elevate concubine to wife; support healthy qi; promote deputy to principal
Meanings
3 senses · 6 examplesverb
to elevate a concubine to the status of principal wife
archaicRefers to the traditional Chinese marriage practice in which a concubine (妾 qiè) was promoted to become the principal wife (妻 qī), typically after the death of the original wife. This practice is historical and no longer legal in modern China.
In ancient times, only after the principal wife passed away could a concubine possibly be elevated to wife status.
After being promoted to principal wife, she became the mistress of the household.
verb
to support healthy qi; to strengthen vital energy
technicalA technical term in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) referring to treatment methods that strengthen the body's vital energy (正气 zhèngqì) and enhance resistance to disease. Often contrasted with 祛邪 (qū xié, eliminating pathogenic factors) in the compound 扶正祛邪.
Traditional Chinese Medicine often employs the method of supporting healthy qi and eliminating pathogenic factors to treat cancer.
This patient needs to first use medicine to strengthen his vital energy before proceeding to the next step of treatment.
verb
to promote from deputy/acting position to principal position
neutralA modern metaphorical extension of the historical meaning, used in organizational or political contexts to describe promoting someone from a deputy or acting role (副职) to the principal role (正职), such as from vice president to president, or deputy director to director.
He worked in a deputy position for ten years and was finally promoted to principal position this year.
In this personnel adjustment, two deputy division chiefs were promoted to division chiefs.