Taxonomy of meanings for 惠:　　

Additional information about 惠

說文解字: 【惠】，仁也。从心、从叀。 〔小徐本「叀」上無「从」。〕 【徐鍇曰：爲惠者，心專也。】 【胡桂切】 【𢥁(𢡘)】，古文惠从芔。

Criteria
• FRUGAL
  

  1. The current general word for the virtue of parsimony is jiǎn 儉 (ant. shē 奢 "extravagant in the use of resources").

  2. Jié 節 (ant. chǐ 侈 "lavish use of resources") refers to the virtue of moderation in the use of things as it applies to specified areas and does not function an abstract philosophical concept of parsimony.

  3. The negative quality of stinginess is lìn 吝 (ant. POST-BUDDHIST kāng kǎi 慷慨 "generous (with friends)", and in pre-Buddhist times the less exact huì 惠 "generous (to inferiors)").

  4. The neutral terms for thrift are shěng 省 (ant. fèi 費 "spend freely"), jiǎn 簡, and yuē 約.

  5. Xí 惜 (ant. tài 泰 / 汰 "use up resources thoughtlessly") refers to the reluctance to let go of something or to use it up.

• GENEROUS
  

  1. Probably the most general word for generosity is huì 惠 (ant. sè 嗇 "stingy, ungenerous"), and this refers to any kind of emotional as well as material munificence by a person of superior status.

  2. Hòu 厚 (ant. báo 薄 "less than ample") refers to generosity of treatment which is not necessarily directed towards inferiors.

  3. Shī 施 focuses on the very activity involved in generous treatment of others, and the subject of this activitiy is normally a person of superior status.

  4. E!n 恩 (ant. chóu 仇 "hostile attitude") refers primarily to an attitude or disposition (typically on the part of a person of superior status) to be generous.

  5. Dé 德 and the rarer zé 澤 refer to graceful and spiritually inspiring munificence, typically from a person of supremely high status.

  6. Kuān 寬 and the rarer guǎng 廣 can refer to a general disposition towards non-narrow and broadly directed generosity.

  7. Zhān 霑 refers to receiving the benefits of generosity and is thus marginal in this group, and the word is rare.

  NB: Kāng kǎi 慷慨 refers to generousity with one's resources, but the usage is first attested in Ming novels.

• BROAD
  

  1. The standard general word is guǎng 廣 (ant. xiá 狹 "narrow") referring to anything of get spatial extension, also in various metaphorical senses.

  2. Bó 博 (ant. yuē 約 "confined") is primarily metaphorical in application, and its concrete senses applied to physical objects are derived senses of the word only.

  3. Kuàng 曠 adds to the feature of broadness and wide space that of emptiness.

  4. Kuò 闊 (ant. xiá 狹 "narrow") adds to the concept of broadness of spatial extent that of remote distance, and the word was late to enter the pre-Buddhist language.

  5. Kuān 寬 (ant. zhǎi 窄 "narrow") is recorded as meaning "broad" in SHUOWEN and is so used in HOUHANSHU, but the word was predominantly used in metaphorical senses like "broad-minded, forgiving, not strict", and related to huì 惠 "generous".

• STINGY
  

  1. A4i 愛 refers to stinginess with respect to a certain item, or to a certain kind of items.

  2. The negative quality of stinginess is lìn 吝 (ant. POST-BUDDHIST kāng kǎi 慷慨 "generous (with friends)", and in pre-Buddhist times the less exact huì 惠 "generous (to inferiors)").

• BENEVOLENCE
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [[CURRENT/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/FAMILIAR]

  [ETHICAL/FACTUAL]

  [EMOTIONAL/UNEMOTIONAL]

  [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

  [PRACTICAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL]

  1. 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]

  2. Cí 慈 (ant. rěn 忍 "callous, unfeeling") is primarily the intimate emotional concern of mothers/parents for their children, and by extension such concern of a fatherly ruler for his people. (See LOVE)

  [EMOTIONAL], [PRACTICAL]

  3. Xiào 孝 refers to caring love for one's parents and one's ancestors. SEE LOVE.

  4. Huì 惠 "kind generosity" (ant. sè 嗇 "stinginess") is kind-heartedness in generous action of various kinds and displayed towards inferiors. See GENEROUS

  [PRACTICAL]

  5. Shàn 善 "goodness in action" (ant. è 惡 "wicked") belongs more properly into the group GOOD, but the word does come to refer to altruistic moral concern for others and thus relates to the present group.

  [ETHICAL], [GRADED], [MARGINAL]; [[RARE]]

  6. Mín 旻 refers in a ritual elevated manner to the beneficence and compassion of Heaven and of the sky (in CC).

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HIGH-DEGREE]; [[RARE]]

Word relations
• Ant: (GENEROUS)刑/PUNISH Xíng 刑 refers specifically to physical punishment. 1 Attribution
• Ant: (BENEVOLENCE)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]
• Object: (GENEROUS)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] 2 Attributions
• Contrast: (GENEROUS)德 / 得/GENEROUS Dé 德 and the rarer zé 澤 refer to graceful and spiritually inspiring munificence, typically from a person of supremely high status.
• Contrast: (GENEROUS)恩/GENEROUS Ēn 恩 (ant. chóu 仇 "hostile attitude") refers primarily to an attitude or disposition (typically on the part of a person of superior status) to be generous.
• Contrast: (WISE)智 / 知/WISE The current general word for wisdom is zhì 智 (ant. yú 愚 "devoid of wisdom") and this may refer to any superior intellectual ability beyond the realm of memorisation or mundane knowledge, the quality which enables one to móu 謀 give good advice.. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (GENEROUS)利/PROFIT Lì 利 (1. ant. yì 義 "considerations of rectitude"(!!); 2. ant. hài 害 "damage and loss suffered") refers to material profit. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (GENEROUS)愛/LOVE The clearly dominant word referring to love is ài 愛 (ant. hèn 恨 "dislike"; rarely zēng 憎 "dislike"; and wù 惡 "hate"), and this word refers both to the feelings of love and to the expression of love in loving care for another person as well as in sexual relations. (Occasionally, the word may refer to the emotional preference that a small child feels for its parents. For this meaning see PREFER.) 5 Attributions
• Assoc: (BENEVOLENCE)義/JUSTICE
• Assoc: (BENEVOLENCE)賢/EXCELLENT