存

Centered on persistence—existence defined as continuation or preservation against loss. Senses include existing, remaining, and surviving, as well as preserving, keeping, saving, or storing (applying to both physical objects and abstract concepts). In contexts involving the mind or heart (心), it denotes mental retention: harboring a thought, intention, or feeling, or maintaining deliberate focus/secret intent.

Used both intransitively (to denote a state of being or remaining) and transitively (the action of preserving or storing).

Compared to 有 (general existence/possession), 存 emphasizes continuance. Compared to 留 (staying behind in a place), 存 focuses on the fact of continued existence. Compared to 保 (the act of guarding/protecting), 存 often describes the resulting state of having been preserved.[/DISTINITIONS]

Tang-period reading: *dzuən; Fanqie reading: 徂尊.

Exercise caution with the English translation "survive." Depending on the period, this may refer to material, political, textual, or institutional persistence (e.g., a dynasty remaining in records) rather than biological survival.