蒋介石 (Jiǎng Jiè shí) — Chiang Kai-shek (historical figure, leader of the Kuomintang)

Definition

Proper name of the 20th-century Chinese political leader who headed the Nationalist (KMT) government. In Chinese, always refer to him as 蒋介石先生 or 蒋中正, never as Chiang Kai-shek directly.

noun
Chiang Kai-shek (historical figure, leader of the Kuomintang)

Examples

  • 蒋介石。
    Jiǎng Jiè shí Shì èr shí shì jì zhōng guó zhòng yào de zhèng zhì rén wù.
    Chiang Kai-shek was an important political figure in 20th-century China.
  • 蒋介石。
    Lì shǐ xué jiā duì Jiǎng Jiè shí de píng jià yǒu hěn dà fēn qí.
    Historians have very divided assessments of Chiang Kai-shek.
  • 蒋介石。
    Jiǎng Jiè shí Lǐng dǎo de guó mín zhèng fǔ céng yǔ gòng chǎn dǎng hé zuò kàng rì.
    The Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-shek once cooperated with the Communist Party to resist Japan.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蔣; 蒋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
將
將jiāng蔣Jiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 蔣 pairs 艸 (grass) with 將, which supplies the sound; the simplified 蒋 is a later abbreviation.

Open 蒋 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

介 shows a central human form with two marks around it, indicating being between.

Open 介 →

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

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