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外传 (wài chuán) — unofficial biography; supplement to official biographies

Definition

外传 (wàizhuàn) is an "unofficial biography" or literary supplement to a canonical work — stories built around a known figure or text but not part of the official record (正史/正传).

noun
unofficial biographysupplement to official biographies
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 外传。
    Zhè běn wài chuán xiáng xì jì lù le tā de zǎo nián shēng huó.
    This unofficial biography records his early life in detail.
  • 外传。
    Hěn duō lì shǐ rén wù dōu yǒu zhèng shǐ hé wài chuán.
    Many historical figures have both official histories and unofficial biographies.
  • 外传，。
    Tā xiě le yí bù wài chuán, bǔ chōng le zhèng shǐ méi yǒu de nèi róng.
    He wrote a supplement to official biographies, adding content not found in the standard histories.

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.

外wàioutside
传chuánbiography

An 外 outside or unofficial 传 biography forms a supplementary life story.

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
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

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 傳; 传 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān傳chuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傳 puts 人 (man) beside 專, which gives the sound; the simplified 传 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 传 →
Appears in
Literature & Poetry

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