信史 (xìn shǐ) — reliable historical records; authentic history

Definition

Refers to historical records considered trustworthy and verifiable, as opposed to legends or unverified accounts. A formal, scholarly term (信 = 'reliable, credible'; 史 = 'history').

noun
reliable historical recordsauthentic history
Easily confused

Examples

  • 信史。
    Yán jiū xìn shǐ xū yào yán jǐn de kǎo zhèng.
    Studying authentic history requires rigorous textual criticism.
  • 信史。
    Zhè bù zhù zuò bèi gōng rèn wèi xìn shǐ de diǎn fàn.
    This work is recognized as a model of authentic history.
  • 信史。
    Kǎo gǔ fā xiàn wèi xìn shǐ tí gōng le zhèng jù.
    Archaeological discoveries provide evidence for authentic history.

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.

信xìnreliable
史shǐhistory

信 means reliable, and 史 means history, together naming trustworthy historical records.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánwords
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén信xìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

Open 信 →

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.

Open 史 →

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