靈芝

See also: 霊芝 and 灵芝

Chinese

		alert; departed soul; efficacious alert; departed soul; efficacious; quick; effective; intelligence	Zoysia pungens
trad. (靈芝)		靈	芝
simp. (灵芝)		灵	芝

Etymology

According to Wasson (1968), this compound noun is coined by Ban Gu (班固) (32 - 92 CE) in the poem 《郊祀靈芝歌》 ("Ode to the Numinous Mushroom for the Suburban Sacrifice"):

因露寢兮產靈芝。象三德兮瑞應圖。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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因露寝兮产灵芝。象三德兮瑞应图。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: c. 1st century CE, Ban Gu (班固), 《郊祀靈芝歌》 ("Ode to the Numinous Mushroom for the Suburban Sacrifice"); translation based on Wasson (1968)'s version

Yīn lùqǐn xī chǎn língzhī. Xiàng sāndé xī ruì yìngtú. [Pinyin]

The Numinous Mushroom grows with the settling dews, the sign of three virtues, happy omen's picture fulfilled.

Ban Gu's coining is inspired by the description of a Ganoderma mushroom (芝) as "numinous" (靈) in a poem composed in 109 BCE by Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝 (Hàn Wǔ Dì)) and preserved in the Book of Han, "chapter 22" (translation based on Wasson, 1968):

玄氣之精，回復此都，蔓蔓日茂，芝成靈華。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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玄气之精，回复此都，蔓蔓日茂，芝成灵华。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

Xuánqì zhī jīng, huífù cǐ dōu, mànmàn rì mào, zhī chéng líng huá. [Pinyin]

The essence of the Mysterious Breath, there it is, returned again to this residence, day after day this superb growth, this mushroom which unfolds its most numinous beauties.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): língzhī

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄓ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ling⁴ zi¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): lìn-chṳ̂
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lêng-chi

  (Teochew, Peng'im): lêng⁵ ze¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶lin-tsy

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: língzhī
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄓ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: língjhih
    • Wade–Giles: ling²-chih¹
    • Yale: líng-jr̄
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lingjy
    • Palladius: линчжи (linčži)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /liŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ling⁴ zi¹
    • Yale: lìhng jī
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ling⁴ dzi¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ling⁴ ji¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɪŋ²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lìn-chṳ̂
    • Hakka Romanization System: lin^ˇ zii^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lin² zi¹
    • Sinological IPA: /lin¹¹ t͡sɨ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lêng-chi
    • Tâi-lô: lîng-tsi
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lengcy
    • IPA (Xiamen): /liɪŋ²⁴⁻²² t͡si⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /liɪŋ²⁴⁻²² t͡si³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /liɪŋ¹³⁻²² t͡si⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /liɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡si⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /liɪŋ²³⁻³³ t͡si⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: lêng⁵ ze¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lêng tsṳ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /leŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ t͡sɯ³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶lin-tsy
    • MiniDict: lin^去 tsy
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³lin-tsr
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /lin²² t͡sz̩⁴⁴/

Noun

靈芝

1. lingzhi (mushroom used in traditional Asian medicine, namely, Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma tsugae, or others in the genus Ganoderma)

Synonyms

• 芝草 (zhīcǎo)
• 三秀 (sānxiù)
• 瑞芝

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (靈芝):

• → Japanese: 霊芝(れいし) (reishi)
• → Korean: 영지(靈芝) (yeongji)
• → Vietnamese: linh chi (靈芝)

Others:

• → English: lingzhi