尚書

Chinese

		still; yet; to value still; yet; to value; to esteem	book; letter
trad. (尚書)		尚	書
simp. (尚书)		尚	书

Etymology

Originally, the person in this position was a lowly clerk, responsible for drafting and editing imperial decrees on behalf of the emperor. Later on, the person in this position became more like a chief of staff who handled all aspects of governance on behalf of the emperor.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shàngshū

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄤˋ ㄕㄨ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): soeng⁶ syu¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): siūⁿ-su / siōng-su

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shàngshū
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄤˋ ㄕㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shàngshu
    • Wade–Giles: shang⁴-shu¹
    • Yale: shàng-shū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shanqshu
    • Palladius: шаншу (šanšu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɑŋ⁵¹ ʂu⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 上書／上书 上疏 尚書／尚书

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: soeng⁶ syu¹
    • Yale: seuhng syū
    • Cantonese Pinyin: soeng⁶ sy¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sêng⁶ xu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sœːŋ²² syː⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 上書／上书 尚書／尚书

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siūⁿ-su
    • Tâi-lô: siūnn-su
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sviuxsw
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siũ³³⁻²¹ su⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /siũ³³⁻¹¹ su⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siōng-su
    • Tâi-lô: siōng-su
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sioxngsw
    • IPA (Taipei): /siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ su⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ su⁴⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: dzyang|dzyangH syo

Rime
Character	尚	尚	書
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	常 (25)	常 (25)	書 (26)
Final (韻)	陽 (105)	陽 (105)	魚 (22)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III	III
Fanqie	市羊切	時亮切	傷魚切
Baxter	dzyang	dzyangH	syo
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡ʑɨɐŋ/	/d͡ʑɨɐŋH/	/ɕɨʌ/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡ʑiɐŋ/	/d͡ʑiɐŋH/	/ɕiɔ/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡ʑiɑŋ/	/d͡ʑiɑŋH/	/ɕiɔ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡ʑɨaŋ/	/d͡ʑɨaŋH/	/ɕɨə̆/
Li Rong	/ʑiaŋ/	/ʑiaŋH/	/ɕiɔ/
Wang Li	/ʑĭaŋ/	/ʑĭaŋH/	/ɕĭo/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʑi̯aŋ/	/ʑi̯aŋH/	/ɕi̯wo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	cháng	shàng	shū
Expected Cantonese Reflex	soeng4	soeng6	syu1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[d]aŋ-s  s-ta/

  (Zhengzhang): /*djaŋ|djaŋs  hlja/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	尚	尚	書
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shàng	shàng	shū
Middle Chinese	‹ dzyangH ›	‹ dzyangH ›	‹ syo ›
Old Chinese	/*[d]aŋ-s/	/*[d]aŋ-s/	/*s-ta/
English	upwards	still, yet	write
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	尚	尚	書
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
No.	11156	11161	17013
Phonetic component	尚	尚	者
Rime group	陽	陽	魚
Rime subdivision	0	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	常	尚	書
Old Chinese	/*djaŋ/	/*djaŋs/	/*hlja/
Notes	說文從向聲，金文不似，疑堂或常初文

Noun

尚書

1. (archaic, position title) secretary; chief of staff

Derived terms

• 尚書令／尚书令 (shàngshūlìng)
• 尚書郎／尚书郎 (shàngshūláng)

 

Proper noun

尚書

1. Classic of History (a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou Dynasty and before)

Synonyms

• 書經／书经 (Shūjīng)
• 佚書／佚书 (Yìshū)
• 逸書／逸书 (Yìshū)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (尚書):

• → Japanese: 尚(しょう)書(しょ) (Shōsho)
• → Korean: 상서(尙書) (Sangseo)
• → Vietnamese: thượng thư (尚書)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
尚	書
しょう Grade: S	しょ Grade: 2
kan’on

Alternative spelling
尙書 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Middle Chinese 尚書

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しょーしょ [shòóshó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ːɕo̞]

Proper noun

尚(しょう)書(しょ) • (Shōsho) 

1. Synonym of 書経 (Shokyō)

See also

• 尚(しょう)書(しょ)省(しょう) (Shōshoshō)
• 尚(なお)書(が)き (naogaki)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
尚	書

Proper noun

尚書

1. chữ Hán form of thượng thư.