江gong1湖wu4

English

1. rivers and lakes
2. a concept of space, the places amount rivers and lakes, that means the large area of all provinces and countries. Literally, rivers and lakes
3. all corners of the country; remote areas to which hermits retreat
4. originated from the loose community formed by buskers, craftsmen, artisans, doctors, etc that roaming across rivers and lakes between provinces, figuratively the industry, the profession community, the underworld, the world of secret societies, criminality and secret loyalties.
5. section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law; the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠|武侠[wu3 xia2])
6. a type of social space or norm concept, that the set of rules or space of civilians to do activity or make a living where the government would not or cannot fully control; figuratively the space and norm of industry, underworld, secret societies, criminality and secret loyalties.
7. (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc; demimonde
8. unofficial issues; unlicensed personnel, may be a pretender or a fraudulent
9. (in modern times) triads; secret gangster societies; underworld

粵語 — Cantonese

1. 空間概念，穿梭各地嘅江河湖泊，比喻可通往各州各省嘅廣闊空間
2. 一個鬆散社群概念，原指賣藝者、賣武者、醫師、工匠等民間技師社群，因經常要穿州過省揾食，不受一地政府管束，維生方法同流動都相對自由；引伸指業界、武俠、黑社會等官府同平民以外嘅群體
3. 一個社會空間或民間制度概念，官府唔會或唔能夠完全控制嘅民間活動同揾食空間，及隨之衍生嘅矩則；引伸到業界、武俠、黑社會呢種另類秩序
4. 指未得官方認可、可能有欺騙成份嘅人同事

Examples

• 老江湖

  an experienced participator in the industry or profession community

• 闖蕩江湖

  to adventure through out the provinces and countries ----

• 江湖賣藝

  nomadic artist; buskers

• 江湖規矩

  rules of industry/secret society

• 江湖好漢

  the hero from the world of secret societies

• 行走江湖

  to make a living or do activity in an alternative society or under norms of a specify industry

• 江湖傳聞

  rumor and hearsay amount the community

• 江湖術士

  a mountebank, a swindler