Shen
/ʃɛn/noun
A Chinese philosophical and medical term referring to spirit, consciousness, or the animating aspect of a person.
Did you know?The Chinese character 神 combines an altar radical with a phonetic element, visually linking shen with offerings, sacred presence, and the realm of gods.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, c. 1000–200 BCE
Old Chinese
神 (*m.li[n])
“Spirit, deity, divine power; the reconstructed pronunciation is uncertain.”
Han Dynasty, c. 206 BCE–220 CE
Classical Chinese
神 (shén)
“A god, spirit, or supernatural power; also the spiritual faculty of a person.”
Middle Chinese, c. 600–1000 CE
Middle Chinese
神 (dzyin)
“Spirit, deity, or inner spiritual essence.”
Modern Mandarin
Mandarin
神 (shén)
“God, spirit, deity, or—within traditional medicine—the mind and consciousness.”
20th Century–present
English
shen
“An English loanword used especially in discussions of Daoism, Chinese medicine, qigong, and Chinese philosophy.”