五代 (wǔ dài) — the Five Dynasties period (907–960 CE) of Chinese history

Definition

The proper-historical name for the Five Dynasties period (907–960 CE) that immediately followed the Tang. Always refers to this specific era, not a generic count of five generations.

noun
the Five Dynasties period (907–960 CE) of Chinese history

Examples

  • 五代。
    wǔ dài Shí qī shì zhōng guó lì shǐ shàng yí gè zhòng yào de jiē duàn.
    The Five Dynasties period was an important stage in Chinese history.
  • 五代。
    Táng cháo zhī hòu jiù shì wǔ dài.
    After the Tang Dynasty came the Five Dynasties.
  • 五代。
    wǔ dài Chí xù le dà yuē wǔ shí duō nián.
    The Five Dynasties lasted about fifty-plus years.

Origin

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.

五wǔfive
代dàidynasty

五 “five” and 代 “dynasty” name the five successive dynasties of a historical period.

Characters in this word

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
弋
弋yì代dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Open 代 →

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