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"Master" and "Child"

Q: The Chinese character zi3 seems to have as its basic meaning something like "child" or "small," and the shape of the character itself appears to reflect that sense. Yet the character also appears as an honorific attached to names such as Kongzi and Laozi, and repeatedly in the Analects we find "zi3 yue1..." Is there any explanation of the semantic leap from "child" to "master"? Could there have been two different words that came to be represented by the same character at an early stage of the language?

A: The classic article on the character dz3 is the one by George Kennedy ("The Butterfly Case," Part III); it appears in his Selected Works as edited by Tien-yi Li (Far Eastern 1964). We agree by and large. What the character represents (alone or in combination) is one of those things that people have theories about; probably "child" is close enough for our purposes. Could that and the other meanings mentioned (plus some not mentioned: dz3 is also a noun-forming suffix) be semantically connected? It seems that they are, though the actual link cannot be directly demonstrated. One point to note, parenthetically, is that dz3 is not always a child, and not always male; a line common to many poems in the classical Shr collection (05th and 04th centuries) is "jr1 dz3 yw2 gwei" or "yonder maid's a-marrying."

The core question is, how did a concept implying insignificance and subordination ("child") develop into one implying authority and power ("master")? We don't know, but one likely transition point is that when the father dies, the eldest son inherits his authority and position; he is the only one who can take a certain role in the family ancestral sacrifices. Also, and importantly, he (and not his mother) then becomes the master of the house. The standard English term of address for a young unmarried male, including a child addressed by its nurse, is "Master," but we also have "The Master of Ballantrae." In certain societies, time alone can be enough to bring about these changes. Notice the formative Dz- prefix in the names of some of Confucius's disciples: Dz-jang, Dz-lu, and so on. It turns out that this prefix is found only with sons of high-ranking families, and is not used by those of more common origin. To be the son of an important family, even if your father is still living, is already to have importance for, and to command respect from, those of humbler status. From this sense of high status (whether prospective or actual) probably comes the use of Dz3 for the rulers of modest sized states. Here too the translation "Master" more or less suffices.

From State + Dz "The Master of [Ballantrae], it is a short step to Clan + Dz "The [Bruce], the head of the Clan." The cognate meaning "teacher, preceptor" presently becomes firmly established in its own right, hence phrases like wu2 dz3 "my master, my teacher."

Use of dz3 in direct address has the character of Spanish "usted," it is not so plain as "you" (for which a more specific word exists), and is sometimes nearer to "Your Excellency."

Social status apart, even a humble man may be master of his own trade; in the Shr poems we get jou1-dz3 "the boatman." Confucius in the Analects refers to one of his disciples surnamed Ran, who is hardly his official or social superior, as Ran3-dz3 "Master Ran." The context is that the disciple is working for one of the ruling clans of Lu, and the question asked is about what travel allowance he should grant to a colleague; Confucius at this point has no official position. Randz is "Master Ran" in that sentence not because Confucius acknowledges his moral authority (on the contrary, he faults his decision), but because Master Ran, in his official capacity, is in charge of making that decision. For the whole story, see our book The Original Analects, at LY 6:3.

The shift from humble to authoritative also occurs in Roman society, where a slave, though literally owned by his master, may also be the tutor of the master's sons (who owe him the respect that goes with his greater learning), and may also be the manager, the steward, of the master's property (thus the Parable of the Talents). In China, a chvn2 is literally a slave, but in an autocratic society, everyone not the ruler is the ruler's slave; remonstrance by the highest minister, if imprudent, may easily result in death. Though this risky lack of real status must never be forgotten, people who actually occupy positions of power, however shaky its basis, tend to attract respect, and the phrase common jywn1/chvn2 is usually better translated as "ruler and minister" rather than as "sovereign and subject."

As a last note: Schuessler is probably right to distinguish as a separate word (one originally written with a distinctive character) the dz3 which is the first of the ten "cyclical branches." This is very old, and the possibility that it is an early intrusion from outside China cannot yet be eliminated.

21 Sept 2008 / Contact The Project / Exit to Implications Page