  [AD-HOC/SYSTEMATIC]

  [AIMLESS/PURPOSEFUL]

  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

  [BASE/NOBLE]

  [BASIC/MARGINAL]

  [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

  [CONATIVE/PERFECTIVE]

  [DELIBERATE/INVOLUNTARY]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HABITUAL/OCCASIONAL]

  [HUMBLE/NOBLE]

  [PHYSICAL/MENTAL]

  [PRESCRIBED/SPONTANEOUS]

  [PRIVATE/PUBLIC]

  [RESPONSIBLE/UNACCOUNTABLE]

  1. The current general word for any deliberate behaviour one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"), and this conduct is typically one engaged in on someone else's behalf.

  [COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [PHYSICAL], [RESPONSIBLE]

  2. Wéi 為 (ant. wú wéi 無為 "not engage in purposeful and result-orientated self-assertive action") focusses not on the act itself but primarily on the results achieved or aimed for.

  [OCCASIONAL], [PURPOSEFUL]

  3. Jū 居, when used in this meaning, focusses not on the results of one's actions, or on the effect of one's actions on others, but on the moral character of one's behaviour as such.

  [HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE], [SYSTEMATIC]

  4. Shì 事 (ant.* xián 閒 "take it easy") primarily focusses on action as part of the fulfilment of a duty imposed by one's station in life or a task one has set oneself.

  [PRESCRIBED], [PUBLIC!], [RESPONSIBLE]

  5. Gōng 躬 (ant.* shǐ rén 使人 "get others to...") focusses on a person of considerable social status engaging personally in a (typically public) action. See SELF.

  [MARGINAL], [NOBLE], [OCCASIONAL], [PUBLIC!]

  6. Wěi 偽 (ant. tiān 天 "natural") refers to artificial or faked human action. See PRETEND.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [DEROGATORY!]

  7. Dòng 動 (ant. jìng 靜 "decide to remain inactive") typically refers to spontaneous purposeful action and focusses almost philosophically on the autonomous decision of the agent to act.

  [OCCASIONAL], [DELIBERATE]

  8. Zuò 作 (ant. xí 息 "fail to take the initiative, fail to become active") refers to the taking of an initiative for an action which would not have occurred without such a deliberate initiative, and the word is naturally associated with the notion of creativity.

  SPONTANEOUS, OCCASIONAL, PERFECTIVE

  9. Jǔ 舉 refers specifically to the undertaking of a well-considered major act, particularly as part of a political strategy.

  [DELIBERATE], [PURPOSEFUL], [RESPONSIBLE]

  NB: Fēng 風 refers rather generally and abstractly to a person's or a group's way or pattern of behaviour, and the word is usually used as a noun. See CUSTOM

  10. Jiā 加 typically refers to action insofar as it affects others.

  11. Xí 習 refers to the habitual repeated practice of something in order to achieve proficiency in the kind of action concerned.

• FOREIGNER
  

  1. The current word for a foreigner is kè 客.

  2. Lu# 旅 refers to a newcomer or termporary inhabitant of place, and the word is somewhat marginal in the group.

  3. Wài rén 外人 is a neutral colourless term for an outsider in a place.

• OFFICER
  

  1. Jūn zǐ 君子 (xiǎo rén 小人 "soldier of lower rank") refers generically to the higher grades in the army.

  2. Kuí 魁 is a powerful personality who happens, on account of his power, to obtain military command over an army.

  3. Sīmǎ 司馬 refers to a very senior military official in the bureaucracy of the capital of a state.

  4. tài wèi 太尉 corresponds roughly to the Minister of Defense in the Qin and Han bureaucracy.

  5. Dū weì 都尉 is a senior military official in the Han bureaucracy.

  NB: For official military titles see XXX.

• JADE
  

  XUN 27:8, Knoblock 3:209

  聘人以珪， Men on official visits use the gu• (which is square at the bottom and round on top),

  問士以璧， freemen asking advice use the b“ (ring-jade);

  召人以瑗， someone summoning other will use the yuàn;

  絕人以玦， someone breaking off relations with someone will use the jué;

  反絕以環。 someone who is making good again broken-off relations will use the huán.

• VILLAGE
  

  1. The current general word for a village of any kind is lǐ 里. But note that this word even more often refers to city neighbourhoods.

  2. Xiāng 鄉 as an administrative term refers to a fairly non-urban neighbourhood area which will normally include several lǐ 里. ZHOULI and Han commentators arbitrarily define this as containing 12 500 families; when used informally, the term refers to a person's home or the vicinity where he lives, as in xiāng rén 鄉人.

  3. Lu �閭 refers generally to a narrowly defined neighbourhood area in the countryside, or a small neighbourhood in a conurbation. Han commentators do not quantify the number of inhabitants.

  4. Lín 鄰 refers to the administrative unit of a "neighbourhood". Traditionally, this was quantified as containing five or eight families.

• ARMY
  

  [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [IMPERSONAL/PERSONIFIED]

  [MOBILE/STATIONARY]

  [LARGE/SMALL]

  1. Bīng 兵 "armed force" focusses on the weapons ready for use and may refer to any military grouping.

  [GENERAL]

  2. Jūn 軍 is a complete army as a unit, from Spring and Autumn times onwards, normally attached to an army camp. Complete parts of an army are always jūn 軍, rarely shī 師. Hence the expressions sān jūn 三軍, zhōng jūn 中軍, shàng jūn 上軍, xià jūn 下軍. An army is counted by the number of jūn 軍 in it, where each jūn 軍 is said to be 10 000 men, at least in the Qi system. Systems have varied in different states. For detals of the early history see the monograph by KOLB.

  [IMPERSONAL], [LARGE], [OFFICIAL]

  3. Shī 師 refers generally to troops a military force on a campaign, not necessarily a complete army. ZUO Ding 4.1.6 commentators quantify an armed force as consisting of 2500 men, in one exceptional context. One often speaks of 三軍之師, never of 三師之軍. One asks for troops 請／乞師, and not for jūn 軍 which would be asking for the whole army of a friendly state. The troops of another state one uses are always shī 師 (e.g. 衛人以燕師伐鄭 ), one's own troops can be described as jūn 軍 or shī 師 almost indifferently. One offers food to the enemy shī 師, not to their jūn 軍. (HF 23.27:01) There are ruì shī 銳師 "crack troops" but no ruì jūn 銳軍 "crack army". Similarly, 楚師之良. The shī 師 may be said to hear about something 師聞之, not the jūn 軍.

  [GENERAL], [MOBILE], [PERSONIFIED!]

  4. Lu# 旅 is an archaic word for armed forces in any combatant or non-combatant function, and in ZUO Ding 4.1.6 it is quantified to consist of 500 men, and.

  [ARCHAIC], [SMALL]

  5. Duì 隊 is common in Han texts for a division in the army, the size of this division could vary, but did not exceed the hundreds. SEE ALSO BATALLION

  [SMALL]

• 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。

• EUNUCH
  

  1. The standard term for a eunuch is sì rén 寺人.

• COMMONER
  

  1. Pǐ fū 匹夫 (ant. jūn zǐ 君子 "gentleman; freeman") and the rarer xì rén 細人 is a purely sociological term referring to a person without public office.

  2. Xiǎo rén 小人 (ant. jūn zǐ 君子 ) is a term of moral or personal appraisal and refers to a person of minor worth or of no moral merit.

• FATHER-IN-LAW
  

  1. The standard word for a father-in-law is jiù 舅.

  2. Zhàng rén 丈人 is a colloquial term for a father-in-law.

• POET
  

  1. There is no common and current word for a poet, but note the occasional use of the term 詩人 "author of songs" and of gǔ 瞽 "blind singer".

• CONTRACT
  

  1. The current general word for a contract of any kind is yuē 約.

  2. Méng 盟 refers to a momentous formal (typically written) contract or oath of allegiance betwen feudal lords confirmed by ritual blood sacrifice, although such oaths could occasionally be taken by humble individuals (bī rén 卑人 "persons of low status") in which case the day of the ritual was not recorded.

  3. Shì 誓 is sometimes used in ancient texts to refer to a sworn covenant between individuals, but the word also refers to a personal oath. See OATH.

  4. Quàn 券 and the somewhat more archaic qì 契 refers to the physical object which constitutes the written version of a contract or an agreement. See TALLY.

• CITIZEN
  

  The insistution of legal citizenship was linked to tax-paying duty and military duty, not in terms of any specific civic rights. The concrete definition of citizenship will have differed from state to state in Warring States times, and the importance of the definition will have depended on the degree of detailedness of public registers. In China, there was no central and important institution like the bundle of rights and duties of the civis Romanus. The civis Romanus defined himself in terms of rights. It would appear that the Chinese citizen defined himself as a citizen (less enthusiastically) through his duties.

  An expression like 齊人 had three meanings in ancient China:

  1. commonly: a man from Qí, people from Qí;

  2. (in the ANNALS (CQ) and other annalistic contexts: the senior citizens of Qí, the aristocracy of Qí;

  3. from Warring States onwards: citizens of Qí.

  It is the third notion that badly needs close investigation.

• REGRET
  

  1. The current general word for regret of one's actions is huǐ 悔, whereas the current general word for regretting past experience is hèn 恨.　LH: 鳥與人異，謂之能悔。

  2. Jiù 疚 refers to specifically moral regret.

  3. Xí 惜 refers to emotional and sentimental regret.

• SOLDIER
  

  1. There is no current general word for a soldier of any rank, and the collective term for soldiers is jūn 軍 "army". See ARMY

  2. Zú 卒 and the archaic tú 徒 refer to an ordinary infantry soldier, and these footsoldiers never ride chariots.

  3. Jiǎ 甲 refers to armoured soldiers riding in carriages.

  4. Jì 騎 refers to cavalry (Han dynasty).

  5. Nǔ 弩 refers to crossbowmen.

  6. Yì 役 refers to a conscript soldier.

  7. Xiǎo rén 小人 (jūn zǐ 君子 "soldier of a higher grade") refers generically to the lower grades in the army.

  8. Shì 士 refers to officers riding chariots in battle.

  NB: Bīng 兵 "soldier" may turn out to be post-Han. I have not yet found a clear example where the word refers to a soldier.

Word relations
• Ant: (OTHER)自/SELF Zì 自 is preverbal and typically makes any transitive verb it precedes reflexive. 4 Attributions
• Ant: (OTHER)身/SELF Shēn 身 typically refers to the subject in a contrastive way, and the word is often hard to distinguish from the nominal concept of a person. Adverbially, the word is different from PERSONALLY in that it does not connote distinction in the agent. 6 Attributions
• Object: (OTHER)信/TRUST The current word for having faith in someone is xìn 信 (ant. yí 疑 "be suspicious of"), and this word belongs to the high discourse of politics and ethics. 2 Attributions
• Object: (OTHER)君/GOVERN Jūn 君 refers to de-facto government by a ruler without any idealising or approving nuances being implied. 2 Attributions
• Object: (HUMAN)擇/CHOOSE Zé 擇 is "to choose between, make a free choice among (alternative objects presenting themselves)" and the word applies to all sorts of choices, formal or informal. 1 Attribution
• Object: (HUMAN)樹/ESTABLISH Shù 樹 refers to planting or establishing something firmly where one intends it to remain. 2 Attributions
• Object: (HUMAN)傷/INJURE The clearly dominant general term referring to the inflicting of bodily harm is shāng 傷. (But note that the word also currently refers to mental harm and psychological distress.) 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (HUMAN)主/RULER The current general word for a person in charge of others are zhǔ 主 (ant. pú 僕 "servant"). 12 Attributions
• Epithet: (HUMAN)信/FAITHFUL The current general word for trustiness or good faith is xìn 信. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (HUMAN)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]
• Epithet: (HUMAN)匠/CARPENTER1 Attribution
• Epithet: (HUMAN)玉/JADE1 Attribution
• Epithet: (HUMAN)君/RULER Jūn 君 (ant. chén 臣 "minister") refers specifically to someone who is politically or administratively in charge of others as a ruler. 2 Attributions
• Epithet: (OTHER)君/RULER Jūn 君 (ant. chén 臣 "minister") refers specifically to someone who is politically or administratively in charge of others as a ruler. 3 Attributions
• Epithet: (HUMAN)臣/MINISTER The general word for a government minister at any level and of any kind is chén 臣, generically rén chén 人臣. 15 Attributions
• Epithet: (HUMAN)氣/ENERGY The most general current word for material vital cosmic energies of any kind is qì 氣. 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (HUMAN)心/MIND The general word for the mental sphere of man is xīn 心 "HEART> mind" (ant. xíng 形 "physical shape, body", tǐ 體 "limbs, body"). 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (PERSON)小/SMALL The dominant quite general word is xiǎo 小 (ant. dà 大 "big"), and this word refers to both physical size and abstract importance. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (OTHER)朋友/FRIEND colleagues and soulmates> friends 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (LEAD)民/HUMAN Mín 民 is a mass noun referring to the population in general, but the word is also used to refer generically to ordinary citizens. (See PEOPLE) 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (HUMAN)馬/HORSE The dominant word for a horse is mǎ 馬. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (HUMAN)物/ANIMAL Wù 物is sometimes used to refer to what in Christian parlance are "creatures" of any kind. See THING [ARCHAIC?], [GENERAL]; [[RARE]] 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (HUMAN)舍/DWELLING The most current general word for a dwelling of any kind noble or ordinary is shè 舍. 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (HUMAN)禽獸/ANIMAL The current general word for an animal of any kind would appear to be qín shòu 禽獸, although this word definitely excludes snails, insects, snakes and the like. [CURRENT], [GENERAL] 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (HUMAN)非人/CREATURE1 Attribution
• Oppos: (HUMAN)天/NATURALLY Tiān 天 refers specifically to the non-man-made aspect of the nature of things. 5 Attributions
• Oppos: (OTHER)己/ONESELF9 Attributions
• Oppos: (OTHER)我/EGO Wǒ 我 is contrastive and emphatic by Warring States times (in OBI it was not yet in opposition to wú 吾 and was the standard unmarked pronoun during earlier stages of the language). The word freely occurs in subject, mofifying, and object position and often has an idiomatic meaning like "I for my part" and the formal slightly depersonalised "our party". NB: The word also serves as an impersonal pronoun meaning "one", German man, French on. 13 Attributions
• Oppos: (HUMAN)獸/BEAST Shòu 獸 tends to refer to dangerous mammals above a certain size that are typically imagined as running (zǒu shòu 走獸), and sometimes as liable to bite. 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (HUMAN)天/HEAVEN1 Attribution
• Oppos: (OTHER)其身/SELF1 Attribution
• Oppos: (OTHER)我/ONESELF 自我 4 Attributions
• Oppos: (HUMAN)天/GOD Tiān 天 refers to the - often personified or semi-personified - God of Heaven. 1 Attribution