Taxonomy of meanings for 天下:　　

  • STATE
    • NP[adN]plural＝天下之國（all） the polities in the Han-dominated world
    • NP[adN]天下之地　the (Zhou)　lands, the (Zhou) realm; the area that owes allegiance to the Zhou; the empireCH
  • WORLD
    • NP[adN]global-social普天之下 all under the sun; the whole sublunar world; the sublunar social world (including the regions beyond Chinese domination) cf. oikoumenē, 
    • NPadNin/of the world
    • NPcworlds 四天下
    • NP[adN]cosmological天下之物 the sublunar world; all there is under Heaven; the sublunar world
    • NPadSIn this world; in the worldCH
    • NP[adN]sinocentric天下之華夏 all the (civilised, i.e. Han-dominated or Han-accessible) world; the whole (civilised political) world； the Chinese political sceneCH
    • NPadVon earth, in the sublunar world, under the sunCH
    • NPad.VadNsuperlativethe most V(s) of the Ns in the worldCH
    • NPad.VadNsuperlative comparative(one of) the most Vs of the Ns in the worldCH
  • GENERATION
    • NPpluralmankind at a given time
  • ALL
    • NP[adN]N=human＝天下人　generalising: everyone in the world; mankind; all the world> everyone everywhere；German: alle Welt
    • NPadNuniversalLZ
    • NPadNNP=object of NP天下之害"harm to everyone": everyone'sCH
    • NP[adN]Han-civilisedthe ＝天下人　people of the realm; the people of the Han-dominated world; everyone in the (civilised, i.e. Han-dominated) world; German: alle WeltCH
    • NPinformal"all the world", German: "alle Welt, jedermann"CH
  • tiān xiàMANY
    • NPplurall sorts of people in the world, many people in the worldCH
  • tiān xiàPOWER
    • NP[adN]N=(ritual) control???天下王位　(ritual) control over the (Zhou dominated) world; (ritual) control (in principle) over the whole worldCH
  • tiān xiàUNIVERSAL
    • NPadNglobal; universal; non-partial, non-localCH