小康
Chinese edit
small; tiny; few small; tiny; few; young |
peaceful; spongy (of radishes) | ||
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trad. (小康) | 小 | 康 | |
simp. #(小康) | 小 | 康 | |
Literally: “small tranquility”. |
Etymology edit
From the Book of Rites, Book 9 (《禮記·禮運》):
- ……如有不由此者,在勢者去,眾以為殃,是謂小康。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Book of Rites, c. 4th – 2nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- ...... Rú yǒu bù yóu cǐ zhě, zài shì zhě qù, zhòng yǐ wéi yāng, shì wèi xiǎokāng. [Pinyin]
- […] Any rulers who did not follow this course were driven away by those who possessed power and position, and all regarded them as pests. This is the period of what we call Small Tranquillity.
……如有不由此者,在势者去,众以为殃,是谓小康。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
小康
- (Chinese philosophy) Confucian near-ideal state of society; period of peace and prosperity
- (modern uses) comparatively good living standards; moderate affluence
Derived terms edit
Japanese edit
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
小 | 康 |
しょう Grade: 1 |
こう Grade: 4 |
on’yomi |
Etymology edit
/seukau/ → /ɕeukau/ → /ɕeukɔː/ → /ɕoːkoː/
From Middle Chinese compound 小康 (sjewX khang, literally “small + tranquil”). Compare modern Cantonese siu2 hong1 or Mandarin xiǎokāng.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Derived terms edit
- 小康状態 (shōkō jōtai): a state of reduced activity