Wu

/wooh/, n.

1. a dynasty that ruled in China A.D. 222-80.

2. a Chinese language having several dialects, spoken widely in Anhwei, Chekiang, and Kiangsu provinces and including the dialect of Shanghai.

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I

Fundamental Daoist philosophical concept.

Wu ("not-being"), you ("being"), wuming ("the nameless"), and youming ("the named") are interdependent and grow out of one another. Wu and you are two aspects of the dao. Not-being does not mean nothingness but rather the absence of perceptible qualities; in Laozi's view, it is superior to being. It is the void that harbours in itself all potentialities and without which even being lacks its efficacy. According to the scholar He Yan (d. 249), wu is beyond name and form and hence is absolute, complete, and capable of accomplishing anything. See also Daoism.

II

(as used in expressions)

Kuang wu ti

Wu ch'ang

Wu ti

Wu han

Wu Zetian

Wu hou

Wu wang

Wu lu mu ch'i

Hung wu emperor

Wu su li Chiang

Wu Cheng'en

Wu Ch'eng en

Wu Sangui

Wu San kuei

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