性

Innate or primordial disposition; an ontological blueprint.

• Human Nature: The inherent moral or psychological disposition of a person (often the subject of philosophical debate regarding whether such nature is fundamentally good or unrefined).
• General Properties: The inherent characteristics of non-human things.
• Sex/Gender: In early texts, the inherent quality of being male or female; in later Imperial texts, biological sex.

Primarily functions as a noun or an attribute. May occupy a predicative position via classical ellipsis.

• 性 (xìng) vs. 情 (qíng): 性 is generally the latent, permanent disposition (the potential), whereas 情 is the actualized emotion or specific response to external stimuli.
• 性 (xìng) vs. 質 (zhì): 性 refers to the innate "blueprint," while 質 refers to physical substance, constitution, or material manifestation.

Fanqie reading: 息正; Tang-period reading: *siɛ̀ng.

Composed of 心 (heart/mind) and 生 (born), literally "the heart/mind as it is born."