实录 (shí lù) — (historical) veritable records — official year-by-year chronicles of an emperor's reign; faithful record; authentic account (of events, proceedings, etc.)

Definition

A "faithful, authentic record" of events, especially the official year-by-year annals of an emperor's reign (e.g. 《明实录》). At HSK 7 it appears as a written/literary term for historical chronicles rather than casual reports.

noun
(historical) veritable records — official year-by-year chronicles of an emperor's reignfaithful recordauthentic account (of events, proceedings, etc.)

Examples

  • 实录。
    Zhè bù shí lù xiáng xì jì zǎi le míng cháo de lì shǐ.
    This veritable record details the history of the Ming Dynasty.
  • 实录，。
    Huì yì shí lù yǐ jīng zhěng lǐ hǎo, dà jiā kě yǐ chá yuè.
    The faithful record of the meeting has been compiled; everyone can consult it.
  • 实录。
    Zhè běn shū shì zuò zhě duì nà duàn lì shǐ de zhēn shí shí lù.
    This book is the author's authentic record of that period of 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.

实shíauthentic
录lùrecord

实 conveys authenticity and 录 conveys record, so together they mean a faithful record.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 實; 实 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 周周zhōucarved jade
  • 貝貝bèishellfish; cowrie

The traditional form 實 has 宀 'roof' above 周 'carved jade' and 貝 'cowrie'; the simplified 实 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 实 →

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 錄; 录 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
彔
彔lù錄lù
Same sound today

The traditional form 錄 combines 金 (metal) with 彔, which gives the sound; the simplified 录 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 录 →

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