秘史 (mì shǐ) — secret history; inside story (often of a dynast…

Definition

Literally 'secret history': the hidden or insider account of a dynasty, organization, or major event, as opposed to its official public record.

noun

secret historyinside story (often of a dynasty or organization)

《秘史》。
Zhè bù 《mì shǐ》 jì zǎi le xǔ duō cóng wèi gōng kāi de gōng tíng mì wén.
This "secret history" records many palace secrets that have never been made public.
秘史。
Gōng sī nèi bù de mì shǐ zhōng yú bèi méi tǐ bào guāng le.
The inside story of the company was finally exposed by the media.
秘史，。
Tā duì míng cháo mì shǐ hěn gǎn xìng qù, zhuān mén mǎi lái yán jiū.
He is very interested in the secret history of the Ming dynasty and bought it specifically for study.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

秘史 combines 秘 (secret) and 史 (history), meaning hidden records or inside story.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾必秘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

必

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 必 part gives 秘 its sound. The 禾 side replaced an older ritual marker, linking it to secret rituals and arcane meaning.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old drawing showed someone holding a flag-like or writing tool, indicating the act of recording events; the exact inner shape is unclear.