He Shi Bi

The He Shi Bi (Chinese: 和氏璧; pinyin: Hé Shì Bì; literally: "Jade disc of He") is a piece of jade which plays an important part in many historical stories in Ancient China. Found in the State of Chu by a man named Bian He, it was first made into a jade disc, then into the Imperial Seal of China by Qin Shi Huang.

Discovery

The story of how this precious jade was discovered has come from Han Fei in his book of the same name, in the beginning of Chapter 13: He Shi. He Shi means Surname He, referring to Bian He. Bian He found a piece of jade stone in Mountain Chu. He recognized the value of the jade inside the stone and made his offer to his King, Li. King Li had his jeweler examine the stone, who said it was mere stone. King Li punished He by having his left foot cut off. As King Li died and his son, Wu, came to the throne, He once again offered his grand stone to the King. Wu had his jeweler examine the stone, who said it was mere stone. King Wu then punished He by having his right foot cut off. As King Wu died and his son, Wen, came to the throne. He held his jade stone and cried for three days and three nights at the foothill of Mountain Chu. As he ran out of tears, blood came down his cheeks. King Wen sent his man to question him, asking, "Why, when many had their feet cut off, are you grieving so?" He replied, "I'm not grieving for my feet. I'm grieving for the wrongs that a precious jade is called a stone, and an honest man, liar." Upon hearing that, King Wen had his jeweler cut open the stone. A large pure jade was seen nestling inside the stone. In light of the discovery, King Wen named the jade He Shi in honor of what Bian He had done to uncover the jade. (He Shi Bi literally means 'The Jade Disc of He').

Shi

Shi or shi may refer to:

Language

Art

People

Surnames

Acronym

Japanese honorifics

The Japanese language uses a broad array of honorific suffixes for addressing or referring to people. These honorifics attach to the end of people's names, as in Aman-san where the honorific -san was attached to the name Aman. These honorifics are often gender-neutral, but some imply a more feminine context (such as -chan) while others imply a more masculine one (such as -kun).

These honorifics are often used along with other forms of Japanese honorific speech, keigo, such as that used in conjugating verbs.

Usage

Although honorifics are not part of the basic grammar of the Japanese language, they are a fundamental part of the sociolinguistics of Japanese, and proper use is essential to proficient and appropriate speech. Significantly, referring to oneself using an honorific, or dropping an honorific when it is required, is a serious faux pas, in either case coming across as clumsy or arrogant.

They can be applied to either the first or last name depending on which is given. In situations where both the first and last names are spoken, the suffix is attached to whichever comes last in the word order.

Shi (surname)

Shi ([ʂɨ])) is the romanization of several Chinese surnames, including 石, 史, 師, 時, 士, and 施. Several of these are common Chinese surnames. Five other variations are listed as variations in the Hundred Family Surnames - 張 唐 傅 崔 師 - but these are written in traditional Chinese, a character set no longer used in mainland China. As with other family names in Asian cultures, the surname is written before the given name.

士

Shì in Pinyin.

石

Shí in Pinyin.