Classical Chinese 14-18 Flashcards
What does 刀 mean?
Knife, blade, sword.
What does 刑 (xing2) mean?
- punishment, sentence; to punish.*
- Model, image, ideal; to provide a model or example for (used for 型)
刑人 thus means “convict” or generally anyone carrying out mandatory labour as punishment for a crime.
What does 厲 (li4) mean?
- Severe, harsh; severity, harshness.
- Sores, ulcers, blisters.*
Meaning #2 (used in L14 text) substitutes for the correct character, 癘. Exposure to the varnish destroys the skin. 豫讓 does this to give himself the appearance of a leper or similar diseased outcast.
What does 友 mean?
Friend.
What does 合 mean?
- To bring together, to unite, to fuse.*
- To close, to shut.
- To be appropriate for, to fit in with.
What does 嗟 (jie1)mean?
To sigh; Alas!
What does 器 mean?
- Vessel, container, utensil.*
- Capacity, ability.
- the second meaning is an abstract derivation of the first; the usefulness or utility of an individual.
What does 塗 (tu2) mean?
- To paint, to coat in mud; paint, mud.*
- Road, path (used for 途)
What does 容 (rong2) mean?
Countenance, face, expression, to adorn [the face].
eg. 士為知己者死，女為說己者容 A knight dies for one who understands
him well, and a woman adorns herself for one who takes pleasure in her.”
What does 尊 (zun1) mean?
To respect, to honour; respected, honoured.
What does 幸 (xing4) mean?
Good fortune; luckily; to favour; to treat well.
What does 形 mean?
External form, shape.
居頃之，豫讓又漆身為厲，吞炭為啞，使形狀不可知 Shortly afterward, Yu Rang again lacquered his body to make blisters [appear] [causes your skin to become disfigured], and swallowed ashes to make his voice hoarse/to be become hoarse and made his appearance unable to be recognized/unrecognizable.
What does 懷 mean?
- To cherish, to harbour, to long for.*
- Chest/bosom; to store in the folds of the garment over the chest.
What does 才 mean?
Talent, ability.
What does 智 (zhi4) mean?
Wise, resourceful, clever.
- The name of one of the clans of 晉.
智伯 The Earl of Zhi
What does 極 (ji2) mean?
Extremely; most; end; furtherest extent; to get to the end of, to fathom.
What does 汝 (ru3) mean?
You. [second person pronoun, often informal or rude.]
汝非豫讓邪? Aren’t you Yu Rang?
What does 泣 (qi4) mean?
To weep.
What does 苦 (ku3) mean?
To suffer, to toil; bitter, toilsome; to find bitter or difficult, to suffer from.
What does 誅 (zhu1) mean?
To execute, to punish.
What does 識 mean?
To recognize, to know.
What does 質 (zhi2) mean?
Substance, matter, essence; substitute, pawn, hostage.
委質 would mean something like 委身, that is, “to entrust oneself.”
既已委質臣事人，而求殺之，是懷二心以事其君也 “Since I’ve already entrusted myself to work for an other person, then if I seek to kill him, this/these longed for disloyal intentions are used to serve my ruler.
What does 近 mean?
Close, near; to approach, to be intimate with, to treat as a friend.
What does 韓 mean?
Han.
- Name of a clan of 晉.
- Eventually became an independent state.
What does 頭 mean?
Head.*
2. [Noun suffix, lacking set meaning]
What does 顧 (gu4) mean?
- To look back, to regard; to look after; to heed.
- But, however, on the other hand.
- How could… (used in rhetorical questions expecting the opposite).*
顧不易邪, “How could [that] not be easy?”
What does 魏 mean?
Wei.
- Name of a clan of 晉.
-> survived the partition of Jin and became an independent state.
What does 姓 mean?
Surname, clan name.
What does 委 (wei3) mean?
To entrust, to give over to.
What does 寵 (chong3) mean?
favour, love, patronage; to favour.
What does 市 mean?
Marketplace, city; to purchase in a marketplace.
What does 愧 (kui4) mean?
To feel ashamed; to shame.
What does 挾 (xie2) mean?
To insert, to clasp underneath the arm.
What does 最 mean?
Most, -est.
What does 氏 (shi4) mean?
Clan, lineage.
What does 殘 (can2) mean?
To decimate; to linger, to be left behind; cruel.
What does 狀 mean?
Form, appearance, shape.
- forms a synonym compound with 形 “appearance”
What does 范 (fan4) mean?
Fan.
- One of the ruling clans of 晉.
What does 襄 (xiang1) mean?
To help, to assist; to achieve, to accomplish.
- appears most often as a surname or posthumous title for rulers and fuedal lords (as is the case in L14)
What does 謹 mean?
To be careful, to be conscientious.
What does 讓 mean?
(1) rang4 (2) rang3
1. To demur to, to defer to, to give in to; to abdicate [the throne].
2. To scold, to berate.
What does 豫 mean?
To get ready, to prepare; comfort; to be at ease.
What does 釋 (shi4) mean?
To free, to release, to explain.
What does 魂 mean?
Soul, spirit.
- One of two “souls” every human possesses; this soul goes heavenward after death.
What does 主 mean?
Ruler, master; host.
What does 劍 (jian4) mean?
Two-edged sword.
What does 寡 (gua3) mean?
- Rare, few, scarce.
- Orphan, widow.
寡人 -> [First person pronoun used only by rulers.]
What does 布 mean?
Cloth; to unroll, to spread; to relate, to tell.
What does 息 (xi1) mean?
- To sigh, to breathe; breath.*
- To rest, to cease.
What does 意 (yi4) mean?
Thoughts, intentions, will; idea, significance.
What does 擊 (ji2) mean?
To hit, to strike, to beat.
What does 數 mean?
shŭ (1); shù (2); shuò (3); cù (4)
1. To number, to count; to berate, to scold.*
2. Several; number, quantity.
3. Several times.
4. Small-meshed (describes fishing nets)
What does 明 mean?
- Bright, shining.
- To understand, to clarify.
- Wise, enlightened; to be enlightened.*
- Clear; clear eyesight.
- Eminent, famous, high-quality.
What does 歎 (tan4) mean?
To sigh.
What does 深 mean?
Deep, profound; deeply; to sink.
What does 稱 chēng (1–2); chèn (3) mean?
- To praise; to name, to term.*
- To weigh.
- Suitable, agreeable; to fit, to find [something] suitable, to please
What does 眾 mean?
Crowd, multitude, masses
眾人
Mediocre person, ordinary person; commoners, the masses.
What does 美 mean?
Beauty; beautiful; good points, assets.
What does 遇 mean?
- To treat, to behave toward.*
- To encounter, to meet.
What does 願 (yuan4) mean?
To be willing.
What does 驚 (jing1) mean?
Startled, surprised; to startle.
What does 寬 (kuan1) mean?
Magnanimous, tolerant.
What does 恨 mean?
Resentment, hatred; to hate, to represent.
What does 拔 (ba2) mean?
To pull up or out, to rescue, to draw [a sword].
What does 掩 (yan3) mean?
To cover, to conceal, to wipe.
What does 橋 mean?
Bridge.
What does 涕 (ti4) mean?
To weep; tears.
What does 躍 (yue4) mean?
To leap, to jump.
What does 久 mean?
Long time, for a long time.
Note the use of a “dummy” 之 (compare 居頃之, Lesson 14, line 9).
What does 井 (jing3) mean?
Well (for drawing water); village, village center.
What does 交 mean?
- Friendship, association; to join, to form [friendship], to interchange.*
- Mutually.
- To meet, to clash
What does 備 mean?
To supply completely, to be prepared; thorough, complete.
備賓主之禮 (l. 12): “Prepared thoroughly the rites of guest and host”
What does 哀 (ai1) mean?
To grieve, to mourn, to lament, to pity; sorrowful, lamentable.
What does 嚴 (yan2) mean?
Strict, severe; solemn, majestic.
What does 壽 (shou4) mean?
Long life; to toast [someone], to give a present to; a present.
Since this character is a general term for “long life,” the other meanings are related to it:
one toasts someone in order to wish her or him long life; one gives a present in order to
congratulate someone on her or his long life. 嚴仲子 is trying to make 聶政 feel obligated
to him by evoking his filial feelings; a present given to his mother would have more impact
on 政 than would a present given directly to him.
What does 夕 mean?
Evening.
What does 怪 mean?
Strange, weird; to find strange.
- frequently stresses sth unpleasant or unusually suspicious.
What does 恐 mean?
To fear; fear.
What does 或 mean?
- Someone, somebody, some people.*
- Sometimes.
Like 莫, this character is used like an adverb; it is often preceded by a subject
that expresses the larger group: 左右或知之, “Some of the retainers/someone among the
retainers knew it”; 公或伐齊, “Some of the dukes/someone among the dukes attacked
Qi”; 兵或欲殺之, “Some of the soldiers/someone among the soldiers wanted to kill him.”
What does 政 mean?
Government, administration, management
- In L16 is the personal name of 聶政
What does 游 mean?
To play, to stroll, to wander; to swim.
What does 用 mean?
To use; to be useful; use, purpose.
What does 謝 mean?
- To apologize.
- To refuse.*
- To say farewell to; to fade, to wither (describes plants, especially flowers).
Polite literary vocabulary often has overlapping meanings. This character’s meanings are
probably derived from “to apologize”; thus, “refuse” means “I’m sorry I can’t accept that”
and “to say farewell” means “I’m sorry I have to go.”
What does 豈 (qi3) mean?
How…, how could…
- This character is used for rhetorical questions when a negative answer is expected.
What does 貧 (pin2) mean?
Poor, indigent.
What does 賓 (bin3) mean?
Guest.
What does 辟 mean?
- To avoid, to shun, to send away, to dismiss.*
- To open up; to expand.
- Dissolute [behaviour].
- Eccentric, stubborn, one-sided, perverse.
This character is used with a wide variety of meanings, sometimes as a simplified version of
characters with added radicals. In meaning #1 (used in our lesson text), 辟 is a simplification
of 避 (
329). In this context, 嚴仲子 sends away his servants and others on the scene so that
he can talk more privately with 聶政.
What does 金 mean?
- Metal.
- Precious metal (usually gold or silver).*
Since this character’s meanings can be very broad, 黃金, “yellow metal,
閒
jiān (1); xiàn (2)
1. Middle, midst.*
2. Leisurely, calm, idle; on vacation
What does 降 mean?
xiáng (1); jiàng (2)
1. To surrender, to make surrender, to suppress.*
2. To descend, to fall.
What does 陽 mean?
The yang principle (as opposed to 陰 [427]); sunlight, the sunlit side of something.
You will find that 陽 is often used with the name of a river to indicate the name of a
town. Because China is located in the northern hemisphere, sunlight falls from the south
directly onto the northern banks of rivers, so 陽 is used to indicate the northern bank
What does 隱 (yĭn) mean?
- To hide, to conceal; hidden, obscure.*
- To be pained by, to be upset by
What does 黃 mean?
Yellow
黃金, “yellow metal,” is sometimes used to specify “gold.”
What does 旦 mean?
Dawn.
What does 狗 mean?
Dog.
What does 竟 (jing4) mean?
- To end, to conclude; finally.*
- Border, frontier, demarcation (used for 境 [378])
What does 累 mean?
Involvement, trouble; to pile up, to accumulate; accumulated; to burden, to weary.
Here, this character is a personal name: 俠累
What does 費 mean?
Expense, price, cost; to waste.
What does 功 mean?
Merit, achievement, accomplishment.
What does 壯 mean?
Strong, robust; prime [of one’s life]
壯士 Stalwart man, strong fellow.
What does 多 mean?
Many, much; to possess many or much.
Though this character is normally used as an adjective or adverb, it is not uncommon for writers to use it as a verbal abbreviation of 有多 (compare the end of this lesson’s text). For example: 王多馬, “the king possesses many horses.”
多人，不能無生得失 (l. 12): “If there are many people [involved], then one cannot
avoid giving rise to 得失.”
What does 安 mean?
- How, where. [question word]*
- Peace; peaceful.
Meaning #1 is used often, but not exclusively, in rhetorical questions.
What does 宗 mean?
Ancestor, clan (descended from a common ancestor); ancestral; kindred; school, sect
What does 從 mean?
cóng (1–3); zòng
1. To follow, to accompany, to be accompanied by.
2. To carry out, to undertake.*
3. From, by way of. [coverb, used the same way as 自 (15-2)]
4. Attendant, entourage.
5. Tracks, traces, footprints (used for 蹤).
從事 would then mean “to undertake an affair.
What does 感 mean?
Emotion, feeling; to feel, to be moved by
夫賢者以感忿睚眦之意而親信窮僻之人 When a virtuous man uses the reason of fury to visit my mother, then how can I remain silent just like this? How could this be all I can do, is remain silent?
What does 服 mean?
- Clothes, attire.*
- Covering, case, quiver (for arrows).
To submit to, to accept.
除服 To remove mourning clothes; to end the mourning period
What does 益 mean?
To increase; increasingly; benefit, advantage.
What does 盛 (sheng4) mean?
To prosper, to flourish; flourishing, abundant
What does 窮 (qiong2) mean?
. End, exhaustion; to exhaust; impoverished.*
2. To fathom, to understand fully.
This character means “the very end [of something]” or “coming to the end [of something]”—
for example, using up all of one’s money, following a river back to its original source,
and so forth. In this sense, it is used very much like 盡 (
235). However, unlike that other
character, 窮 can also mean “impoverished,” that is, so poor that one has no alternatives left
(compare “at the end of one’s rope” in English).
What does 處 mean?
- To dwell [in a place], to manage, to deal with.
- Place, location.*
Though the phrase in the lesson text is a little obscure, 居處 probably is the equivalent of 所居之處, “the place where he dwells.”
What does 西 mean?
West.
What does 要 mean?
- To invite, to ask for.*
- Essential; necessity, essential point.
What does 語 mean?
- Words, speech; to discuss, to talk about.*
- To say to, to address.
In meaning #2, 語 is used like 謂 . For example: 臣語王曰, “the minister said to the
king . . .”; or, with the object suppressed, 臣語曰, “the minister said to him . . . .”
What does 誰 mea?
Who. [Question word]
為誰, “is who,” is the most common way to ask about someone’s identity. Radical
What does 遠 mean?
Distant, far way; to avoid, to keep at a distance, to consider a great distance.
Note the last meaning, which is a common “putative” use (不遠千里 is a common cliché
What does 除 mean?
To remove, to get rid o
除服 M: chú fú: To remove mourning clothes; to end the mourning period.
What does 鮮 mean?
Rare, few, seldom; meager, scanty.
臣之所以待之，至淺鮮矣 (ll. 2–3): This pattern is common with the verb 待: “The
means by which I treated him were extremely shallow and meager
What does 勢 mean?
Strength, power, momentum, circumstances, conditions.
其勢 [Under] these circumstances
「韓之與衛相去，中閒不甚遠。今殺人之相，相又國君之親，此
其勢不可以多人。“As for Han’s distance from Wei, it is not very far in between them.I f we kill the minister of the people, who is also a relative of the ruler, in these circumstances, we cannot use too many people.
What does 族 mean?
Clan, tribe, family.
What does 枉 mean?
To go out of one’s way.
This character is often used in polite language to describe a visit someone pays to you (he
has “gone out of his way” to see you)
而嚴仲子乃諸侯之卿相也，不遠千里，枉車騎而交臣。But Yan Zhongzi is no less than a high minister of state of the feudal lords/to the feudal lords, and is not far away/does not consider Qian li to be a long distance, and he went out of his way to take a carriage to form a friendship with me.
What does 殆 (dai4) mean?
- To be endangered.*
- Probably, no doubt
What does 翼 (yi4) mean?
Wings; to assist, to help.
輔翼 is a synonym compound
請益其車騎壯士，而為足下輔翼者: I request to increase your entourage and
your courageous fellows, and [these] will act as your support for your sake.”
What does 葬 (zang4) mean?
To bury, to mourn; burial, mourning
What does 設 (she4) mean?
Prepare, provide, establish; to be complete, to be completely prepared.
What does 輔 (fu3) mean?
To assist, to help.
This meaning derives from the character’s original use, to describe the protective sidebars on a carriage.
輔翼 is a synonym compound
What does 騎 mean?
jì (1); qí (2)
1. Horseman, cavalry.*
2. To ride [a horse].
車騎 jū jì Entourage, mounted escort
What does 默 mean?
mo4
Silent, mute
What does 列 (lie4) mean?
Row, rank; to line up, to rank.
列名 thus means “to place [someone’s] name in the ranks”—that is, “to make someone’s name known.”
What does 取 mean?
To take, to accept, to capture
What does 呼 mean?
To cry out, to shout
What does 哭 mean?
To sob, to cry.
-> refers to noisy crying.
What does 察 mean?
To examine, to investigate, to inquire after
What does 尚 (shang4) mean?
- Still.*
- To esteem, to honor
忍
To bear, to endure.
濡忍 Compliant, gentle, willing to tolerate
What does 悲 mean?
Sad; sadness; to lament
What does 應 (yìng) mean?
To answer.
What does 暴 mean?
pù (1); bào (2)
1. To expose.*
2. Cruel, violent, savage.*
What does 榮 mean?
róng (1); yíng (2)
1. Glory, prosperity; to prosper.
2. Ying (personal name of 聶政’s sister).*
What does 澤 (ze2) mean?
Swamp, marsh; moisture, blessing
What does 直 mean?
- Straight, direct; directly.*
- Only, merely
What does 縣 mean?
xiàn (1); xuán (2)
1. District, county.
2. To hang, to suspend.*
Meaning #2 (which occurs in this lesson’s text) is actually a common substitute for the
“correct” character, 懸
What does 購縣 (gòu xuán) mean?
To hang up a reward in order to obtain information.
The author means here that, after exposing the body in the marketplace and getting no
results, the 韓 ruler hangs a bag of gold in a public place with a notice of reward
What does 誠 mean?
Truly, really; honest, sincere
What does 賊 (zei2) mean?
- Thief, bandit.*
- To do injury to, to harm
What does 鄉 mean?
xiàng (1); xiāng (2)
1. Formerly, previously, in the recent past; to face, to be opposite to.*
2. Village, town.
The more “proper” usage for this character is meaning #2. However, there is a fairly com-
plicated character—嚮—which, because of its complexity, tended to be split into its two
components for simplification purposes
What does 重 mean?
- Heavy, important; to consider important.*
- Repeated, repeatedly
重自刑以絕從: “He heavily punished himself [i.e., disfigured himself]
in order that he would sever all traces.”
What does 奈何 (nai4he2) mean?
What to do about . . . ?
The first character is also written 柰. 奈何 is thought by modern scholars to be a fusion of 如之何 (compare 如何 [
129b]). Even more than 如何, it is used to indicate perplexity or indecision. Literary Chinese writers soon forgot the fusion and often placed the object of
perplexity either between the two characters or after them. For example: 奈我命何 or 奈何
我命, “What can I do about my fate?
What does 妾 (qie4) mean?
- Concubine.
- “I.” [humble first person pronoun used by women]*
What does 府 mean?
Government office, government bureau, headquarters.
What does 旁 mean?
Side; nearby
What does 杖 (zhang4) mean?
Walking stick; to walk with a walking stick, to use [something] as a walking stick
獨行杖劍至韓: He went alone, and arrived in Han with his sword as a walking stick.
What does 污 mean?
- To stain, to dirty; dirt, filth; dirty, filthy, corrupt.*
- Pool, pond, water hole
What does 決 mean?
To decide; decidedly; to cut through, to gouge out.
What does 烈 mean?
Vehement, intense, passionate; heroic, martyred
What does 皮 mean?
Skin, hide; to skin, to strip
What does 眼 mean?
Eye
What does 腸 (chang2) mean?
Intestines, bowels.
What does 蒙 (meng2) mean?
To bear, to take, to suffer.
What does 險 (xian3) mean?
Dangerous, obstructed; danger, obstruction
