DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
私鹽
简 私盐 · 繁 私鹽Mandarin · pinyin sī yán
Meanings
- illegally-traded salt (with salt tax not paid)
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Mandarin tones
1–2 · si1 yan2
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
noun
- (archaic) private salt (trafficked for sale without paying the high salt tax)
- (loosely) illegal salt (including those being privately manufactured, transported and sold without approval from the salt administration and tax authorities, tax-exempt salt (e.g., for industrial, agricultural, pastoral and fishery purposes) being altered its use and sold, as well as raw or refined salt imported or exported without approval from the foreign trade department)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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