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名利场 (míng lì cháng) — the world of fame and fortune; the arena of jockeying for wealth and position

Definition

A literary/literary-criticism term for a society or field where people fiercely chase fame (名) and profit (利) — like a 'vanity fair' full of competition and hypocrisy.

noun
the world of fame and fortunethe arena of jockeying for wealth and position

Examples

  • 名利场，，。
    Zài zhè ge míng lì cháng lǐ, méi yǒu zhēn zhèng de péng you, zhǐ yǒu lì yì.
    In this world of fame and fortune, there are no real friends, only interests.
  • 名利场，。
    Tā yàn juàn le míng lì cháng de shēng huó, jué dìng tuì yǐn tián yuán.
    He grew tired of life in the arena of fame and wealth and decided to retreat to the countryside.
  • 名利场，。
    Yú lè quān jiù shì yí gè diǎn xíng de míng lì cháng, chōng mǎn le jìng zhēng hé xū wěi.
    The entertainment industry is a typical vanity fair, full of competition and hypocrisy.

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.

名利fame and profit
名míngfame利lìprofit
联合Coordinate
场chǎngarena

“名利” means fame and profit, and “场” is arena, so a place where people seek both.

Characters in this word

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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