物化

to die; to pass away

Derived from the sense change of things, originating from Zhuangzi:

故曰，聖人之生也天行，其死也物化；靜而與陰同德，動而與陽同波；不為福先，不為禍始…… [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]

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故曰，圣人之生也天行，其死也物化；静而与阴同德，动而与阳同波；不为福先，不为祸始…… [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

gù yuē, shèngrén zhī shēng yě tiān xíng, qí sǐ yě wù huà; jìng ér yǔ yīn tóng dé, dòng ér yǔ yáng tóng bō; bù wéi fú xiān, bù wéi huò shǐ...... [Pinyin]

Wherefore it has been said, "The birth of the Sage is the will of God; his death is but a modification of existence. In repose, he shares the passivity of the Yin; in action, the energy of the Yang. He will have nothing to do with happiness, and so has nothing to do with misfortune..."

物化

1. (literary) change of things

   • 昔者莊周夢為胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也，自喻適志與。不知周也。俄然覺，則蘧蘧然周也。不知周之夢為胡蝶與，胡蝶之夢為周與。周與胡蝶，則必有分矣。此之謂物化。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     昔者庄周梦为胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也，自喻适志与。不知周也。俄然觉，则蘧蘧然周也。不知周之梦为胡蝶与，胡蝶之梦为周与。周与胡蝶，则必有分矣。此之谓物化。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

     Xī zhě Zhuāng Zhōu mèng wéi húdié, xǔxǔrán húdié yě, zìyù shì zhì yǔ. Bùzhī Zhōu yě. Érán jué, zé qúqúrán Zhōu yě. Bùzhī Zhōu zhī mèng wéi húdié yǔ, húdié zhī mèng wéi Zhōu yǔ. Zhōu yǔ húdié, zé bì yǒu fēn yǐ. Cǐ zhī wèi wùhuà. [Pinyin]

     Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. But he didn't know if he was Zhuang Zhou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou. Between Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things.

2. (literary, figurative, euphemistic) death

物化

1. (literary, figurative, euphemistic) to pass away

   • 乃問：「老僧焉往？」答云：「吾師曩已物化。」 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     乃问：「老僧焉往？」答云：「吾师曩已物化。」 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 1740 CE, Pu Songling, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio

     Nǎi wèn: “Lǎosēng yān wǎng?” Dá yún: “Wú shī nǎng yǐ wùhuà.” [Pinyin]

     In reply to his question as to where the old priest was, they informed him that their worthy teacher had been dead for some time.

物化

1. (sociology, psychology) to objectify; reify

• 客體化／客体化 (kètǐhuà)
• 對象化／对象化 (duìxiànghuà)

物化

1. short for 物理化學／物理化学 (wùlǐ huàxué, “physical chemistry”)