TLS - 漢學文典

Taxonomy of meanings for 清:　　

qīng (OC: tsheŋ MC: tsʰiɛŋ) 七情切平廣韻：【山海經曰太畤之山淸水出焉釋名曰淸靑也去濁逺穢色如靑也又靜也澄也潔也七情切二】
- PURE
  - nsubjectsomething pure
  - nabfeaturetranslucency
  - nabactpurity of mind; moral impeccability
  - nabstativepurity of tones
  - v[adN]those who are morally pure
  - vadNpure (tones) (often figurative)
  - vibe translucent and physically pure, without admixtures
  - vichangebecome clear and translucent
  - vifigurativebe morally pure, be pure
  - vichangebecome unsoiled (by contact with the world)
  - vtoNcausativepurify (oneself)
  - vadNfigurativemorally pure, pure in character; etherealCH
  - vifigurativebe aesthetically exquisite and undilutedCH
  - abstract>
    ORDERLY
    - vibe orderly (often nominalised?)
  - music>
    TONE
    - nthe upper (six) "clear" notes (?)
  - general feature>
    CLEAN
    - vadNclean and unsullied; clear
    - vibe clean; be clear
    - vichangebecome clear and neat
    - vtoNcausativeclean impeccably clean
    - vtoNcausativeclean out; remove "dirty elements" so as to make things figuratively clean 清君側 "clean out the environment of the ruler"
    - vtoNreflexive.躬purify (oneself)
    - optical>
      SHINE
      
      vadNtranslucent, shining
      - feature> BRIGHT
        
        vibe bright
    - temperature>
      COLD
      
      nabstativestate of chilliness, chill; fresh coolness
      
      vifresh and cool
      - =圊 euphemism> TOILET
        
        nSHIMING: euphemistic term for an enclosure for pigs above which there is a toilet (the name deriving from this being an unclean stinking place)
    - intellectual>
      CLEAR
      
      viderivedbe uncompromising, be unambiguousCH
      - causative> EXPLAIN
    - moral>
      HONEST
      
      vihonest, of clean conduct, impeccable
      - generalised> GOOD
        
        nabactimpeccable ritual purity and propriety in action
        
        v[adN]the impeccable, the morally pure, the immaculate
        
        vadNimpeccable, immaculate, morally pure
        
        vibe impeccable, morally pure
        
        vt+prep+Nrelationalbe impeccable with respect to

Additional information about 清

說文解字: 【清】，朖也。澂水之皃。从水、青聲。【七情切】

Criteria

CLEAR

1. The most general standard and clearly dominant word for things that are easily accessible to the intellect and to the senses is míng 明 (ant. hūn 昏 "unclear").

2. Zhāng 彰 (ant. yǐn 隱 "obscure") is an elevated word for something being clear to the intellectual eye.

3. Zhāo zhāo 昭昭 refers emphatically to perfect transparency and clarity.

4. Chéng 澄 (ant. hún 混 "opaque") prototypically refers to the unruffled, clear state of water or the like. See PURE

5. Primarily physical transparency is qīng 清 and the very rare chè 澈 (all ant. zhuó 濁 "muddled and unclear"). See PURE
CONFUSED

1. The standard general word for any kind of confusion is huò 惑 (ant. qīng 清 "be unconfused and clear").

2. Mí 迷 "be temporarily disorientated" (ant. shí 識 "be familiar with") is in connection with a direction one is intending to take.

3. Hūn 昏 / 惛 is typically confusion within a certain delimited area. See OBSCURE

4. Bèi 悖 / 誖 / 勃 refers to confusion in the form of contradictoriness and incoherence of opinions held or of attitudes.
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> </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。 苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。 沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。 冲：调成和淡之意向。 饬：整顿。 粗：大而不笨者。 淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。 醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。 绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。 澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。 淡：与浓艳相对。 宕：放荡不拘。 跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。 端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。 敦：很实在的，结实的厚。 繁：众而密，有生气。 方：与平正同义。 丰：饱满而充足。 风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。 飞：大幅度的流动。 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。 工：规矩，不潦草。 孤：自我独立。 古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。 骨：内在的架子。 犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。 瑰：不单调的美。 乖：不和顺。 憨：近于拙朴而敦实。 酣：厚润四溢。 豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。 宏：大而有气度。 厚：有沉积的饱和。 华：明亮而艳丽。 环：长久圆融之境。 荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。 豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。 恢：宽广有余。 浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。 简：经过一番整修的减少。 娇：美得可爱。 警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。 </div><div>劲：能察觉的力。 精：很到位。 隽：精致而具内涵之美。 娟：秀而婉丽。 崛：高起而突出。 俊：人材杰曲之美。 峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。 空：有灵气之空白。 枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。 宽：大度而畅朗。 旷：广阔而空灵。 辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。 朗：明亮而豁然。 琅：圆而光润。 伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。 冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。 炼：精到而有功力。 淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。 流：明显的动感。 迈：阔而放的超势。 莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。 袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。 茂：有生气的繁密。 媚：柔美之趣。 宓：安而静。 明：清晰有亮度。 凝：浓重而不流动。 懦：毫无火气之柔软。 平：一般的，接近于稳。 朴：原始状态，形象较准。 嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。 奇：不一般。 气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。 清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。 峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露 尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。 遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。 虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。 意：诚实谨慎。 儒：代表文人之书卷气。 洒：散落无拘束。 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。 韶：美丽有光泽。 涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。 深：不是浮面的。 神：精与气合。高端的。 生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。 肆：任意放纵。 松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。 瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。 疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。 肃：有立即静穆下来之势。 率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。 邃：深远而悠久。 阅：通达之意。 给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。 天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。 恬：安静而坦然。 挺：直而有生气。 婉：柔和而曲折。 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。 洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。 犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。 熙：光明，和乐。 细：指细而不纤。 娴：文静而雅致。 闲：一种高雅的自由。 萧：疏少有致。 潇：散朗而润泽。 馨：很醇厚的香气。 篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。 雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。 秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。 虚：表象空，但并非真空。 雅：文气而不俗。 妍：鲜美而柔性。 严：认真，不马虎。 淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。 野：超脱、不规范。 冶：经过一番精致修饰。 逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。 莹：透明而幽亮。 雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。 幽：静而深。 腴：肥润而饱和。 郁：厚积而有生气。 纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。 遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。 渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。 圆：接近于饱满润滑。 蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。 韵：一种余味不尽之趣。 恣：放纵的，无拘束的。 滋：湿润感。 自：出于本性的流露。 质：本体的，实在的。 纵：放逸无拘之状。 拙：接近朴，形不准。 庄：端正之貌。 卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。 </div><div> </div>
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> </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. </div>
PURE

1. The standard general term for purity is chún 純 (ant. zá 雜 "mixed").

2. Sù 素 (ant. huá 華 "well-adorned") adds to the notion of purity that of the unadulaterated original state of something.

3. Qīng 清 (ant. zhuó 濁 "dirty, impure") and the rarer chéng 澂 emphasises the absence of any admixtures that might make something less transparent and translucent.

4. Jìng 淨 (ant. wū 污 "impure") emphasises the unsullied state of something and the absence specifically of dirt.

5. Chè 澈 (ant. hún 渾 "murky") focusses on perfect transparency.

6. Jié 潔 / 絜 (ant. wū 污 "impure" and zhuó 濁 "dirty") refer abstractly to the absence of any material or immaterial impurity or blemish.

7. Chún 醇 (bó 駁 "mixed") refers specifically to the undiluted state of wine but the word is also used in generalised senses of purity.
COLD

1. The standard current word referring to coldness is hán 寒 (ant. wēn 溫, rè 熱 "warm").

2. Lěng 冷 refers to anything fresh and cool rather than rè 熱 "unpleasantly hot".

3. Dòng 凍 describes a very high degree of coldness, typically below the freezing point of water.

4. Liáng 涼 (ant. wēn 溫 "lukewarm") describes a mild form of coldness, prototypically that of a cool breeze liáng fēng 涼風.

5. Qīng 清 (ant. rù 溽 "unpleasantly humid and warm") describes a mild, fresh coolness of climate rather than of liquids or solids.
DIRTY

1. The current general word for uncleanness and dirt, both concrete and abstract, is wū 污 / 汙 (ant. jié 潔 "clean").

2. Zhuó 濁 (ant qīng 清 "clear and pure") typically refers to physical states of dirtiness, but there are occasional usages like zhuó lì 濁吏 "morally impure official".

3. Huì 穢 can refer to physical dirt, but the word is also used abstractly to refer to what is vulgar and morally distasteful.

4. Hún 混 refers to an admixture of dirt rather than to the presence of dirt on some surface.

5. Gòu 垢 refers to the presence of physical dirt on some surface.
CLEAN

1. The most general word for cleanness, both physical and moral, is jié 潔／絜.

2. Qīng 清 focusses on translucence in its literal meaning.

Word relations

Ant: (COLD)暖 / 暖/HOT Nuǎn 暖／煖 (ant. liáng 涼"cool") is very mild heat.
Ant: (PURE)濁/DIRTY Zhuó 濁 (ant. qīng 清 "clear and pure") typically refers to physical states of dirtiness, but there are occasional usages like zhuó lì 濁吏 "morally impure official".
Ant: (CLEAN)濁/DIRTY Zhuó 濁 (ant. qīng 清 "clear and pure") typically refers to physical states of dirtiness, but there are occasional usages like zhuó lì 濁吏 "morally impure official".
Epithet: (CLEAN)沂/RIVERS
Epithet: (PURE)節/DECENT The current word in general use is jié 節 (ant. yín 淫 "unrestrained") which refers primarily to decency in behaviour.
Assoc: (PURE)潔 / 絜 / 潔絜洁/PURE Jié 潔/絜 (ant. wū 污 "impure" and zhuó 濁 "dirty") refers abstractly to the absence of any material or immaterial impurity or blemish.
Assoc: (GOOD)廉/GOOD Lián 廉 (ant. tān 貪 "greedy for bribery gifts") refers to moral probity and impeccability.
Assoc: (GOOD)廉/GOOD Lián 廉 (ant. tān 貪 "greedy for bribery gifts") refers to moral probity and impeccability.
Assoc: (COLD)涼/COLD Liáng 涼 (ant. wēn 溫 "lukewarm") describes a mild form of coldness, prototypically that of a cool breeze liáng fēng 涼風.
Assoc: (COLD)涼/COLD Liáng 涼 (ant. wēn 溫 "lukewarm") describes a mild form of coldness, prototypically that of a cool breeze liáng fēng 涼風.
Assoc: (GOOD)潔/GOOD
Assoc: (PURE)潔 / 絜 / 潔絜洁/PURE Jié 潔/絜 (ant. wū 污 "impure" and zhuó 濁 "dirty") refers abstractly to the absence of any material or immaterial impurity or blemish.
Synon: (PURE)淨/PURE Jìng 淨 (ant. wū 污"impure") emphasises the unsullied state of something and the absence specifically of dirt.
Oppos: (PURE)濁/DIRTY Zhuó 濁 (ant. qīng 清 "clear and pure") typically refers to physical states of dirtiness, but there are occasional usages like zhuó lì 濁吏 "morally impure official".
Oppos: (TONE)濁/TONE