硕人
A person of scale
硕人其颀,衣锦褧衣。
The tall lady, wearing brocade over a plain gown.
诗经 · 硕人
· our translation
This poem describes a duke's bride. 硕人 is not "fat" but tall and of large presence.
《诗经·硕人》写卫庄公夫人庄姜。「硕人」不是「胖」,是身形高硕、气象大。名字用「硕」,取的就是这个。
硕人之宽
Room to be at ease
考槃在涧,硕人之宽。
He builds his hut by the stream; the great man is at his ease.
诗经 · 考槃
· our translation
A poem about withdrawal from office. 硕 pairs with 宽: the breadth here is in the man, not the place.
「考槃」写隐居。「硕人」与「宽」并举——宽是胸怀,不是地方;这一层的「硕」是气度。
苗之硕
What actually grows
人莫知其子之恶,莫知其苗之硕。
No one knows the faults of his own son, nor how sturdy his own seedlings have grown.
大学 · 大学
· our translation原文作「碩」
A proverb quoted in the Great Learning: we cannot see our own child's faults, nor our own crop's strength.
《大学》引谚语:人看不见自己孩子的毛病,也看不见自家苗长得壮。「硕」在这里是长得实。
硕果硕学硕人硕文硕远硕之鸿硕
In a name
Scale with substance inside it — not a big reputation, a full one.
「硕」是体量与充实:不是名声大,是里面有东西。