社稷

Chinese

		soil god	millet god
trad. (社稷)		社	稷
simp. #(社稷)		社	稷

Wikipedia has articles on:

• 社稷 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
• soil and grain (English)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shèjì

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄜˋ ㄐㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): se⁵ zik¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): siǎ-chiak / siā-chek

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shèjì
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄜˋ ㄐㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shèjì
    • Wade–Giles: shê⁴-chi⁴
    • Yale: shè-jì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shehjih
    • Palladius: шэцзи (šɛczi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 社稷 設計 / 设计

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: se⁵ zik¹
    • Yale: séh jīk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: se⁵ dzik⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: sé⁵ jig¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɛː¹³ t͡sɪk̚⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siǎ-chiak
    • Tâi-lô: siǎ-tsiak
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sia²² t͡siak̚⁵/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siā-chek
    • Tâi-lô: siā-tsik
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siaxzeg
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /sia³³⁻²¹ t͡siɪk̚³²/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /sia²²⁻²¹ t͡siɪk̚³²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /sia³³⁻¹¹ t͡siɪk̚³²/

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• Middle Chinese: dzyaeX tsik

Rime
Character	社	稷
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	麻 (100)	職 (134)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	常者切	子力切
Baxter	dzyaeX	tsik
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑiaX/	/t͡sɨk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑiaX/	/t͡sɨk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑiaX/	/t͡siek̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑiaX/	/t͡sik̚/
Li Rong	/ʑiaX/	/t͡siək̚/
Wang Li	/ʑĭaX/	/t͡sĭək̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʑi̯aX/	/t͡si̯ək̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shè	ji
Expected Cantonese Reflex	se6	zik1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*m-tʰAʔ  [ts]ək/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɦljaːʔ  sklɯɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	社	稷
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shè	jì
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyæX ›	‹ tsik ›
Old Chinese	/*m-tʰAʔ/	/*[ts]ək/
English	sacrifice to the spirit of the soil	millet (Setaria italica)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	社	稷
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	12497	1170
Phonetic component	土	畟
Rime group	魚	職
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	社	即
Old Chinese	/*ɦljaːʔ/	/*sklɯɡ/

Noun

社稷

1. (Classical, literally) gods of the soil and harvest (as worshipped by the aristocracy in ancient China)

   • 君曰：「代立不忘社稷，君之道也。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad. and simp.]

     From: The Book of Lord Shang, circa 3^rd century BCE, translated based on J.J.L. Duyvendak's version

     Jūn yuē: “Dàilì bùwàng shèjì, jūn zhī dào yě.” [Pinyin]

     The prince said: "Not to forget, at his succession, the tutelary spirits of the soil and of grain, is the way of a prince."

   • 民為貴，社稷次之，君為輕。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Mín wèi guì, shèjì cìzhī, jūn wèi qīng. [Pinyin]

     The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the lightest.

2. (historical, metonymic) altars for offering sacrifices to the gods of the soil and grains

   • 富貴不離其身，然後能保其社稷，而和其民人。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     富贵不离其身，然后能保其社稷，而和其民人。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Classic of Filial Piety, circa 475 – 221 BCE

     Fùguì bù lí qí shēn, ránhòu néng bǎo qí shèjì, ér hé qí mínrén. [Pinyin]

     When their riches and nobility do not leave their persons, then they are able to preserve the altars of their land and grain, and to secure the harmony of their people and men in office.

3. (Classical, metonymic) nation; country

   • 有安社稷臣者，以安社稷為悅者也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     有安社稷臣者，以安社稷为悦者也。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Yǒu ān shèjì chén zhě, yǐ ān shèjì wèi yuè zhě yě. [Pinyin]

     There are ministers who seek the tranquillity of the State, and find their pleasure in securing that tranquillity.

Synonyms

• (nation):

edit

• 國家 / 国家 (guójiā)
• 國度 / 国度 (guódù)
• 家國 / 家国 (jiāguó) (literary)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (社稷):

• → Japanese: 社稷(しゃしょく) (shashoku)
• → Korean: 사직(社稷) (sajik)
• → Vietnamese: xã tắc (社稷)