先锋派 (xiān fēng pā) — avant-garde (artistic movement or trend that is radical and experimental)

Definition

A noun for an avant-garde movement, school, or trend in art and literature — experimental work that pushes against mainstream conventions.

noun
avant-garde (artistic movement or trend that is radical and experimental)

Examples

  • 先锋派。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō bèi rèn wéi shì zhōng guó xiān fēng pā wén xué de dài biǎo zuò.
    This novel is regarded as a representative work of Chinese avant-garde literature.
  • 先锋派。
    Èr shí shì jì ōu zhōu de xiān fēng pā yùn dòng chè dǐ gǎi biàn le rén men duì yì shù de lǐ jiě.
    The European avant-garde movement of the 20th century fundamentally changed people's understanding of art.
  • 先锋派。
    Zhè jiā huà láng zhuān mén zhǎn lǎn dāng dài xiān fēng pā yì shù jiā de zuò pǐn.
    This gallery specializes in exhibiting works by contemporary avant-garde artists.

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.

先锋vanguard
先xiānahead锋fēngpoint
偏正Modifier + head
派pàischool

先 means ahead and 锋 means point, forming 先锋 vanguard; 派 is a school, so the word names an avant-garde school.

Characters in this word

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

先 combines 止 (foot) and 儿 (person) to show someone moving forward.

Open 先 →

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 鋒; 锋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
夆
夆páng鋒fēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 鋒 pairs 金 (metal) with a sound part 夆; the simplified 锋 is a shorthand.

Open 锋 →

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
水水shuǐwater; river
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

Open 派 →

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