尚

• Temporal persistence: "still," "yet."
• Degree and comparison: "fairly," "rather," "even."
• To value or esteem: To prize or hold in high regard.

The glyph functions as both an adverbial modifier and an active verb.

• In its sense of temporal persistence, it overlaps with 猶 (yóu) and 且 (qiě), but emphasizes the remaining presence of a condition despite changing circumstances.
• In contexts of degree, it can serve as a pivot in a hierarchy, elevating a second point above a first to push an argument toward its logical extreme.

Conceptually and graphically linked to 上 ("above/high"). This root of superiority or loftiness informs the sense of placing something in a high position (esteem), remaining at a level of presence (still/yet), or being relatively higher in degree (fairly/even).

If a passage feels syntactically awkward when treating 尚 as a modifier, test it as a verb (e.g., 尚古, "valuing the ancient").