degeneration; retrogression
youthful; young; young-looking
by all means; at any cost; whether (one is) willing or not; willingly or unwillingly; on no account; by no means
to lean (to one side); to incline; to be unbalanced (e.g. diet); to be unduly weighted towards; to be partial; to be biased
carefree; free from worry
to throw away; to cast away; to abandon; to desert; to give up; to resign
difficult to ...; hard to ...
deep blue sky; bottomless blue sky
to look up at; to raise one's eyes; to look up to; to admire; to respect
obedient; meek; docile; honest; frank; upfront (about one's feelings)
to be worried; to be troubled
strange; weird; wonder; mystery; cleverness; adroitness
saint; wise and virtuous person (esp. in Confucianism); great religious teacher; refined sake
to raise; to lift; to hang up; to raise prices (artificially, deliberately)
origin of a word; derivation of a word; etymology
light and easy; lambent; clever; witty; smart
imperial court; royal court
to employ; to hire; to charter
(approximate) time; around; suitable time (or condition); time of year; season
details; particulars; detailed; specific; close-up view (of a digitally displayed map); zoomed-in view
to gather; to collect; to assemble
to picture; to come into one's mind; to remember
set; set meal; combo-meal; hairdo
three; three years of age
to be perfectly clear (water, air, etc.); to clear up
receiving in advance (e.g. wages, interest); taking before others; anticipation; being ahead of (e.g. the times); prefetch; anticipatory completion (i.e. finishing another's sentence)
scary; frightening; eerie; dreadful
to blow (of the wind); to blow (one's breath); to breathe out; to play (a wind instrument); to blow (a whistle, trumpet, etc.); to emit (smoke, fire, etc.); to spout
background research; research into the period
to investigate thoroughly; to examine closely; to probe into; to be obsessed with a thought; to brood over; to worry about
clique; group; (political) faction; wing; school; sect
tranquil; calm; quiet; peaceful