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天王 (tiān wáng) — (mythology) heavenly king; a divine figure in Buddhist/Daoist cosmology; (historical) heavenly king; title used by certain emperors, notably Hong Xiuquan; (modern, figurative) king; the best or most popular figure in a domain (e.g., music, sports)

Definition

In Chinese cosmology and modern usage, 天王 means 'heavenly king' or a supreme champion in a field (e.g., music, sports). Less common as an emperor's self-title (Hong Xiuquan).

noun
(mythology) heavenly kinga divine figure in Buddhist/Daoist cosmology(historical) heavenly kingtitle used by certain emperorsnotably Hong Xiuquan(modern, figurative) kingthe best or most popular figure in a domain (e.g., music, sports)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 天王，。
    Fó jiào lǐ yǒu sì dà tiān wáng, fēn bié shǒu hù sì fāng.
    In Buddhism there are Four Heavenly Kings, each guarding a direction.
  • 天王，。
    Hóng xiù quán zì chēng tiān wáng, jiàn lì le tài píng tiān guó.
    Hong Xiuquan called himself the Heavenly King and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
  • 天王，。
    Tā shì huá yǔ gē tán de tiān wáng, fěn sī biàn bù quán qiú.
    He is a king of the Chinese music scene, with fans all over the world.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

天tiānheaven
王wángking

天 supplies the heavenly sense and 王 the king sense, giving a heavenly king or top figure.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

Open 王 →
Appears in
Mythology & FolkloreReligion & Belief

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