聖

Core sense: A specific type of perceptive capability—the ability to perceive cosmic rhythms or divine will.

When applied to persons: A "Sage," characterized by ontological efficacy and transcendent insight rather than ritual piety or moral sinlessness.

When applied to objects, places, or texts: Sacred, venerable, or divine.

Noun: The Sage; a person of transcendent wisdom.

Adjective: Sacred, supernatural, or divinely attuned. When modifying an action, it typically indicates that the action is driven by transcendent insight.

聖 (shèng) vs. 賢 (xián): While both describe excellence, 賢 generally denotes human virtue, worthiness, and cultivated achievement, whereas 聖 suggests a transcendent, innate, or supernatural quality.

Variants, including U+5723, are orthographic or simplified forms; there is no meaningful semantic distinction between these versions in early texts.

The root meaning is tied to the component 耳 (ear), signifying the capacity to "hear" that which is inaccessible to others.

Avoid interpreting 聖 through a Western theological lens of "holiness" as purity or grace; it is more accurately understood as an alignment with the Dao—a mastery of insight and action.